Sun is shining bright
The first Java Tech Day by Sun Microsystems held recently in Malta proved a big success, once again confirming the commitment of the Maltese information technology community to develop further."Although a small community, the developers are a very...
The first Java Tech Day by Sun Microsystems held recently in Malta proved a big success, once again confirming the commitment of the Maltese information technology community to develop further.
"Although a small community, the developers are a very engaged and knowledgeable community who has a good grasp of Java technology and supporting technical platforms," commented Reginald Hutcherson, manager of the Sun technology evangelism group that led the event in Malta.
"Additionally, given the minister of technology's address the morning of the developer conference, there appears to be a growing commitment to education and supporting IT at university and local economy is moving forward."
Java technology is all around and it has made our communication easier and faster. Its versatility, efficiency, platform portability, and security have made it an ideal technology for network computing, so that today Java powers more than 4.5 billion devices, including over 800 million PCs, over 1.5 billion mobile phones and other hand-held devices, 2.2 billion smart cards, and set-top boxes, printers, web cams, games, car navigation systems, lottery terminals, medical devices, parking payment stations, etc.
No wonder the venue of this seminar was jam-packed with Maltese developers of Sun's software who lent their ears to what the company's representatives had to say on the latest technology which is offered free of charge.
Indeed, Sun Microsystems is one the largest Open Source contributors in the world and puts an emphasis on sharing and participation among IT communities.
"The software industry has really changed in the last five years," explained Simon Ritter, a Sun technology evangelist. "Open source software has changed the way many people approach acquiring software, whether for personal or corporate use. With open source software the commercial approach is to generate revenue from services, training and support rather than purchase price. Sun have made a decision to pursue this strategy with the idea that it will help to drive sales of our hardware and services business." The Java Tech Day did not include any sales pitch though and the high participation really impressed Sun's representatives.
"We feel the developers' day was very successful. It was the first Sun developer event in Malta and it was very well attended by developers, professions and students. Additionally, we have plans to organise additional events of this nature that will expand over time. Lastly, there were various conversations regarding technology and building communities that will start conversations that will lead to innovation over time," revealed Mr Hutcherson.
One of the most important outcomes of this event will surely be the creation of local developer communities.
"We have openly invited Malta's developer community to start establishing Java user groups and other communities focused around collaboration and innovation similar to other communities around the world. Additionally, we have and will support these groups with speakers, information and events in the future," added Sun's chief evangelist. When i-Tech asked both Mr Hutcherson and Mr Ritter for their views on the latest technology being developed right now, they gave interesting but different replies.
"The mobile phone market is huge everywhere and provides additional services through mobile devices using the cross platform functionality of Java. On the server side, web services and service-oriented architectures are allowing previously disparate data sources to be linked to provide new value to consumers in areas like banking," said Mr Ritter.
He also mentioned Sun SPOTs, one of Sun's research projects that is looking at how Java can be used in new ways, specifically in the area of sensor networks.
"There are roughly 1.8 billion mobile phones in the world today. The potential market for intelligent sensor-enabled devices is hundreds of times as big."
On the other hand Mr Hutcherson focused on Web 2.0 technologies, that is, the combination of scripting languages (i.e., PHP, JavaFX, JRuby, etc) and Java technologies, Solaris and various other technologies that are very accessible and can be used today to start building state-of-the-art technologies.
"Google, YouTube, etc. all use these technologies and are models for current developers and innovation," he added.
Besides the creation of Java developer communities in Malta, another major announcement made at the event was the launch of the official authorised Sun Education Centre (ASEC) in Malta by Computime.
"This is another major initiative in Malta which aims to introduce and educate developers and students about Sun technologies and provide them with both basic and exceptional skills in their chosen Sun technology fields," explained Aris I. Pantazopoulos, marketing manager for Sun Microsystems for southeastern Europe, including Malta.
"Sun Microsystems is placing strong efforts in getting closer to the Maltese tech community and assist them in leveraging all of Sun's technological innovations. We are very happy to work closely with our local partners - both Panta Computer and Computime - the local tech community and help them take full advantage of Java and Solaris in their IT projects."
"Although a small community, the developers are a very engaged and knowledgeable community who has a good grasp of Java technology and supporting technical platforms," commented Reginald Hutcherson, manager of the Sun technology evangelism group that led the event in Malta.
"Additionally, given the minister of technology's address the morning of the developer conference, there appears to be a growing commitment to education and supporting IT at university and local economy is moving forward."
Java technology is all around and it has made our communication easier and faster. Its versatility, efficiency, platform portability, and security have made it an ideal technology for network computing, so that today Java powers more than 4.5 billion devices, including over 800 million PCs, over 1.5 billion mobile phones and other hand-held devices, 2.2 billion smart cards, and set-top boxes, printers, web cams, games, car navigation systems, lottery terminals, medical devices, parking payment stations, etc.
No wonder the venue of this seminar was jam-packed with Maltese developers of Sun's software who lent their ears to what the company's representatives had to say on the latest technology which is offered free of charge.
Indeed, Sun Microsystems is one the largest Open Source contributors in the world and puts an emphasis on sharing and participation among IT communities.
"The software industry has really changed in the last five years," explained Simon Ritter, a Sun technology evangelist. "Open source software has changed the way many people approach acquiring software, whether for personal or corporate use. With open source software the commercial approach is to generate revenue from services, training and support rather than purchase price. Sun have made a decision to pursue this strategy with the idea that it will help to drive sales of our hardware and services business." The Java Tech Day did not include any sales pitch though and the high participation really impressed Sun's representatives.
"We feel the developers' day was very successful. It was the first Sun developer event in Malta and it was very well attended by developers, professions and students. Additionally, we have plans to organise additional events of this nature that will expand over time. Lastly, there were various conversations regarding technology and building communities that will start conversations that will lead to innovation over time," revealed Mr Hutcherson.
One of the most important outcomes of this event will surely be the creation of local developer communities.
"We have openly invited Malta's developer community to start establishing Java user groups and other communities focused around collaboration and innovation similar to other communities around the world. Additionally, we have and will support these groups with speakers, information and events in the future," added Sun's chief evangelist. When i-Tech asked both Mr Hutcherson and Mr Ritter for their views on the latest technology being developed right now, they gave interesting but different replies.
"The mobile phone market is huge everywhere and provides additional services through mobile devices using the cross platform functionality of Java. On the server side, web services and service-oriented architectures are allowing previously disparate data sources to be linked to provide new value to consumers in areas like banking," said Mr Ritter.
He also mentioned Sun SPOTs, one of Sun's research projects that is looking at how Java can be used in new ways, specifically in the area of sensor networks.
"There are roughly 1.8 billion mobile phones in the world today. The potential market for intelligent sensor-enabled devices is hundreds of times as big."
On the other hand Mr Hutcherson focused on Web 2.0 technologies, that is, the combination of scripting languages (i.e., PHP, JavaFX, JRuby, etc) and Java technologies, Solaris and various other technologies that are very accessible and can be used today to start building state-of-the-art technologies.
"Google, YouTube, etc. all use these technologies and are models for current developers and innovation," he added.
Besides the creation of Java developer communities in Malta, another major announcement made at the event was the launch of the official authorised Sun Education Centre (ASEC) in Malta by Computime.
"This is another major initiative in Malta which aims to introduce and educate developers and students about Sun technologies and provide them with both basic and exceptional skills in their chosen Sun technology fields," explained Aris I. Pantazopoulos, marketing manager for Sun Microsystems for southeastern Europe, including Malta.
"Sun Microsystems is placing strong efforts in getting closer to the Maltese tech community and assist them in leveraging all of Sun's technological innovations. We are very happy to work closely with our local partners - both Panta Computer and Computime - the local tech community and help them take full advantage of Java and Solaris in their IT projects."