Felipe Gaucho's Blog: The name is One, JavaONE !

I came across a JavaOne posting that has tips fo rthis attending and for getting the most out of JavaOne. Here is a sample. Be sure and go to the link and look over the comments.

Felipe Gaucho's Blog: The name is One, JavaONE !: "

# Talk to everyone you can. The people at J1 are for the most part friendly, outgoing and have great experience and tips to share. Just introduce yourself and ask what cool things they do. John Gage (on the years he's there), always makes it a point to remind attendees to talk to one another. If nothing else, you can say, “Dr. Gage told me to talk to you”, and go from there. Breakfast and lunch are great places to talk. Just find a table with some folks, plop down and fire away. Some folks won't be forthcoming, but most are great. Talk to folks in line too: there will be plenty of time for that.

# Have a plan of what sessions/BOFs you want to go to. For each, have a backup session/BOF you are also interested in. Sometimes rooms are full and you can't get in, or the speaker is dull or not talking about what you expected. Don't be afraid to just get up and leave for your second choice.
# The most comfortable seats are on the ends or front rows. The seats are pretty close together. Usually wall sockets for charging your laptop are on the sides of the room, but sometimes they're all taken. Depending on the room and/or number of attendees, wireless access may or may not be available/reliable.

# Unless you want to really immerse yourself in one topic, don't go to sessions that are all on the same track. You'll find them repeating themselves, even though each will have some new material. Diversify and learn about stuff you never even thought about using. J1 is for discovering new stuff and broadening your knowledge.

# Take something warm to wear. Some of the session rooms are cold enough to freeze hydrogen.

# Make sure you make it to Birds-of-a-Feather sessions as well. For those coming from Europe, the BOFs can run late, but you can really get up close and personal with the actual developers and ask questions you can't get to in the bigger sessions. Be aware, some of the presenters aren't comfortable with that and will try to hide behind a prepared set of slides, but be polite and enthusiastic about what they're presenting. Most love having folks that appreciate the work they're doing.

# Visit the pavilion to learn about specific products you're interested in, but also to learn about stuff you've never heard of that might make your job easier. Don't go just to get cool junk for your kids (something of which I've been guilty!). Some exhibitors have actual developers with the marketing folk. Be kind to them all. By the end, they've been standing and talking for three days and start getting ragged.

# Make sure you visit some of San Francisco. A truly unique, physically beautiful and captivating city. (Don't be surprised by the number of panhandlers, though) Be prepared for lots of walking, some steep hills and weather that can range from cold and misty to gloriously sunny in a short time. So have layered clothing and comfortable shoes.

# The conference food is okay, but don't expect the eating experience of your lifetime. Save that for the evening and the San Francisco restaurants. During lunch they'll have hot food, but also lunch bags with a sandwich (turkey, ham, beef or vegie), chips, cookie and a fruit, that you can grab and take to a session.

# Don't buy books unless you feel like lugging them around and paying a little bit more than Bookpool. That being said, the bookstore has an awesome selection of the classics and the latest. Sometimes you can get free books from various pavilions. They'll also have authors available for book signings and chatting with. Josh Bloch will have a new book this year and I'm sure will be signing it. Also, go to any session he gives.

# Most of all, just immerse yourself in the whole JavaOne experience. Be positive (even with the guards!), get as much sleep as you can, check out the vendor parties, the After Dark party, the beer, and most of all, learn all you can about what great and creative things people are doing and just enjoy the company of other Java enthusiasts and professionals. "