December 4, 1997 |
 |
Our Favorite Reruns |
|
Although Java is a programming language/platform still in its growth stages, it has already been solidly packaged by marketers with repetitive and circuitous rhetoric. (Yes, the usual speeches filled with the sayings "write once, run anywhere," "scaleable," and "robust.") This type of "marcom speak" is even rampant at developer's conferences, where a more technical focus is imperative. We had the chance to witness this at "The Year in Java" Conference last night in San Francisco. While the event did include some interesting speakers, like Charles Fitzgerald of Microsoft and Brian Gentile, VP of Market Development at SunSoft, there was nothing very remarkable said about the present and future status of Java.
Fitzgerald talked about the "brutal realities" of the Java language, while Gentile spoke of the inherent value of the Java platform to the future of computing. Nothing new here. In fact, major portions of Fitzgerald's speech were recycled from the six month old "Java Realities" media pitch. The only thing the two camps agreed upon was Java's increasing importance on the server side. But rather than expanding on this and really delving into the nitty-gritty of producing extensible applications, both companies reverted back to "lingo-land" and continued about their usual presentation paths. The audience did not respond well to these tactics.
Perhaps it's time to re-evaluate the way in which we are talking to developers about Java. Why are we trying to sell them Java when they are already producing real applications for customers? We should be providing more Java developer forums, channels for improving the platform, real-time response mechanisms for answering questions, and learning environments -- both online and off. We need everyone to make the shift from promoting the platform to supporting and delivering the platform.
We're doing our part here on Daily Grounds - check out our new discussion area to explore the issues we raise in more depth.
Go to the discussion area.
Send us your feedback.
Check out today's Grind.
|
JavaTM is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Other companies, products, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
Copyright
Trademark
|