Follow JavaOne 2006 online

If you enjoy working in Java like I do, there are probably few places you would rather be right now than at JavaOne 2006. Particularly hot web development topics at JavaOne this year include the newly-released JavaEE 5 platform for building enterprise Java applications more easily, and the associated updates coming in NetBeans 5.5.

But whether due to time, money or geography, not everyone can make it to San Francisco to bask in the Java love for a week.

Thankfully, you can follow the big picture from wherever you happen to be. All of the general sessions (i.e. keynote speakers and demos) are available for viewing via live and on-demand webcasts that are almost as good as being there (plus you get to skip the boring bits!).

As for the more focused technical sessions, most of them have published downloadable PDFs containing the slides for free download from the session catalog. You can also wait until the dust settles and the slides will be freely available with synchronized audio from JavaOne Online.

And if podcasts are your thing, PodTech.net is hosting a series of podcasts from JavaOne, including the full audio of all the general sessions. Unfortunately, there is no dedicated feeed for just the JavaOne programs, so you might find yourself downloading some programs from other tech conferences going on at the same time.