GlassFish unconference post-mortem

The GlassFish Unconference was success I believe. Several people commented positively on the format and the interaction it enabled ([1], [2]). We had about 100 participants (more than people registering on the wiki). Thanks all for showing up and being an interactive crowd!

Clearly we also learned a few things including that with this number of people (particularly in the first round), the crowd/noise combinaison made it very hard to follow the discussion for many.

A total of 10 topics in 4x45-minute sessions with 3 parallel tracks for a total of more than 3 hours is a bit long (but then it was good exercice for JavaOne and the party was a very nice conclusion to that day).

Also, I think we (I, really) could have done a better job at introducing each topics and some key participants (but then it's kinda nice to be able to provide feedback with no reserve whatsoever ;).

Anything else we should improve?

Unconference photos from Arun, Anil, and Paul.

( mai 16 2008, 12:46:34 PM CEST ) Permalink Comments [0]

GlassFish unconference - TODAY, SUNDAY

The unconference is today, Sunday 4th May @ 3pm in the Moscone center
So far here are the most commonly requested topics:
• GlassFish v3 and OSGi
• Java EE (many spec leads around)
• Comet (very high in the list)
• GlassFish Scripting
• OpenESB / JBI
• Community
• Migration from other products
• Production Stories

Now, this isn't a final set of topics, whoever comes (you can still sign up or just show up) will decide on the final agenda.
Should be fun!

( mai 04 2008, 03:58:00 PM CEST ) Permalink Comments [0]

GlassFish unconference planning Wiki page now open to all

Ok, so I've created a Wiki page on wikis.sun.com to plan the attendance and content of our May 4th Moscone GlassFish unconference. It should be editable by all (not just me or Sun employees), so please add yourself if you're interested in participating: http://wikis.sun.com/display/GFunconfSF08/GlassFish+unconference+planning

( avr. 17 2008, 06:18:59 PM CEST ) Permalink Comments [0]

GlassFish un-conference on May 4th 2008 (Pre-JavaOne)

I've sent the following to the "advocacy" alias of the GlassFish community, but thought people could also read and comment here:

Hi all,
We're lucky to have access to a room in the Moscone Center on the Sunday before CommunityOne/JavaOne (May 4th) and would like to take this opportunity to run an un-conference with the GlassFish community.

I'd love to get your feedback on our current thinking:
- Parallel sessions with content based on the people who show up and their interest
- Sessions are discussions much more than they are formal presentations but we do need a leader for each
- My job would be to track/secure at minimum set of people able to run such sessions.
- Event starting around (no earlier than) 3pm
- Total event time would about 3 hours starting with a 30-minute agenda planning session.
- Potential topics based on early discussion and people who've said to be likely in town on the Sunday:
    - scaling & clustering techniques (different approaches, real-life usage)
    - making money with GlassFish, how can Sun help (partner program, co-marketing, ...)
    - teaching Java EE 5 with GlassFish
    - packaging technologies (which one to use when)
    - real-life GlassFish experiences
    - dynamic languages for GlassFish v2, v3
    - GlassFish v3 architecture
    - community and GAP (how to grow the community, status on GAP)
    - performance
    - JSF, Ajax, Web 2.0 marketplace
    - [your choice here]
- The number of // tracks would depend on the number of people showing up (no point in having 2-people session).
- One-hour session should probably be the default

Some technical details/constraints :
- Room set up with a bunch of round tables
- Power and network connectivity provided
- No beamer/projector

If there's enough interest, we could also try to have a "GlassFish porting fest" with people working/hacking on GlassFish and their application throughout the event in a dedicated part of the room

PS: I hear talks about a party at the end of that day (Sunday), but this may just be rumors ;)

( avr. 11 2008, 04:43:09 PM CEST ) Permalink Comments [1]