"Every person here is special." -- John Gage, Chief Researcher of the Science Office, Sun Micrososystems

"Java Loves You!" -- oversized walking coffee mug outside convention center

Aside from the nice warm fuzzy feelings from these and other statements made during the first day at JavaOne, Sun also announced that they have made up with IBM.

To prove it, Jonathan Schwartz showed a video statement from Steve Mills (head of software group at IBM) explaining that Java was goodness and an important part of IBM's business...plus IBM just renewed their (Java licensing?) agreement with Sun for another 11 years. When the video ended, Jonathan summarized IBM's statement as evidence that "Java is the most open and vibrant community in the world." The funny thing is that Mills actually made no comment on IBM's view of how open Java or the JCP process is, and for good reason; it's no secret that IBM has long had serious concerns about the openness of Java and the JCP.

It also appears that IBM was willing to play hard ball with Sun as leverage for their renewal agreement: The JavaOne program guide has no mention of IBM as a sponsor of any kind -- in fact, not even a listing as a showroom vendor. Yet in the paper addendum, IBM magically appears as a fourth platinum level sponsor. Something makes me think that this wasn't due to a marketing person overlooking a deadline.