This is my first note to let everyone know about the plans for our very own, SYS-CON-sponsored JavaEdge2001 International Java Developer Conference & Expo. This year's conference will be held in New York City from September 23 to September 26. As a corporation, SYS-CON has committed to providing leading-edge information, training, and exhibits in a number of areas that we serve via publications. In addition to the JavaEdge conference, we've also scheduled conferences for XML (XMLEdge2001), wireless (WirelessEdge2002), Linux (LinuxEdge2002), and ColdFusion (ColdFusionEdge2002). It's our plan to offer developers, managers, and businesspeople additional choices and opportunities to meet vendors, understand technology, network with their peers, and leverage the resources of the entire Java community.

This year I have the honor of serving as technical chairman for the JavaEdge2001 conference. We've decided to present five session tracks designed to maximize your ability to learn and leverage. The tracks are Wireless Java and J2ME, J2SE, J2EE, Working with I-Technology, and Practical Business Solutions. Obviously, the first three tracks strongly mirror the way Java itself is structured.

With the explosion of cell phones, the growing presence of networked PDAs, and an increase in the sophistication of non-PC devices, J2ME is positioned to become an integral part of the post-PC world. The J2ME track will explore wireless technology, including WAP and other protocols. We'll also have sessions on some of the KVMs available, and information on porting applications to small devices. Important issues such as memory constraints and display limitations will also be covered.

The J2SE track will focus on application development using Java. There will be some overlap with J2EE, but this track will focus on aspects of Java programming that are more pertinent to pure Java applications. Topics will include AWT and Swing, 2D and 3D programming, speech and telephony, mail, and that dreaded topic - multithreaded programming.

Our J2EE track will focus on the core technologies of the Enterprise Edition - EJB, JSP, JMS, JDBC, and so on. In particular, we'll cover the latest EJB standards, patterns for EJB design, deployment issues, and JMS.

The fourth track, Working with I-Technology, will focus on the processes and procedures of software engineering using Java. Topics such as "UML," "Object Modeling," "Project Planning," and "Testing and Deploying Applications" will enlighten managers and senior technologists.

Practical Business Solutions, our final track, showcases the use of Java in industry and the availability of products and solutions along any number of lines. A variety of vendors will present on topics ranging from "Financial Services" and "CRM" to "Supply Chain." Also included will be Java solution vendors for subjects like "Content Management," "Personalization," and "Portals."

In each track we plan to have a mix of several experience levels in order to accommodate the beginner, the experienced developer, the expert, and the project manager or CIO.

The conference will also have an exhibit floor, where you can interact with numerous vendors to discuss their products and solutions in a traditional setting. We're looking forward to an authors day, where we'll have the authors of a number of current Java books, as well as our own authors, available to meet with you and sign autographs.

As the technology chair, I'm interested in what you have to say. The reality is, this is your conference, and I want to make sure you get the most you can out of it. We have a call for papers open at the moment on our Web site (www.sys-con.com/javaedge/papers. cfm) where industry professionals can submit possible topics. We're also actively working with a variety of sources to line up the most appropriate content for the conference. But I want to know what you, our community, need. Please drop me a line with your suggestions at sean@sys-con.com. See you on the Edge.