OTN TechBlog

I've already mentioned this in another context (the Oracle OpenWorld Unconference), but I want to reiterate all the good happenin's at the OTN Lounge and OTN Night at OpenWorld this year (see details below). The Lounge will be bigger than ever (on Moscone West 3rd Floor this time) and we'll be giving away more free stuff than ever too (but that's not why you'll stop by, right?) -- and did I mention, you can get a cold beer there in the afternoon?

As is the custom, Tom Kyte, Steven Feuerstein, Mary Ann Davidson, and Wim Coekaerts will be doing meet-and-greets across the week. (Need updates in real time about any of this stuff? We'll be Twittering.)

Please do stop by to say "Hello," "Nice job," "Get a life", or whatever the case may be.

Relax and Prosper at the OTN Lounge
(Moscone West, 3rd Floor)

• Get your OTN T-shirt v2.0 and
  Database 11g poster, while supplies last
  
  
• Gorge on donuts and pastries in
  the AM, energy drinks in the PM
  
  
• Check in for daily "Meet the
  Experts" sessions (schedule)
  
  
• Take part in Oracle Developer
  Tools usability testing
  
  
• Pick up your "OTN's Greatest
  Hits, 2007 Edition" CD
  
  
• Daily drawings to win an Apple
  iPod Touch!
  
  

• Eat, drink, and be merry at this
  luxurious Union Square hotel
  
  
• Get free software, swap
  install/config tips at OTN Night's own Installfest
  
  
• Do you have what it takes for a
  live game of "Oracle Jeopardy"? Win a Wii!
  
  
• Pose for your take-home OTN Night
  party pic
  
  
• Enjoy classic arcade games, air
  hockey and pool tables
  
  

• More than 70 Oracle ACEs in
  attendance; look for them at the OTN Lounge!
  
  
• Build your own show social network
  via Oracle OpenWorld Connect
  
  
• Read attendee blogs as they're
  posted
  
  
• Sign our "global guest book"
  at the OTN Lounge
  
  
• Share experiences with other
  OTNers at the Unconference (see below)
  
  
  
  
  

• Present your own session/workshop
  on a topic you're passionate about!
  
  
• Bring laptop, PPT, and demos;
  projector/screen/whiteboard will be provided
  
  
• Sign up at Moscone West 3rd Floor
  Overlooks - first come, first served
  
  
• Slots available for Database,
  Fusion Middleware, Apps, and Anything Goes
  
  

AJAXWorld is just about in the books (Oracle was a Platinum Sponsor this year), and based on Oracle Development Tools VP and Chief Architect Ted Farrell's keynote, the AJAX "honeymoon" may soon be ending, as it gets a serious look from enterprise-class IT departments.

Tony Baer offers an excellent analysis of Ted's keynote, with the main point being: don't dive into an enterprise AJAX-style programming approach without an enterprise strategy, regardless of its eye-candy appeal for building rich clients. For enterprises, which typically lack agility, are highly regulated, and are strewn with legacy applications in any case, it makes much more sense to commit to a framework (JavaServer Faces being the ideal example for Farrell) that allows you to abstract trendy scripting languages (like AJAX) and back-end APIs out of the development equation. This is an interesting perspective that hasn't received the attention it deserves from AJAX/Web 2.0 fanboys, but with Oracle increasingly involved, perhaps it will.

In general, enterprise-class concerns touched by Web 2.0 (and they all do) - security and privacy foremost among them - are really being glossed over. These are issues you may hear increasingly about from Oracle.

Let's not forget the pix:

Keynote action shot


Oracle booth action shot