I’ve got the Power! (The Power of Gradle, that is)

Join us on Tuesday, May 21st to hear what Gradle is all about, with real world examples! Tim O’Brien of Gradleware fame will be there (and he might even have a prize or two!). Also we will be donning a new location, 300 West Adams, just in front of the Willis (it’s so hard, it will always be Sears) Tower. Check the map and details in our Meetup page, and attend http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/116726532/

We got 210 CJUG members in Meetup, (the .NET user group has 330).

Come on, I know there are much more Java developers, CJUG Needs you! Spread the word, forward this email to your developer’s distribution list. Shout “CJUG is Awesome” from the top of your cubicle (or office), mention it casually at cocktail parties (“hey, I’m member of the Chicago Java Users Group, they are a fancy bunch”), add it to your email signature (“CJUG Member”), share with students, professors, your local barista. Let everyone know (and sign) to our Meetup group at http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/

Come and let’s do some Spring Planting this June 6th

Our trusted Brett Lindsley will take us through the process of creating a web application from the ground-up. Even if you have done a web app before you might’ve not seen all the interactions that happen when building one. Join us on June 6th! (Venue tbd)  http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/118714452/

Red Hat Developer Exchange, JBoss User Developer Conference (JUDCon) and CamelOne at Boston (June 9th ~ 11th)

If you are around Boston on June 9th to the 11th you can attend these conferences at a 99$ discounted rate (Just for being a fancy CJUG member), just use PRECONJUG registration code and voila!

- http://www.redhat.com/developerexchange/agenda/

- http://www.jboss.org/events/JUDCon/2013/unitedstates/agenda

- http://www.camelone.com/apache-camel-conference-2013/camelone_agenda_2013/

The Cravin’ Maven video is online

If you couldn’t make it to our Cravin’ Maven presentation (an Intro to Maven) by Brett Lindsley, you can find the video (and all the others) at http://www.youtube.com/cjugvideos

What’s the Chicago Java Users Group up to?

A little update for you on what are we doing. We have organized our finances and have put in place a solid sponsorship program (Thanks Scott and Michelle!), we are furiously upping the number of presentations per-month and finding new locales to present (thanks Brett!), have created a mentorship program which is awesome and btw, you should really use them (Thanks Mike and Bob!), and are actively trying to reach out and help the actual Chicago Community through initiatives like Random Hacks of Kindness (RHOK.org, thanks Rishu!). We have even reached across the aisle to the .Net User group  (and Scala, and JBoss, and Web Development) to organize co-sponsored events.

In all we’ve been busy. There is no monetary compensation for anyone working at the CJUG, so if you happen to see any of them, give them a big hug (or a slap on their back), and tell them “Thank you!”

But with everything else, we need you. Yes, you. I want to drive our membership up, discover all Java developers in the Chicago Area, and create a strong, solid and vibrant community of Java developers that can learn, grow and make a difference.  To accomplish these goals I need every Java professional and Student to know, sign-up and participate in our group. Are you a recruiter? Well, tell your candidates about the organization. It’s like sending them to a free conference to learn new stuff and they will only get better. Are you a student? Tell your classmates, participate, create and volunteer (this will help you even on your resume). Are you a teacher? Contact me and we can do projects for your student body on which we teach them what is required from the corporate world in terms of projects. Are you a developer? By all means, share and join us. You are the soul and the reason volunteers flip over backwards to get things moving and created. Help me out by getting more people signed-up and participating in our JUG.

Peace out! (wasn’t that out of fashion after the 90s ?)

Last Call for Cravin’ Maven (April 23rd)

You have been curious about Maven, and what it brings to the table within your organization. Well, let curiosity rule and come to our Cravin’ Maven Meetup! Brett Lindsey will take you through the benefits of Maven + how to set it up! Have questions, he’ll answer! So come join us in our new venue (La Quinta in Downtown), for a full-course Maven dinner! http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/114271292/

Who says there’s no thing as free lunch (Member benefits).

We are putting together member benefits for everyone to use! We just scored a 30% discount on APress books (read more at http://cjug.org/member/benefits/), and are continually working on bringing you even more benefits.

We’ll be picking three winners for the Chicago Algo Trading Conference passes tonight! (300$ value)

Try your luck, post a message on http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/messages/boards/thread/33195402 and see if the lucky stars are with you today. I’ll be talking in the Conference on the topic of Code Optimization. Curious about the Financial Industry? This is the best place to talk to peers!

Awww, we fell short of our 250 Meetup members goal

Well, at least we got 200, but I’m expecting you to do better. Let’s get our numbers up for next friday. Get people sign-up! Take pride in your community, make sure anyone who has ever written a piece of Java code and lives 50 miles from Chicago is signed-up. It’s the best way for us to keep growing and bringing value to the Chicago Java Users Group. Let’s aim for 225. You can do it! Right now! that co-worker who is sitting next to you, send him the link (http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/members/)

Have Questions? will Mentor (Say Hi to Michael Nolan)

We have a new mentor! Michael Nolan has gracefully volunteer to be a mentor for us (http://cjug.org/mentorship-program/mentors/), if you see him, say hi, and ask questions! That’s what mentors are here for, to help you out. Wanna have some 1-on-1 time solving a complex problem? Then ask for a mentor by filling out this form (http://cjug.org/mentorship-program/talk-to-a-mentor/)

Now really, THIS time is the last call for Call for Papers (Tuesday, April 23rd)

The JavaOne Call for Papers has been  extended to April 23rd, so if you were thinking, but couldn’t write one last week this is your second chance! (It’s a sign!) Come and join the ranks of JavaOne presenters and write about the cool stuff you do (http://www.oracle.com/javaone/call-for-papers/information/index.html)

Volunteers? Anyone? Will jump, skip and hop for volunteers!

Ok so we don’t have any $$ to pay anyone at the CJUG, and we might not be the coolest-sounding organization ever, but we DO have the nicest people that share those midwestern values, working in the BEST city in the U.S. Help us out, we will take any help we can get, from organizing our meetings to prettying up our website to running different projects. If you volunteer, it will make you warm and fuzzy inside. IF you don’t, a new NullPointerException is thrown, and a little thread just died. Shame shame!

We’re doing Heavy Lifting! (In the cloud that is).  April 16th

Last call, last call! sign-up for our Heavy Listing in the Cloud meet up next Tuesday at the CME presented by no other than its principal developer Michael Minella. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from the actual creators!

Let’s grow our Meetup (Let’s target 250 for next week).

Let your friends and buddies know about the Chicago Java Users Group Meetup. Ask them to sign-up, and grow those member numbers. We’re at 182, but we know there are much more of you out there. Reach out and get them to sign-up. The more people in our meet up, the more benefits we can bring to the community (More raffles, sponsors, benefits, giveaways).  Can you make it happen? can we grow to 250 by next week? I’m counting on you!

Psst, wanna get a Enterprise Architect Certification for 50 bucks?

Right now there is the new Enterprise Architect Certification beta program going on, and it only costs you 50$ (Instead of the usual 300$). A great opportunity to snatch that certification. Read all about it here https://blogs.oracle.com/certification/entry/0855_01

Subscribe to the Java Magazine (And help your local JUG out!)

If you haven’t already done so, subscribe to the Java Magazine at http://www.oraclejavamagazine-digital.com/javamagazine_open/20130304 .This month’s magazine is dedicated to Community! Read all about it, and if it strikes your fancy, help your local JUG out!

LAST DAY for JavaOne CALL FOR PAPERS

You can do it It takes the total of 30 mins to apply for one. Get your submission in!

http://www.oracle.com/javaone/call-for-papers/information/index.html

CJUG is a non-profit!

We have been cleaning up all the little things within the CJUG. Our board have been very busy preparing for this year and one of the last milestones is that we’re re-incorporated as a NonProfit. What that means is that we can now manage and attract larger events and more capital. And what that means is more benefits are coming your way. Say Yay to Michelle, Scott and the Board! (Also if you think you want to participate or just talk to the CJUG Board, go to http://cjug.org/contact-us/ and contact us. We’re all ears

Have questions? Will answer! (Mentorship Program)

Your local JUG have resources to help you out in your problems. Have a tough concept that is not quite clear? (Encryption), or are you curious of what technology is available for no-sql databases that can help you in your project (Hadoop et al)? Then go and sign-up to talk to one of our mentors. We’re here to help you be the best you can be! http://cjug.org/mentorship-program/talk-to-a-mentor/

Startup Weekend Coming up!

Want to flex your entrepreneurial muscles? Then check out Startup Weekend happening on April 19th http://chicago.startupweekend.org/

The Chicago Algo Trading Conference Raffle (June 12th)

Hey there! We’re raffling three entries to our local Chi-town Algorithmic Trading Conference (http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1210182) where yours truly will be speaking! Want to come and learn the secrets of fast algo trading, were you curious about the financial industry in general? Wanted to meet more like-developers in this sector, or how about an open bar? If so, give it a shot and reply to this thread http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/messages/boards/thread/33195402/#98520662

Flourish at the FlourishConf! (April 12, 13)

Next week (April 12, and 13) UIC is hosting the FlourshConf, a conference dedicated to Open-Source. Attendance is free, and you are most welcome to sign-up at http://flourishconf.com/2013/

JavaOne Call for Papers closing! (April 13th)

Stretch those fingers and start typing! the CFP is a wonderful opportunity to get exposure to the Java community (and attend the conference for free!) http://www.oracle.com/us/dm/h2fy11/65538-wwmk10042957mpp001-cif-w-304050.html

JavaOne San Francisco Super Saver Discount (Save 600$). (Sep 21, 26)

If heading to JavaOne, register now and save 600$ from the Onsite price! (http://www.oracle.com/javaone/register/packages/index.html?src=7328809&Act=165&pcode=WWMK11054264MPP002)

Don’t forget to Sign up for our Spring Batch presentation (April 16th)
Our own Michael Minella is going to be presenting (http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/109037752/). Have any praise, make sure to tell him! Have any complaints? well, make sure you tell me

Have Mentors, will teach!

Have a tough problem? Need some help? Well visit our mentorship program (http://cjug.org/mentorship-program/). While they may not be able to help mend relations with that old-flame, at least they can tackle those though Java Programming / Architect problems that are surfacing around

Craig Walls presentation now online (on Spring Social)

If you couldn’t make it to our Spring Social meetup, well, we at least have the slides and the 2nd half of Craig Walls presentation, enjoy!
PDF at https://docs.google.com/a/cjug.org/folder/d/0B_HLqPkpplbEVE1TaktuRy1UbVk/edit
Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Avx1FUTodg

Looking for Venues

Want to help your local Java Users Group? Here’s a possibility. Do you have a venue that we could use to host our meetings? Does your employer/company want to support us? Drop us a line at board@cjug.org. We’re constantly trying to find new venues to bring even more presenters and knowledge to our Java enthusiasts!

Spread the word!

There’s nothing certain but “Death and Taxes”, and it is April, so it’s the “taxes” part that most people worry about. But hey,what we really can’t have enough of is friends! Get your team to sign-up for our Meetup and twitter. Let them become CJUG friends and participants. Let’s show the world that Chicago is the Java Developer’s kind’ of town!

And your moment of Zen!

https://twitter.com/1Pr0grammer/status/319905373479899136/photo/1

http://imgur.com/oEXYFZw

Time’s running out! Sign up for our Spring Social Meetup!

You know who you are! If you’ve been procastinating it is time to click this link (http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/107041282/) , and sign up for our Spring Social Meetup. It’s getting filled, and Craig Walls will be there. You might even get to shake his hand!

Webcast Webcast, watch the Webcast of our Spring Social event!

If you can’t make it, we are gearing up a Webcast of the event. Come join us live at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/446415701 . Part of the new services of your local Java Users Group

Have you ever needed to (Spring) batch stuff online? If you do, don’t miss our new Meetup! (April 16)

The Primary Developer for Spring Batch (Michael Minella, the man himself!) will be showing up and discussing the great benefits of using Spring Batch to offload all your processing. Don’t wait, sign up for our next Meetup! http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/109037752/

Do you love Gradle? How about getting into the Conference for Free?

Tim O’Brien from Gradleware has kindly donated a GradleSummit conference pass (valued at 800$) to a lucky winner! Do you want to participate? Give it a shot, and post a nice message at http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/messages/boards/thread/32475562 .At the end of next week, we’ll close the discussion and choose a winner from the posted entries.

Java Call For Papers is Open!

Have you ever wanted to present in JavaOne? Now is the time! JavaOne’s Call for Paper is now open. Go ahead, give it a shot, write something incredible and present it to the world! http://www.oracle.com/javaone/index.html (plus if you paper get accepted, you get the full conference pass for free (that’s like $2,000 )

Don’t forget, there is a Mentorship Program for Free!
Have questions? Will answer! We have a mentorship program that allows you to meet with Java experts one-on-one for 45 minutes to solve those pesky problems that you may be running into. Give them a shot, find them at http://cjug.org/mentorship-program/

And your moment of Zen!

Hitler get angry at the discontinuation of Google Reader (Warn: Some explicit subtitling)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A25VgNZDQ08

Don’t forget to sign-up for our Spring Social event with Craig Walls and Jeff Williams

It is a great opportunity to learn and interact with Spring gurus Craig Walls and Jeff Williams. You always wanted to learn Spring, and Spring social? Now is your chance. Sign-up to this meetup before it’s gone! http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/107041282/

We got a New President!

Scott Kramer has just been elected President of the Chicago Java Users Group! (by board election). If you see him, make sure to say hi, congrats, and tell him what you want to see CJUG doing. He’s definitively listening. Kudos! Also say thank you to Simon McClenahan (past president), for his cat herding talent. He’s still a very active member in CJUG and is making social media happen!

What do you guys think of this RoR Dev Bootcamp in chi-town?

http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/messages/boards/thread/32228422#96052052

Have a say in our forums. Would that be something that Java should have?

And your moment of Zen today

Thank you all who came to the Dr Multithreading Meetup

I had a blast of a time with everyone who braved the weather and made it! Like we said, the journey has only begun! Also, if you couldn’t make it, we have video and slides of the presentation.

For those interested, we have a youtube Video of the presentation at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=…

and the slides you can find at https://docs.google.com/folder/d…

Ooh We’re so Exciiitted, Craig Walls and Jeff Williams are coming to talk about Spring for our March Meeting!

We got the big room reserved as we expect this to be a packed session. Work with Spring? Wanna hear the latest from the “Source?”. Then you must come and register to this meetup NOW!

http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/107041282/

Don’t forget, if you can help CJUG, send us an email.

We are gearing up with more and more activities, give your local JUG a hand, we know you have it in you. Check where we need immediate help at http://cjug.org/help-wanted/

AND even if you don’t see anything in particular from the list, but have time to help us out PLEASE don’t hesitate to drop us a line. freddy.guime@cjug.org

Life giving you programming lemons? Get together with our mentors to show you how to throw them back!

Remember, we have our mentorship program to help you out if you get stuck. Just go to our http://cjug.org/mentorship-program/, sign up and see how those problems just go away! And if you have the chops to be a mentor, then sign-up!

And Your Friday Funny Moment!

http://martinvalasek.com/blog/pictures-from-a-developers-life

Have a good Friday Everyone!

Thanks to all who came to our Spring MVC, CFX, AJAX (JQuery) and Mule Presentation.

It was great to see everyone showing up and enjoying it! We are still post-processing the presentations. Sadly we have a couple of hiccups while recording so we might only have the last 1/3 of the presentation (Mule), but we learn and promise to get a better grade in our next presentation (did we mention that we would love to have volunteers help in recording and webcasting )

Show Dr Multithreading some LOVE! Coming Tuesday Feb 26 (next week)

Have you ever had code that looked like this just to make it work?

class SynchronizedClass {
   public synchronized void someMethod() {}
   public synchronized void anotherMethod() {}
   public synchronized void yetAnotherMethod() {}
}

We will go over why is that and how synchronized really works (and why instead of making things safer it could actually introduce deadlocks, ugh). Working with multiple threads is not something to be feared, but it’s another toolset in your toolbox. Wanna make software….Faster…..Scalable…..Reliable? Understanding Multithreading will allow you to do these and much more! Take the plunge, let’s go and Master Multithreading together! We can do it!

http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/103649692/

We Still Need Help!

You see what we are doing, the CJUG is getting more involved in every aspect of the Java community, but we’re hurting for more help. You have attended our presentations, ate the pizza (wasn’t bad was it? ). We won’t ask for much, just an hour here and there every month to hep us out! http://cjug.org/help-wanted/

We will be retiring the Mailing List soon, be with us at Meetup!

If you haven’t done so, point your browsers to http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/ and sign-up! We will be communicating from there probably starting on March. We want all the cool kids to join us so what are you waiting for, sign-up already!

Potential Sponsors, Recruiters, a link for you

Here’s a link for you http://cjug.org/sponsorship/

Happenings in the Java World

From Oracle: All JavaOne 2012 videos now in YouTube!

Many folks have consistently said that viewing JavaOne videos on the Content Management Tool used by Oracle is not ideal. You will be happy to know that the JavaOne San Francisco 2012 videos are now on YouTube via the Oracle Learning Portal (OLP). The videos are 100% free for anyone to view.

https://blogs.oracle.com/theaquarium/entry/javaone_2012_videos_now_on

From Istanbul JUG: Java Event Videos at Istambul

One goal of the CJUG is to allow developers to meet, discuss and learn from our regularly scheduled presentations. These meeting are a fantastic opportunity to connect or network with recruiters in the Chicago tech industry, if one is so inclined. Benefits of this symbiotic relationship between developers and recruiters includes career opportunities, different event hosting locations, raffles, freebies and discounts. Many years ago CJUG relied on membership fees to cover a minimal set of expenses. With anticipated growth from a large and vibrant Chicago community, CJUG is looking for sponsorship to help us create bigger and better events for the developer community, including the ability to invite guest speakers from outside of Chicago.

If you are a developer you should expect to see more benefits from future CJUG activities and the quality of our presentation events. There will be “rules of engagement” between our paying sponsors and you as a member.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor we are offering multiple levels of privileges (shared or exclusive) such as speaking or presenting briefly at a meeting, emailing the user list, hosting opportunities and other advertising or marketing opportunities through CJUG. Note that this means we are closing the “free” channels of advertising such as
chicago-java-advertise@yahoogroups.com , Jobs and Promotions on the LinkedIn group, etc. Please contact us for pricing through the http://cjug.org web site or email cjug@cjug.org .

Yeah Baby Yeah! The Camera Loves you!

We have been busy dump-diving and finding all the electronics needed to get a screencast going, and ladies and gents we have them! And while we were donning our prettiest dresses for the presentations, the reality is that we will be capturing mostly the presentation screen and audio. Well, who would want to see us wearing dresses anyways . So point your browsers to youtube.com/cjugvideos  to see our first captured screencast, with more coming (including our Feb 19 upcoming meeting! Woot!)

http://www.youtube.com/cjugvideos

Last call! Last Call! For Learning about Spring MVC, CFX, Ajax (JQuery)

Feb 19 is fast approaching! So point your browser to our meetup page (http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/101755652/) if you haven’t done so already and sign-up! You don’t want to be left out of this awesome three-part presentation. You’ll feel like Neo and the Matrix with all the content downloading happening in your brain. (We will be closing registration on that Tuesday midday. So don’t delay, register today!)

Dr Multithreading Wants YOU!

Moore’s law went sideways, so cpus are not getting faster but instead, we have more of them! To fully take advantage of all these multi-core, multi-cpu, elastic cloud environment you need to learn good multithreading techniques. Let’s get together and embrace thread together. Everyone is accepted at the Single-Threaded anonymous

http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/103649692/

Spread the Love!

February 14 just passed, but there is still a chance to spread the love. Go to our meetup group and sign-up (http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/)! We will be retiring our yahoo group mailing list in the near future and we want to make sure that you are on-board with us in Meetup! Plus, there will be polls, there will be raffles, there will be sponsors and all kinds of goodies in our Meetup site. But don’t do this by yourself, Spread the love and forward this email to all your Java (and non-java) Friends, acquaintances, heck even your boss. Do it for love!

Adopt-A-JSR coming soon!

*Ahem*. Some organization have been a little busy bee, and now is part of the Java Community Process! *Ahem* (http://jcp.org/en/participation/JUG_list). After fighting a blindfolded duel with a winged monkey for membership, your local JUG have a vote and a voice in the Future of Java! Which means that YOU have a vote an a voice in the future of Java. Survey coming soon (what should we adopt?)

Hack-a-thon a-coming

We are wheeling and dealing behind-the-scenes to get our first hack-a-thon off-the-ground! We want to know if you have experience on these and what are the things you want to see in a CJUG organized hack-a-thon (or if you want to help organizing one). Drop us a line! board@cjug.org

More Spring goodness coming in March

This one is a ‘surprise’ but March is shaping to be very busy in term of Spring presentations. Stay tuned!

Help Wanted!

Oh my oh my oh my, we need help (ok, not clinical help, but real real help)! so below is a list of available help items we need. Do you have the chops to help us out? Then please do, pretty please with sugar on top?!

See the full list here! (http://cjug.org/help-wanted/)

Artists Wanted!

Do you have an innate gift with the brush? do you Photoshop in your dreams? Want to stretch those artistic muscles? Take a challenge and help us by being the in-house artist. Anything from logos to flyer design! We need to move the Chicago Java Users Group to the 23rd Century and as such we need the looks to fit-in!

Webcast/Screencast Producer!

So you know how to pre-process and post-process a video and audio feed, and can bulk-upload them and serve them from any free/paid site. Well, we want to start recording our meetings in hi-fi 3d video and sound! Or at least we want it better than what our poorly overworked volunteers are able to do (which is not much). If you have the soul of a Producer and know how to capture a presentation and make it available, then by all means, help us out! We might even have some rudimentary hardware for you to use!

CJUG Meeting Coordinator

Hey there, are you are organizing people? keeping them on-schedule? on reserving rooms and making sure things go as smooth-as-silk? Then please be our meeting coordinator! There is a lot that goes behind-the-scenes to get presenters up and running, and with your help we can make sure that everyone is satisfied! help us out!