Hello All!

I plan on attending the Sarasota JUG 6/22 but until then...

I have 25 years in IT and a lot of the MS languages, technology, etc.  After having the rug pulled on a few languages and technologies by MS I want to try and wean off of MS stuff.  I have a long programming background so I have a lot of the concepts figured out.  My challenge is setting up a "real" Development Environment (Dev Envi) out of the box.  The best IDE to use and all the "little things" so I can get hit the ground running.

Any inside pointers on an IDE, type and versions of Java (JEE, etc) so I can start experimenting with code "fast" will be very much appreciated.  It may sound trivial to many of you but for me just getting the simple stuff ironed out first and quickly is paramount.  I already know advanced OOP, data handling, stateless/state-full environments, and other concepts.  I just need to hit the desk organized.

I guess I'd prefer the Enterprise stuff.  I love networks, going mobile and tying it all together (transparency).  I am not wild about being a script kiddie and doing web pages.  My background is Database, GUI, networks, servers and TCP/UDP programming (Berkeley sockets, Winsock).  I love under the hood nuts and bolts work.

Any pointers on how to get setup quickly so I can be productive fast will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Thomas