Brian Fox gave a presentation on Maven this month at the OrlandoJUG.



Maven has matured into a more user friendly tool, according to Brian. His company, Sonatype, supports Maven in the commercial world. They've published books as well.



I must admit, although the talk was informative, I didn't walk away feeling like I could sit down and start using Maven based on what I learned. This was an overview of Maven's features, not a hands on workshop.

I will say, however, that Maven has wide acceptance as a powerful, open source tool to help in building projects that use multiple components. Last time I used it, I had a very difficult time getting it configured. It just wasn't user friendly. I've learned over the years now that it's often not me, but fragile tools and documentation that cause failures under time contraints.

Yucch!

Well, now we have a set of books on Maven and Sonatype's support to help us along.

I'm ready to give it another shot when the occasion arises.

After the meeting, we chatted about cellphones. David Harris showed us his new Android phone. A spirited conversation ensued. A few people have commented that Java folk should show more discernment in their choice of cellphone, namely iPhones. We talked about iPhone being a closed box. How Apple does everything many folks hate about Microsoft but is forgiven because...because they have "good products". Provocative? You bet. That assertion was countered with a comment that "there's nothing wrong with making money" referring to the two camps that sometimes don't see eye to eye: open source and commercial apps.

We had some good pizza, cold drinks and stimulating conversation. Like the sound of it? Come on out to next month's OrlandoJUG, or GatorJUG...or your local user group meeting. We had folks from local software firms I had never heard of, who have been in town as long as I have. What's cool about that? Well, it's not just a hobby! We like work. Work is good. The trick is to find 1) work that's 2) interesting and 3) pays a fair wage. Who ya gonna call? I prefer to throw the party rather than wait around to be invited. You, too can be the master of your own destiny. Get up, get out and meet some folks. Share what you know and learn some stuff while filling your belly with good food and have a good time!