I've been waiting all conference to see something that can be exciting about the future of Java itself, not just for individual subparts of the Java community. So now I've found something. Apache is starting a serious project to create an open source implementation of the Java VM. Folks have tried this occasionally, but it usually dies quickly because it's a mess o' work, and only gets to be more so over time. But Apache has a track record, and a serious shot from their side has a good chance of success. The project is named “Harmony”. Check it out.