I was at JavaOne 2004 last week, with 14,000 other geeks, prostating my faculties to the glorious riches of Java technologies and basking in the abundance of the mysterious acronyms showering upon us at the inspirational technical sessions that Archangel Sun had arranged for our enlightenment. It was the kind of Heaven that is worthy of my inner geek when he logs out for good.

I am ashamed to admit that my faith was less than strong as I waited for the inaugural keynote sermon. It was not until Sun COO Jonathan Schwartz revealed the Java gospel that I began to see the light. Java is ubiquitous, he proclaimed. I first thought it strange that ubiquity made me want to look for Windows and I wondered why the gigantic hall had none. I know now that it was Lucifer sending my mind on evil tangents. Then came the revelation that saved my faith: Teenagers in Madagascar were paying as little as three dollars apiece for Java-based ringtones on their cellphones.

Madagascar! Yes, the same one where 75% of the population lives on less than a dollar a day and 16% of the children in areas devastated by recent cyclones are malnourished.

The miracle of Java has delivered these people from their suffering and elevated their existence to one that can benefit from its technological promise! I BELIEVE!

--aslam

12:49:24 AM