Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Heinz Kabutz from the Island of Crete in Greece. Heinz has a PhD in Computer Science, publishes the The JavaSpecialists' Newsletter, and runs the JCrete Unconference. Heinz is also a Java Champion and a teacher, and he cares deeply about the technology and the community. Recently, Heinz was recognized for his Lifetime Achievement by Sharat Chander from Oracle Java Developer Relations. “I was on cloud nine! I was so honored,” Heinz said.

In this conversation Heinz previews some JEPs in the upcoming Java 25 release, he comments on the value of the 6-month Java release cycle, he outlines how he’s contributed code to OpenJDK (and how others can too!), he offers some detailed advice to students getting involved in software development for the first time, and he talks at length about the opportunities for developers who participate at the JCrete Unconference. “I have seen people whose entire careers got revolutionized just by coming to JCrete once. It’s really life changing!”

Heinz Kabutz https://x.com/heinzkabutz https://www.javaspecialists.eu/ https://www.jcrete.org/ https://x.com/heinzkabutz/status/1920855230910005540

OpenJDK https://openjdk.org/

Duke's Corner Java Podcast https://dukescorner.libsyn.com

Jim Grisanzio https://x.com/jimgris https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimgris/