from Sharat Chander, Director - Java Technology Outreach:

These past 24+ months have proved momentous for Oracle's stewardship of Java.  A little over 2 years ago when Oracle completed its acquisition of Sun, a lot of community speculation arose regarding Oracle's Java commitment.  Whether the fears and concerns were legitimate or not, the only way to emphatically demonstrate Oracle's seriousness with moving Java forward was through positive action. 

In 2010, Oracle committed to putting Java back on schedule whereby large gaps between release trains would be a thing of the past.  And in 2011, that promise came true.  With the 2011 summer release of JDK 7, the Java ecosystem now had a version brought up to date.  And then in the fall of 2011, JavaFX 2.0 righted the JavaFX ship making rich internet applications a reality.

Similar progress between Oracle and the Java community continues to blossom.  New-found relationship investments between Oracle and Java User Groups are taking root.  Greater participation and content execution by the Java community in JavaOne is steadily increasing.  The road ahead is lit with bright lights and opportunities.

And now there's more good news to share.  As of April 2nd, two recognized JavaFX technology luminaries and "rock stars" speakers from the Java community are joining Oracle on a new journey. We're proud to have both Jim Weaver and Stephen Chin joining Oracle's Java Evangelist Team.  You'll start to see them involved in many community facing activities where their JavaFX expertise and passion will shine.  Stay tuned!

Welcome @JavaFXpert and @SteveonJava !