• See Yahoo! Finance Press Release (January 5, 2004)
• Read this Article in .PDF Format
• Read Scott McNealy's 2004 Predictions
• Read the Exclusive Alfred Chuang Interview
• Read JDJ's 2004 Predictions by i-Technology Leaders Feature Story

 "We asked other tech leaders for their opinions for this month's cover story. Larry Ellison declined to comment at this time, perhaps until a decision is reached from the Department of Justice on the PeopleSoft deal. We'll check back with Oracle and Ellison in the future for an exclusive story. An interview with Ed Zander, discussing his recent appointment to the CEO post of Motorola, would also make a good read. These are some of the topics we'll be exploring for our upcoming issues."

With this January issue, JDJ is entering its ninth successful year of publication, and we have achieved this success by serving the most influential readers - like yourself - around the globe.

Over the past eight years, JDJ has become the single most popular i-technology magazine in the world, its circulation exceeding all other Internet/information technology developer magazines published anywhere. In fact, its only competition may be other SYS-CON titles, such as LinuxWorld Magazine, Web Services Journal, .NET Developer's Journal, and MX Developer's Journal. Again, the greatest reason for our success is you, and your daily support and feedback.

In this issue, you'll find a great collection of articles and columns. We have several new editorial offerings (as you may have noted from our redesigned cover). Long-time JDJ editor Alan Williamson has an exclusive interview with the founder and CEO of BEA Systems, Alfred Chuang, which you'll find very interesting. One of the photos of Chuang that accompanies this interview was taken during 2002's BEA User Conference in San Diego, as he was entering the stage to deliver his speech. I was present at that conference and it was a memorable moment. I wonder if Alfred and another famous biker, ex-IBM WebSphere chief Jocelyne Attal, attend the same "American Chopper" shows...

Alfred Chuang, CEO of BEA

Jeremy Geelan's compilation of 2004 predictions from i-technology experts is another exclusive we wanted to share with you. Among the names you'll see in this story is Mitchell Kertzman, whose connection with SYS-CON goes way back. When we announced our first technology magazine, PowerBuilder Developer's Journal, in 1994 on CompuServe forums, we received instant and overwhelming interest from the community. I remember one e-mail from Boston offering assistance. When I replied to it and asked who he was and how he could help us (remember the old CompuServe numeric e-mail addresses?), his response was, "My name is Mitchell Kertzman and I'm the CEO of Powersoft. How can we help you with the magazine?" You could say SYS-CON was born with that e-mail.

Jocelyne Attal, ex-IBM WebSphere Chief

We asked other tech leaders for their opinions for this month's cover story. Larry Ellison declined to comment at this time, perhaps until a decision is reached from the Department of Justice on the PeopleSoft deal. We'll check back with Oracle and Ellison in the future for an exclusive story. An interview with Ed Zander, discussing his recent appointment to the CEO post of Motorola, would also make a good read. These are some of the topics we'll be exploring for our upcoming issues.

Mitchell Kertzman, CEO of Powersoft, reading the premier issue of PBDJ in 1994
(Photo Copyright SYS-CON Media)

I recently met Scott McNealy at last year's Comdex show in Las Vegas. You may be thinking, "Isn't it a little late for a first time meeting, after eight years of publishing JDJ :-)?" Well, maybe, but he was kind enough to take the time to answer our questions days before this issue went to press and we thank him for that. And we have been working very closely with a number of Sun executives over the past eight years, including Alan Baratz, George Paolini, and James Gosling. I will never forget Gosling's opening keynote at our Web Services Edge Conference in New York City, two weeks after 9/11. His first words were, "My keynote appearance here was originally scheduled as part of a sequence of events in places as far away as Vienna and Stockholm. This is the only one that was not cancelled." It was truly a historical event and a message from New York to the world.

For the past 10 years, we have been working hard to bring you the best magazines in the industry, and you will see a number of new offerings from SYS-CON in 2004. Happy and healthy New Year wishes!

• Sun's Gosling: "Our Future is NetBeans"