Bob Brewin, Sun's chief tool developer, is interviewed on their Java
site.
(http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Interviews/brewin_qa.html)
Brewin talks about collaboration and enhanced productivity using Java
Studio and NetBeans as "truly unique". First, is it as unique as he
argues? And second, does anyone have experience working collaboratively
with these tools that confirms or disconfirms this claim?

He also says, rather provocatively, "We are rapidly approaching the
point -- if we are not there already -- where applications are too
complex for a classic IDE, much less the developer, to comprehend. So
the future lies in simplifying the task of working on the individual
application components, 'knitting' those components together into a
working system, and then debugging, monitoring, and maintaining them
through their life-cycle."

I suspect that this is where we are headed. But is what he is saying
overblown and exaggerated? Or is he on the mark?

And how to separate out the hype in these matters?