Thanks guys!
I find Netbean's in-built GUI builder a good way to do Swing. Doesn't teach me HOW to actually use Swing, but is useful for getting stuff done, which is what matters at the moment. (Like using Dreamweaver to build a website instead of notepad.)
So far, I've written some code based on some parts of the BigBrother project, namely the parts I think I understand. (Which is AxisCamera, parts of AxisCameraProcessor). Everything is compilable and debug-ready and I'll see what happens when I get to the shop tomorrow afternoon.
And if it works, we'll be sharing our dashboard code so everyone can use it.