To install the plugins for Netbeans, add a plugin source: "http://first.wpi.edu/FRC/java/netbeans/update/updates.xml" and install all the "FRC plugins". For more instructions, read
http://first.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/Firs...va_for_FRC.pdf
We haven't started with Java yet this year (still brainstorming), but last year it didn't give us any problem at all. We switched from LabView to Java because we couldn't deal with the limitations of Labview, and found Java to be much easier to manage and debug.
I can't say it was glitch free, but there really wasn't a lot of issues that weren't our fault.
There are a lot of sample projects, including the simple project, the one that gives you everything you need, and the one that does vision.