Scriptplayground Network

Scary enough its that time of year again where I pack my bags for Las Vegas to meet up with friends and watch technology demos on new and upcoming technology at PhotoshopWorld West.

As usual I will post a recap once I return, but hopefully this trip I can post nightly or from my phone as I am learning about different things. Maybe even shoot some video and upload that as well. I know one thing I am looking forward to is the annual PhotoshopCafe photo walk with some of the most amazing people in the photography world.

If you will be at the show take a moment to stop by the PhotoshopCafe Booth and say hi, we have roughly 11 new titles covering various topics and i’m sure you will have a blast with us. The booth will even have some speakers where you can learn a thing or two live, on the floor.

I’m sure you have read them all today and probably have more to go, but here is mine. A look back on 2009 which for the most part was a great year.

It started off with a bang, lots of amazing projects, travel planned and overall couldn’t ask for more. For the first part of the year I stayed home and worked but come April I was off to Flash in the Can in Toronto for probably the most exciting conference I had ever attended.

Fast forward a few more months and I was in Orlando meeting up with my family and friends, even met a friend all the way from Singapore which was a great time. Sadly 2 days later I was locked away in bed with the flu that I caught on the flight down so this vacation was cut short quickly. However soon after I was back home it was on the road again (literally a road trip) to Owosso Michigan for the 2009 Train Festival. The bonus of this trip was being able to ride on the Morning Daylight, the most elegant steam engine that is still operating (for show) to this day.

Then we come to September or what I call the most extended vacation of my life. I first flew over to Colorado to stay with some good friends and transform into a hiking, exotic-food-eating, shooting redneck and it was a blast. Then it was off to Las Vegas for Photoshopworld were I got to meet up with much of the PhotoshopCafe family. These are guys I have worked alongside for years but only now got to meet. To say it was a great time is an extreme understatement.

The last trip of the year was back to Florida for a pre-Christmas celebration with Disney, friends and family. I got to see the Christmas party at Magic Kingdom and visit pretty much every Disney park in that week. Once I got back home I continued the Disney fun and went to Disney on Ice.

Even the last day of 2009 was amazing. I trekked into Boston to see Dane Cook perform at the TD Garden and it was awesome. The travel an volume of people in the city for First Night couldn’t put a damper on the show and i’m glad I got to go.

Okay so that is pretty much a travel recap of 2009, but I did actually work too. This year had its ups/downs with that. I got to work on a few learning applications for schools, some forensic e-learning applications and even a drivers ed application that is used by huge companies to train their employees. I also launched websites for a bar in New York, a social networking site, a few forum rebuilds and even some work for an industry leading wedding book company. A special thanks to my freelance friends, Philip (PNeal) and Ryan (Spooky) for their amazing work during some of these projects.

So there you have it, 2009 in a few paragraphs. I am anxiously awaiting 2010 and all it has to offer. Feel free to comment or ask questions about these projects and travels and i’ll answer anything I am able to.

See you next year (tomorrow).

That’s right, Flash on Tap is only 2 days away. This is going to be an intense conference whether you like beer, Flash or beer and Flash. I have gotten the chance to see some of the content that will be presented here and its going to be amazing.

Along with the standard conference I have also registered for Keith Peters iPhone workshop, which will be the first time I will have worked with any form of iPhone development. I am excited to see what I learn, but more importantly what sort of ideas it kick starts. My reasons for learning iPhone development is purely for fun at the moment and I already have 4 app concepts running around in my mind and on paper.

So, if you are in town and going or just in town (Boston) let me know.

Note: Due to the beer, you must be 21 to register/attend.

Registration / Conference Information / The Ning Community

Follow @flashontap on Twitter
Follow @mkeefe (me) on Twitter

Registration ends in a few days, so don’t wait. See you there!

Thanks to the Flash and Flex Developer Magazine I was able to attend FITC Toronto last week. This was the first time I attended this conference and can without a doubt say I will be going back next year. The sessions are all located close to each other so you can move around and truly create a custom experience, allowing you to learn the most.

Once the sessions are done for the day most attendees of other conferences hang out in small packs, but not at FITC. Every night there is a hosted party at a different venue where you get to meet all the attendees, drink and overall have a great time.

The number of cool people I met is quite long, I have a stack of business cards, phone numbers and all sorts of other material, but there is a small group of people that I must “shout out to”.

That list would be: Chris Allen, Stacey (bitchwhocodes), Jared Ficklin, Adam Bell, Dr. Woohoo, Richard Galvan, R Blank, Philip Kerman, Joanna, Marion, Catherine, Jonathon, Marcey and Samuel Agesilas.

Going back to the conference experience I posted a couple of cell phone photos over on my Flickr photo stream and a video of the Fire installation that Jared Ficklin had at the Mediatemple party.

Next Flash conference on the horizon.. Flash on Tap here in Boston at the end of this month!

For those that don’t know I attended PhotoshopWorld East last week which was here in Boston. Having the conference on the East coast was a bit of a change for most as its still pretty chilly during the early spring months and excluding Saturday that was pretty obvious.

The Day Before

I arrived in Boston on Tuesday (the day before the conference) to ensure I wouldn’t miss out on any of the conference. This day consisted of travel to the convention and hanging out with people at Bukowskis before it was time to get some rest.

The First Day - Keynote

The keynote seems to be the place were new things are announced. This year was no exception, Wacom introduced the Intuos4 line of tablets which feature customizable oLED screens to label the tools, double the points and a larger tilt angle, to name a few things.

Wacom Intuos4

For a detailed overview, check out the review from PhotoshopCafe. Adobe also announced a Photoshop Marketplace, which will be available this summer.

One thing I can’t really comment on is the majority of classes at PhotoshopWorld overall as I was working the PhotoshopCafe booth and spent all day Wednesday in an Adobe developer series of sessions that focused on Flash panels. These sessions didn’t have that many attendees in them, which offered a more one-on-one format allowing everyone to get their questions answered. I gathered some awesome inspiration and will be writing more articles about Flash panels for Scriptplayground very soon.

The first full day wrapped up with the PhotoshopWorld Party where NAPP provided food, entertainment and good people for a night of fun. If you ever get the chance to attend a PhotoshopWorld, I highly recommend making a trip to the after-party, its a different dynamic from the day, but very fun.

Day Two - Classes, Indian food and Gridiron Software

The second day consisted of classes for most, but me working from the hotel since the expo hall didn’t open until 1:00 pm. The second day, once the expo hall is opened tends to be a busier day because the general public is able to come by. I actually prefer this as the public likes to talk more, enjoys learning about your product and isn’t trying to rush around to various classes.

While at the booth I attempted to shoot some live video, but had to quit early because the wireless connection in the convention is not meant to stream video.. although in their defense, it was free.

Once the show was over for the day we (the PhotoshopCafe crew) ventured out into the city of Boston for some really good Indian food, which I actually had never had before.. but enjoyed it enough that I want more now. After dinner there was a private gathering hosted by the fine people of Gridiron Software, the makers of Flow. I always enjoy these events because you are with a group of familiar faces but still get the chance to meet new ones too.

The night ended with a group of geeks ordering pizza at 3 am (because Boston closes early) and eating it while playing with a Microsoft Surface table in the Sheraton lobby. While this has nothing to do with PhotoshopWorld it was quite fun.. or so you probably noticed if you follow me on twitter.

Day Three - Final Day

The final day starts at 9 am just like the first, which I think is pretty evil considering the fact they know we will all be out late. Maybe not 3 am late, but late either way. However the show must go on and this day seemed to be relatively slow overall until about 12:05 when classes must have let out because the expo hall was packed tight.

The day wrapped up about 1:20 when all the vendors begin tearing down their booths and pack everything up, putting another PhotoshopWorld in the past. Living just outside Boston I (along with a friend that stayed the weekend) were able to hop on a train and was back home in about an hour.. something I prefer much more than a 5 hour flight.. like when I attend PhotoshopWorld West.

Wrap up

So, there you have it.. a rundown of PhotoshopWorld day-by-day. Hopefully this gives you an idea of what you’re missing if you don’t attend and may even fire you up to attend an upcoming show, like Vegas this October for instance. If you’re gonna be at the show, be sure to look for me at the PhotoshopCafe booth or just msg me before you leave and i’ll let you know where to find me.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hope you found it useful or at least fun to read.