Next week I’ll be in Las Vegas at the Photoshop World Western Conference. It’s a first for me and I’m looking forward to expanding my understanding of Photoshop, Lightroom and geeky eccentricities involving imagery.

I always enjoy watching the various instructors, even if they are explaining something I might already know. Often the way they apply a filter, layer effects or even a keyboard shortcut will make it worthwhile. I don’t know how many times over the years I’ve seen a demo for something that was pretty useless, but the techniques or approach got me thinking of a better way to use the software. If you didn’t already know, Photoshop World is hosted by our friends at NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and Kelby whose instructors will be there for the class sessions and workshops. If you can’t make it to PhotoShop World, I can make an honest (and unsolicited) recommendation for their Photoshop and Lightroom one-day classes, available around the country. I like them as a refresher to all the GUI and feature changes Adobe likes to include with each revision.

Now that I plugged my trip to Las Vegas, a few interesting items caught my eye this week. There have been some good articles regarding ownership this week. An article on ‘take downs' was interesting and as an interesting aside on Techdirt.com, I loved someone attempting to claim a trademark on the word "frugalista" long after it’s been in use. Yeah, I hadn’t heard of it before either. Our litigious society can make for some interesting reading.

I’m excited about all the smartphone operating systems buzz this week. Microsoft Windows 6.5 for mobile is officially out on October 6th. Motorola’s first Android phone looks pretty sweet. I think I want a data plan that allows me to trade in and upgrade to a new phone every 3 months, such cool toys!
Anyway, I’ll have a few blogs about Photoshop World coming soon. Say "hi" if you see me there!