Flash CS4 Professional for InDesign Users hosted by Chris Converse
Building Desktop Applications with Dreamweaver CS4 and Adobe AIR hosted by Justin Nemeth
Common Mistakes Print Designers Make on the Web hosted by Stephanie Sullivan
Fireworks Mock-Up Lab hosted by Jim Babbage
It was a pretty quiet day, overall. There were no group programs and everyone seemed fairly subdued. I know that by the end of the day, though I had some great sessions today, I was ready to get out of the lab and back into San Francisco explorations.
David and I indulged with dinner at John’s Grill — I had red snapper. It was delicious!
Then we sort of wandered around aimlessly before we met up with other coworkers (who were in town for a different conference) at an irish pub near the Embarcadero Center. We had a few more drinks at the hotel they were staying at, and met a few other coworkers who had arrived late.
Today’s general session was hosted by Adobe’s Tim Buntel and Ben Forta. I unfortunately didn’t grab any video, but it was also very clever. They acted out a scenario that would involve a design team, a development team, and a deployment team to create one product with a seamless workflow. It was great to see all of the various Adobe Products (InDesign, Photoshop, Flash, ColdFusion, etc.) working together and across various teams set up on the stage.
Today’s sessions and labs were:
Getting Started with ActionScript 3.0 hosted by Lou Barber
Designing and Building Web Experiences in Flash CS4 Professional hosted by Lee Brimelow
Flash CS4 Professional: Deep Dive with the Product Manager hosted by Richard Galvan
At the end of the day, Adobe hosted a customer appreciation event at the California Academy of Sciences and the de Young Museum of Art — “Where Art Meets Science.” It was such an awesome night! We only had three hours to see and do everything, but David and I managed to squeeze nearly everything in… Here’s some of what we saw (links to photos):
Today was the first day of Adobe MAX, and I was at the conference from about 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The opening reception featured a keynote by Kevin Lynch, Chief Technical Officer for Adobe. Walking into the auditorium (that was big enough for the 5,000+ attendees) was absolutely stunning. This doesn’t do it justice, but here is a video of the stage and the beautiful presentation that kept us entertained as we were seated:
After that I attended the following sessions and labs:
Tips, Techniques, and Secrets: Hidden Gems in Illustrator and Photoshop hosted by Terry White and Colin Smith
Maximizing Your Web Workflow hosted by Joe Lowery
Building CSS-Based Websites with Dreamweaver CS4 hosted by Kristin Long
At the end of the day, dinner and entertainment was served for all of the attendees. It was primarily an opportunity to talk with the sponsoring vendors and learn about their products. My coworker, David, and I wandered around and talked with some of the vendors, visited the Adobe MAX Photo Booth, and drank for free until it was taken away.
Afterwards, I was hungry for real food, so David and I visited The View Lounge: the 39th floor of the Marriott (where the MAX labs were being held) for an incredible 360° view of San Francisco. (Seen here, here, here, and here.)
It was a great day — and I’m ready for more tomorrow!
Usually I am very relaxed and go-with-the-flow on vacations, but I also like having plans and knowing what I’m doing. Next month (just two days after my 27th birthday) I’ll be spending a week in San Francisco, and here is my rough itinerary (with a lot of time left for all of those fun, unplanned activities).
Saturday, November 15
Depart Minneapolis and arrive in San Francisco around noon. Find hotel, get situated, jump on the bed in my first solo hotel room ever. This is very exciting for me. I’m staying at the King George until Thursday.
Sunday
Find the Aquarium of the Bay and spend many hours oohing and ahhing at fish. Then probably eat seafood for dinner. (Fish are fascinating and delicious!)
Monday – Wednesday
The ultimate purpose of my trip: attending Adobe MAX.
Thursday
Switch hotels to Club Quarters. Take a ferry ride and visit Alcatraz. I need to make a reservation still, but I’m hoping for an evening tour because apparently it’s creepier. But hopefully not too creepy…
Friday
Renting a car to visit the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. While I have the car I’ll also find some Painted Ladies and the Full House house. Maybe I’ll drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, too.
Saturday, November 22
Leave my heart in San Francisco and get back home to my kitties in Minneapolis.
Have you been to San Francisco? Anything else that I must see? Any awesome restaurants you can recommend? Send ‘em my way!
