Train yourself

I recommend downloading these free handouts on design from SND. There's 17 worksheets available for what they are calling a limited time. So get them while the getting is good here.

Free Photoshop?

Adobe launched Photoshop Express a free online version of Photoshop.

It comes with 2 GB of space to upload and share you photos, kind of like Flickr and Photobucket. And a free version of the program you can use online with Adobe Flash Player 9.

I saw this and though: Oh crap! Why did I buy the $700+ version last fall when I invested in the Creative Suite?

But then I took the Test Drive.

It's great for someone who wants to brush up the family digitals before printing them on a home photo printer or add some cheezy filter to their MySpace default ... but it is clearly not a designer's tool. It has options such as "sharpen image" in which you can select from about six values of sharpness. Kind of you run-of-the-mill photo touch-up program. But it will give Grandpa a free way to crop and rotate and share the renunion pics.