Everybody who’s anybody in the technology industry in Los Angeles County was attending Technology Week, a celebration of the region’s world-class achievements and its exciting prospects. In events held throughout the county, attendees watched, learned, networked, and were motivated to explore new and expanded uses of technology in diverse arenas.

Bruce Chizen, CEO of Adobe Systems, was the engaging keynote speaker at the kickoff luncheon at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. Mr. Chizen encouraged entrepreneurs to innovate as the best way to compete and prosper in the technology business. He also described how a supportive corporate culture at Adobe, regularly cited as one of the best places to work in America, has kept the company competitive.

“Media and Technology,” a conference sponsored by The Los Angeles Times, featured Times writers and media company executives discussing how young people use media and the opportunities and threats these changes pose for the future.

Hundreds of spectators turned out at the Pasadena Angels “Marketing Technology Forum” and the Tech Coast Angels “Fast Pitch” competition, eager to watch and learn as entrepreneurs tested their pitching skills against panels of veteran investors. The Fast Pitch event was preceded by a panel of previous winners who shared their stories of how angel investment had helped them to create successful technology businesses.

This year was the premiere of the International Spotlight event, which featured technology from booming Western Australia. Attendees sampled that region’s finest wines while learning about the resources and opportunities for promoting ventures between entrepreneurs from Australia and Los Angeles County.

The University of Southern California presented “The Changing Face of the Media Business:  A Conversation with New Media Pioneers” including Josh Berman, co-founder and COO of MySpace.

Anti-piracy experts from the Walt Disney Company, Thompson LLC? And the Motion Picture Association of America presented a fascinating review of how quickly pirated films can be distributed around the world via the Internet. They also discussed developments in anti-piracy technology and how a successful intelligence effort is helping to curb this threat to the entertainment industry world-wide.

More information is available at www.latechweek.com.