The maker of the popular photo-editing software Photoshop today launched a basic version available for free online.
San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe Systems Inc. says it hopes to boost its name recognition among a new generation of consumers who edit, store and share photos online.
While Photoshop is designed for trained professionals, Adobe says Photoshop Express, which it launched in a ”beta” test version, is easier to learn. User comments will be taken into account for future upgrades.
Photoshop Express will be completely Web-based so consumers can use it with any type of computer, operating system and browser. And, once they register, users can get to their accounts from different computers.
Many kinds of software are available for use online in a trend known as ”software as a service,” or ”cloud computing.” The earliest were e-mail programs, but they now include services to create and manage content and even whole operating systems. And they don’t require time-consuming upgrades because they’re maintained by the service provider.
Google Inc. provides a host of such services, as do Microsoft Corp. and others.
”This is the battlefield where Adobe and Microsoft and Google are going to fight some pretty big battles,” Maher said.
Adobe says providing Photoshop Express for free is part marketing and part a strategy to create up-sell opportunities. It hopes some customers will move from it to boxed software like its $99 Photoshop Elements or to a subscription-based version of Express that’s in the works.
source:tech2