Technology

The longstanding leader in document sharing software is now making it easier to enhance and share your photos online.  Adobe’s Photoshop Express offers a simplified version of the industry standard desktop publishing (DTP) package, Photoshop, for web-based image management.  “Photoshop Express is a convenient, single destination where you can store, edit and share photos whether you’re at home, school or on the road,” says Doug Mack, vice president of Consumer and Hosted Solutions at Adobe. Utilizing Web 2.0 functionality, Photoshop Express requires no software installation and will operate inside any browser equipped with Adobe Flash.  For a market segment that has plenty of photos but no need for the advanced features of a full-blown DTP package, Photoshop Express is a great tool.  Did I mention it’s free?

Photoshop Express has some wonderful features.  With the ability to upload pictures directly from your computer or though a link to your Facebook, Photobucket, Picasa, or Flickr accounts, Photoshop Express is designed with the web-based image user in mind.  Getting rid of typical image issues like red-eye, or “healing” blemishes on a subject’s skin are included.  Some extra features that one wouldn’t expect from a free product, like in-depth exposure, color, and sharpness tools combine with fun and funky Distort and Sketch tools to help users create unique images. 

Photoshop Express also offers two gigabytes worth of storage area for uploaded images, slide shows, and picture albums.  For those who become addicted, there is an Eye-fi feature.  As Adobe’s Photoshop Express website states, “Ditch those cables because Photoshop Express is now connected with Eye-fi, which lets you wirelessly upload photos from your camera.  Just pop your Eye-fi card in your camera, set up your account, and that’s it — your pictures automagically (sic) upload to your My Photos area.”  That’s not to say that Photoshop Express doesn’t have a few issues that need to be “touched-up”.

As Photoshop Express is still in a beta release mode, it is expected that not everything is perfect.  Most prominent was an initial issue with copyright usage of uploaded images.  At its release in April, Photoshop Express’ end user license agreement stated that all user images could be reproduced by the Adobe for its own use within reason.  This has since been changed to only images stored in the public area and most decidedly not in the hidden or private folders.  Also, since the tool is targeted towards manipulating images on the web, for the web, by web browsers, there is no functionality built in to export images to a printer.  Finally, uploaded images from 12 megapixel cameras and higher are not supported.  That said, Photoshop Express still does everything you would hope for in an image manipulation package plus a little extra.  ZDnet would agree, as its review gave Photoshop Express a 7.3 out of 10 on its Editor’s Choice scale.

Adobe continues to explore Web 2.0 capabilities and develop Rich Internet Applications (RIA).  With Photoshop Express, Adobe hopes to gain a new user base with its free program.  By exposing people to the controls within Photoshop Express, Adobe builds a level of user familiarity that will make transitioning to other packages like C3, Lightroom and Elements easy on the learning curve, if not the wallet.  Look for other companies to start utilizing RIAs as gateway programs.  In the meantime, Adobe has given millions of end users a great reason to say “Cheeeeeeeeeeese!”

By Alicen Hogan