[TriLUG] Adobe Photoshop going online

[Douglas A. Whitfield]

Big news for desktop Linux???  Emphasis added if you're not reading in plain
text. :)

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*Associated Press*
March 27, 2008; Page B7
SAN FRANCISCO -- The maker of the popular photo-editing software Photoshop
on Thursday 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.
*
Web-based software is increasingly popular, and Adobe knows it's got to get
on that train, said Kathleen Maher, an analyst at Jon Peddie Research.

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," Ms. Maher said.

Photoshop enters the online photo-management arena many years after such
services first appeared. Some companies have already made a big name for
themselves, like 9-year-old storage solution Shutterfly Inc., photo-editing
service Picnik or image-sharing site Photobucket Inc.

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.

Ron Glaz, a research analyst at IDC, says the move was necessary for Adobe
to keep pace. Users are less likely to switch to a software they aren't
familiar with, he said.

"They have a whole market that they are missing out on, and they need to
make sure that the market is aware there is a Photoshop solution for them.
As that market grows and becomes more sophisticated, hopefully it will
generate money," Mr. Glaz said.

"It's one of those things, if you can't beat them, join them," Mr. Glaz
said. "If they don't join them, the long run could be really painful."

-- 
Douglas A. Whitfield

UNC SILS, May 2008
Co-Founder Carolina Open Source Initiative
http://www.ibiblio.org/cosi
cell: 919-360-0306