Use Adobe’s Photoshop FREE aka Photoshop Express
For those that would try Adobe’s Photoshop but may be barred from doing so due to the price tag that can be anwhere from say $100 to $600, Adobe has now joined the masses and is offering a totally free option of it’s popular imaging software, Photoshop.
Adobe is calling it “Photoshop Express“.
Photoshop Express is entirely Web-based. It can be used with any type of browser, computer, and operating system.
Adobe says providing Photoshop Express for free is part marketing and part a strategy to create up-sell opportunities. Adobe hopes some customers will move from it to boxed software like its $99 Photoshop Elements or to a subscription-based version of Photoshop Express that’s in the works.
Ron Glaz, a research analyst at IDC, stated “It’s one of those things, if you can’t beat them, join them. If they don’t join them, the long run could be really painful.”
A free version of Photoshop is long overdue IMO; we’ve long had several image based free software options, such as the storage solution Shutterfly Inc., photo-editing service Picnik, and the image-sharing site Photobucket Inc.
Then there is:
Better late than never?
Photoshop Express is available in Beta, and Adobe encourages our feedback on how to improve it. What we like, what we despise, what’s missing, what puts us to sleep. Adobe has opened a spot to sound off on Facebook, their Facebook page is here. Adobe seems to have an affinity with Facebook, for instance there is also the ability to use Photoshop Express to edit already posted Facebook pictures without leaving the web.
Photoshop Express offers 2GB of space for free image storage. Before joining and uploading your own images, you can take a ‘test drive’, and use images made available by Adobe to tinker with. On the left-hand side of the test drive screen there is a link to three more sites; Photobucket, Picasa, and of course, Facebook.
Notice in the top right hand corner is a little blue square; clicking on this little box provides the ability to switch from running Photoshop Express full-screen, or inside your web browser window.
Images can be viewed in a Table View, which includes the date the photo was taken, posted, modified, and bits of other image data. There is also the option of viewing images as a grid, or a single photo.
How Adobe’s Photoshop Express will stack up to our other free options already available is yet to be seen. Providing a free version of software already a verb among the tech-savvy is at least a step in the right direction.
If you’ve tried Photoshop Express or know others that have, what do you think? How does it compare to the other free image software solutions already available, and… how does it compare to the pay-for version of Photoshop?
I will definitely pass this on to the wife - she uses photoshop daily.
Me, I’m a mug and use Paintshop Pro.
It is about time they got their act together - we were thinking of changing to something as good but far cheaper and were in the market for it.
Thanks for posting this!
diss, you da bomb! This is timely for me as I was about to bite the wallet and make the purchase. I won’t be able to compare the products but I will weigh in on “Express”. Thank you and happy travels!
I’m pretty excited too, I hope
. How it compares to the pay-for version will be interesting, I’m looking forward to seeing comparisons and points-of-view on the topic. I do hope they decide to provide many options on this free version; they’re not finished on building it so we’ll see!
An issue came up in a tech blog last week about how their terms of use basically say they are free to use any images you create without having to inform you or compensate you. Supposedly they are going to fix that. As with everything: Read the fine print.
I’ll stick with Paint Shop Pro 9. It does everything I need.
I read about that too abbydon, Adobe and a few others are scrambling right now due to their TOS. People are actually reading them now it seems! and they’re none too happy.