Adobe Puts Free Photoshop Online

Amit Agarwal writes "Adobe today launched a basic version of Adobe Photoshop available for free online. Photoshop Express will be completely Web-based so consumers can use it with any type of computer, operating system and browser. According to Yahoo! News, 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."

Comments

Already Free

[Frosty Piss]

I thought Photoshop was already free. Why would I want a Web-based version?

Re:Already Free

[chexy]

If your on a windows system why not use Paint.net http://www.getpaint.net/

Re:Already Free

[Anonymous Coward]

Not a flame, but it is the dealbreaker he is talking about when it comes to GIMP vs Photoshop: GIMP's inability to do CMYK or something along those lines. So it is not professional grade (I may be simplifying it), not something you can turn in to a professional printing company, but for the hobbyist and/or FOSS fan, it's enough.

It's cropped up often enough in these type of GIMP vs Photoshop stories.

Re:Already Free

[i_liek_turtles]

Actually, for photos I use emacs.

Re:Already Free

[wellmington]

Probably a flame, but I'll bite.
What specifically can you do in Photoshop that I can't do in Gimp? Its probably just a matter of what you're used to. I grew up on gimp. If you stuck me in front of a Photoshop rig, there is very little chance that I would be able to do ANYTHING with it. CMYK, Pantone in particular but mostly it's down to the horrible interface that GIMP comes with. Gimp is basically a programmers idea of how a creative tool should look.

Re:Already Free

[g00nsquad]

This has been repeated ad nauseum, every time a GIMP or Photoshop article has found its way to slashdot.

• 16 bit images. Extremely important for preserving dynamic range in an image when adjusting contrast and colour saturation.
• Adjustment Layers. Very, very useful for non-destructive contrast and colour adjustments.

There are probably more but they are the most outstanding in my mind. In short, GIMP is useful for most web and electronic imagery, but less than adequate for print - especially saleable print. As far as other OSS products are concerned - I think Krita supports 16 bit images but last time I tried it, it was still a little flakey. Cinepaint supports 16 bit images and HDR, but have you ever tried to use it? Paint.net is pretty awesome but a little unstable as well, and though it's free I am not too sure about its code's status. I quite like Inkscape though.

Re:Already Free

[Ford Prefect]

Oh and GIMPs font rendering leaves a LOT to be desired.

Yes. Yes it does.

One image, and another. One from Photoshop CS3 10.0.1, the other from The GIMP 2.4.4. Same font.

But which? Choose now!

Re:Already Free

[g00nsquad]

By the way - as a supplement to the comment above, here is a simple example of the difference between 8 bit and 16 bit colour:

Benefits Of Working With 16-Bit Images In Photoshop, Page 2

Re:Already Free

[Ford Prefect]

I don't get it. I can tell they look different, but they both look equally good. I guess #2 is a little sharper; is that the GIMP one?

Nope, that's Photoshop!

The only change I made to the text rendering settings was to disable hinting in The GIMP - which is a single click in the checkbox just beneath the font size, so it's not a remotely hidden option.

Photoshop's got even more rendering options, and its text editor thingy is way more capable, allowing different styles in the same text (kind of like a word processor) - but the idea that The GIMP's actual text rendering is rubbish is just a myth...

Re:Already Free

[mixmatch]

I was just checking out GIMP. Maybe I'm just retarded, but I can't seem to find the ability to create layer filters that change based on the content of the layer. I also can't find the slice or save for web tool. Where are the file optimization settings? How do you export as a PDF? Where is the ability to record actions and execute them on folders/files? How do I go to full screen with the ability to drag the canvas anywhere on screen that I want? Where is the ability to dock my tool windows? You actually send RGB files to print? Honestly, GIMP is a great program, but if you really can't see what Photoshop has to offer from a productivity standpoint I wouldn't want you in my design shop.

Re:Already Free

[JohnBailey]

CMYK, Pantone in particular but mostly it's down to the horrible interface that GIMP comes with. Gimp is basically a programmers idea of how a creative tool should look. The two missing features I'll give you. Although one is just a licensing issue, and the other is only relevant if you are working on images that are intended for print. I'd add the fact that Gimp only does 8 bit colour, while Photoshop does at least 16 bit which is much more important than the two omissions you mentioned.

But can someone tell me what exactly is so terrible about the Gimp interface?

This is a genuine question, as I've used both, and don't find either particularly difficult to get my head around. But then, I'm not a power user when it comes to graphics packages. No doubt the differences would be pretty important to someone using either one day in day out.. But I've never seen anybody actually cite examples of the terrible Gimp interface in anything but the vaguest terms as opposed to the silky smooth and obvious ways of doing the same thing with Photoshop.

Re:Already Free

[InlawBiker]

I think most people dislike the Gimp interface because it's just so different from Photoshop's. Photoshop has been top dog for a very VERY long time and people are used to how it works. Any graphic design software will instantly be compared to Photoshop, Gimp or other.

FWIW I used to use Photoshop on a daily basis, but now I have simple imaging needs, and Gimp is just fine. Sure, it's a pain to learn a new interface, but eventually I figured it out. A lot of professional digital artists I've worked with, if you told them they had to use Gimp instead of PS they would quit.

A great many extremely talented artists have spent their whole career with Photoshop. I can think of no other software with such an insurmountable market share.

Re:Already Free

[g00nsquad]

That's fine but off-topic. You asked what specifically Photoshop can do that GIMP cannot, I responded with two items, which you then attempted to bin by relegating them to the status of irrelevant. I shoot stitched panoramic landscapes and I would say the largest transition in image quality for me was when I made the jump from using 8 bit jpgs as my base exposures to 12 bit Canon RAW converted to 16 bit TIFF. 16 bit image support is very relevant to me, not so relevant to you, but its relevance to either of us individually doesn't negate its value.

Re:Already Free

[Cruciform]

After all the effort Donny Hoyle put into his Photoshop tutorials, despite his failed marriage and active facebook dating life, you'd even consider using Gimp?

Shame on you! Shame!

Re:Already Free

[Ferzelic]

I can't seem to find the ability to create layer filters that change based on the content of the layer.

Current versions of GIMP don't have filter layers. Valid point.
(Though they are only a convenience, in that you can achieve the same effects with regular filters, just not in a non-destructive way.)

I also can't find the slice

Image -> Transform -> Guillotine.
If you want it to create the HTML code for you as well, there are several plugins you can download (eg Py-Slice).

or save for web tool.
Where are the file optimization settings?

Save as -> GIF, PNG or JPG. Adjustments are in the save dialog.
Toggle the preview checkbox for lossy-compressed formats such as JPG.

How do you export as a PDF?

I'll grant you there's no built-in function for it, but I also can't conceive of a useful reason for doing so.
Converting a single bitmap image into a PDF is a grossly inefficient operation for no benefit.
(Where the file format can sensibly be exported to PDF, most open source software does provide it; eg Inkscape.)

Where is the ability to record actions and execute them on folders/files?

Instead of macros, GIMP is fully scriptable. Considerably less convenient, but much more powerful.
(Of course, in an ideal world GIMP would support both.)

How do I go to full screen with the ability to drag the canvas anywhere on screen that I want?

Uh, View -> Fullscreen? Middle-click drags the canvas.

Where is the ability to dock my tool windows?

Drag the dialog to a dock window. You get two by default: the main toolbox and Layers/Channels/Paths.
You can have one or many. Predefined sets are available under Dialogs -> Create New Dock

You actually send RGB files to print?

Another valid point. Lack of proper color control is a well-known deficiency with GIMP.
(It does now support color profiles, but it's a bit of a hack.)

I wouldn't use it for professional print purposes; but for my personal artwork, yeah, I have sent RGB for print. I've got a local print shop that does a really good job of converting screen-space color. Good enough for my needs, and it's not like my home PC has a color-calibrated monitor anyway.

Lack of CMYK support and 16-bit+ color are real legitimate complaints against GIMP. I'll grant you filter layers too, as they would be handy (and are in development). Most other complaints are just unfamiliarity with the interface.

Here are my three main gripes about Photoshop's interface:

• Why is undo (ctrl-Z) single-level by default? If I'm using a tablet, one pen stroke usually ends up as multiple steps. Why do I have to hold down ctrl-ALT-Z?
• Why am I forced to select something before doing most operations? If nothing is selected, surely it's logical I want to do it on the whole image.
• What is Photoshop's equivalent to "Alpha to Selection", which I use all the time? (I'm sure it has one but damned if I can find it)

Want me to go on?

Re:Already Free

[sentientbrendan]

>>CMYK, Pantone in particular but mostly it's down to the horrible interface that GIMP comes with. >>Gimp is basically a programmers idea of how a creative tool should look.

>The two missing features I'll give you.
>Although one is just a licensing issue,
>and the other is only relevant if you are working on images that are intended for print

For photographers and other professionals doing graphics work, CMYK and color accuracy are deal breakers. Excuses don't matter to people who build their careers on a tool, if GIMP doesn't have what they need to do their job, then they won't consider using it.

There's a reason why people pay enormous sums for copies of photoshop even when there's plenty of cheap or free tools that do 60% of what photoshop does, and that's because every pro is going to have at least one feature missing from the 60% product that is a total show stopper for them.

This is a lesson on half assed software, that's good enough for the developer that wrote it, but not good enough for the market. Coding to your personal needs isn't good enough for products that are going to non developers. Linus doesn't say "well, there are some problems with Linux on big IBM mainframes, but I don't personally use a mainframe, so I won't work on that fix." When you are serious about software, you talk to the people that will be *using* your software, and you code to *their* standards in addition to your own.

You will lose your copyright on your pictures..

[New_Age_Reform_Act]

Read the ToS:

Section 8 (a):

Adobe does not claim ownership of Your Content. However, with respect to Your Content that you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Services, you grant Adobe a worldwide, royalty-free, nonexclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable license to use, distribute, derive revenue or other remuneration from, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display such Content (in whole or in part) and to incorporate such Content into other Materials or works in any format or medium now known or later developed.

Thanks I will stick with GIMP instead.

Of course, if you need free stuff, there is always The Pirate Bay.

Re:You will lose your copyright on your pictures..

[The End Of Days]

...that you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Services... Reading comprehension FTW!

Upsell? I think not!

[Bryansix]

Why would I want to move from this to Photoshop Elements. Elements sucks hardcore. It is hard to use while proporting to be easy to use. It holds your hand wand walks you right off a cliff. I'd much rather either have this simple express version or the full fledged CS3 version for many hundreds of dollars. It's as simple as that. If I wanted something in the middle I would use GIMP and Inkscape for free.

I am VERY wary of online computing

[Ralph Spoilsport]

If I'm not directly involved with being online, I tend to not have the modem even on, and I find this kind of thing creepy and somewhat offensive.

RS

Re:I am VERY wary of online computing

[moderatorrater]

I, for one, am grateful that you turned your modem on, connected it to your computer, got over your creepy and offended feelings, then posted (in an uninvolved sort of way) about your habits.

Fucking Flash.

[SanityInAnarchy]

From TFS:

will be completely Web-based so consumers can use it with any type of computer, operating system and browser.

Except, of course, operating systems or browsers which don't have flash...

Can we invent a new term for sites like these? "Web-based" is misleading -- it makes you think of open standards and compatibility. I propose "Flash-based."

Re:Fucking Flash.

[Apoorv Khatreja]

So that excludes the people who would want Photoshop to go Web-based, the MOST.

I'm talking about people using Opera or Konqueror on Linux. The Adobe Flash Player 7 and even 9 Beta works very, very poorly with these browsers, on Linux, and doesn't seem to be improving at all. The only browser being given attention is Firefox.

Guess we Linux users will have to wait for a long time, before we really starting using the internet and get recognised by the world.

Sounds like Picnik

[Skidge]

Sounds kind of like Picnik, which provides free basic photo editing and is integrated directly into Flickr. It's pretty handy for doing some tweaks on your photos. Picnik has some advanced, paying-account-required features, though, so maybe Photoshop Express will be better in that regard.

Terms of Service give Adobe unlimited rights...

[abh]

The scary thing which isn't getting much play is that the terms of service indicate that if you use their hosting/gallery service, Adobe has a royalty-free, unlimited license to use your photos in any way they choose...

Signed up to see what the fuss was about.

[DRAGONWEEZEL]

Here is what I have noticed so far.

Requires Flash 9. to install.
They have a notice that basically says
Account creation is heavy today it may take 60 minutes to recieve your e-mail.

Mine (done 4 min. ago) took about 1 min.

Super fast uploading! 1 3mb pic took all of 3 seconds to upload!

Very basic editing tools, but has a few cool distortion features. One neat thing to note is links to external sites such as Picassa, Photobucket and Phacebook! (er uh Facebook!)

Gallery and gallery sharing is neat, but slow (probably due to high use right now)
This won't come close to replacing your pirated versions of PS you all have at home. It'll be interesting to see if they add new tools or leave it as is.

Re:Adobe Photoshop Express

[Ford Prefect]

I think it's a great idea to give people a taste of what Photoshop is like.

... Except it's nothing whatsoever like Photoshop. At all.

I had a quick go at 'editing' a photo in the test-drive thing, and there didn't seem any way of actually drawing anything. I'd say it's much closer in concept to a drastically simplified Photoshop Lightroom - it's even got the same colour scheme and vague general layout. Except where Lightroom will manage untold gigabytes of photos on your own computer, doing on-the-fly conversions and adjustments from raw format, Express looks more like an advanced, online photo management system.

It's definitely not Photoshop Photoshop.

Any kind of OS and browser?

[serviscope_minor]

Sweet! It works in lynx!

Re:Any kind of OS and browser?

[trb]

Sweet! It works in lynx!

Now I can edit my cache of ascii art!

Re:MOD PARENT UP

[calebt3]

Please, give a better argument than "OSS rulz!". There are perfectly good non-FOSS software out there that won't require you to give up your copyrights (CS3 is probably the best, but it's not the only one) And in this case, you only use your copyright if you make it available on their public galleries. If you are going to promote FOSS, please argue on its more unique merits (I understand that OOo is better for writing books than MS Office)

Re:Why not just use The Gimp?

[serviscope_minor]

I can't use GIMP because I NEED CMYK (seriously, how many people on /. need CMYK?) and I'm a professional photo editor (according to GIMP related threads, /. is positively infested with photographic professionals). And because I've spent so long pirating it that I am incapable of learning another UI. Oh, and apparently the name prevents me from using it as well.

Yeah, I know, mod me troll, but this is how about half of the posts on the GIMP related threads read. Most people aren't like that. In fact, I don't know anyone who is. For them and me, the GIMP is great, and free.

Adobe Online Productivity Office

[PortHaven]

Adobe's Online Office Productivity Suite:

Photoshop Express (Photo Editor)
https://www.photoshop.com/express

Buzzword (Word Processor)
http://www.buzzword.com/

Sliderocket (Presentation Software)
http://www.sliderocket.com/

Blist (Spreadsheet)
http://www.blist.com/

***

Did you buy stock? I did a while ago... :)

Re:Why not just use The Gimp?

[Em Adespoton]

I guess this is a good place to point out that GIMP now supports CMYK. My only issue with GIMP nowadays is that the keybinding-follows-frontmost-window/focus feature really doesn't work well and clashes horrendiously with the OS X interface.

Modern Photoshop isn't a picnic either, but I don't spend time actively fighting against the UI to try to get things done like I do with GIMP. I don't care one bit about learning a different workflow, but it shouldn't involve workarounds to the UI itself.

Doesn't work on Flash9-Linux

[sd.fhasldff]

I tried it, but it just says my Flash isn't supported and redirects me to Macromedia.com, which then directs me back to to adobe.com for a new flash download.

Flash 9.0 r48, Firefox, Ubuntu Gutsy 64bit.

Not sure if it REALLY wants a newer version of Flash or if the 64bit-ness is confusing it.

Re:Why not just use The Gimp?

[Xabraxas]

It shouldn't be too shocking if there are a lot of people who need to do something that involves professional-level features. Anyone working in graphic design, advertising, or even a creative branch of some other kind of company might need some particular features (including CMYK). I worked for an engineering firm that wanted to send some presentation materials to a professional printer so they looked nice. Those needed to be in CMYK.

I work in a prepress job and I've noticed two things:

1. Marketing and advertising people know nothing about CMYK, color gamut, color seperation, or any of that. Just yesterday we were sent a screenshot of an art file made in Word to use for a poster and the customer wanted to know why the proof was all pixelated! We're sent all kinds of crap that takes a lot of effort to get into a state where it can be printed accurately. Most customers grudgingly give in and pay for us to transform their crap images into workable images. They just don't know anything about what it takes to print images made on a computer.
2. Photoshop is rarely used unless you are working for a magazine or something of that nature. Most things printed are vector graphics and text. Most design work involves logo design, color correction, and layout. Just as customers send us screenshots and things of that nature, they also just send us compressed jpegs when they send pictures. In a perfect work everyone would send us proper files that can be printed easily but they don't and its our job to get it to press.

CRAPOLA

[bill_mcgonigle]

Can we invent a new term for sites like these? "Web-based" is misleading -- it makes you think of open standards and compatibility. I propose "Flash-based.

Too specific. There's all kinds of junk like this, say sites that only work in IE, sites that require Silver-Light, etc. Sites that would be more usable as a desktop app in the firstplace, but sacrifice that for the sake of the 'web' moniker (with no significant additional benefits).

How about 'Compatible Rendering Abandoned Proprietary On-Line Application'?