Last night at MAX, Adobe’s Geoff Baum got on stage during the sneak peek session to show off a bit more of Photoshop Express. Boy, things have come a long way in the few weeks since the sneak at Photoshop World, and last night’s demo showed Healing Brush- & Liquify-like tools running via the app’s Flash interface. CNET’s Martin LaMonica has details & screenshots. (Update: Here’s a video recording of the session:
[Via Stephen Shankland])
The company is still being somewhat coy (as is par for the course when previewing technology), but as info firms up, I’ll pass it along.
Gratuitous addendum: I like seeing that former LiveMotion/Vanishing Point developer Steve Troppoli continues the Boston office tradition of inserting one’s fly Volvo into demos. Somewhere, the Flavawagon (which lives forever, in tiny form, within Photoshop’s Web Photo Gallery) smiles.
I still don’t get it — is it for beginners or high school students? Is this something a regular Photoshop user could need?
[Does my previous post help clarify things at all? Beyond that, I’m not in a position to share too much more. –J.]
You’ve added history! I think it’s a hit now.
Where are the images stored? Locally, or will adobe.com offer a flickr clone? Will this be free (ie: ad-based)? Are the edits destructive? Will there be an EasyShare tie-in (or an API for other 3rd-party tie-ins)?
It appears that this is an app that might appeal to those who are unwilling to pony up the money for Elements. It’s hard to see what advantage the flash app would have for most readers of this blog, who have made the investment in Photoshop. So while Photoshop Express might provide a way to introduce Photoshop to potential future purchasers of Adobe products or to gain some ad revenue, it doesn’t seem to offer anything I, or I would think most folks here, would ever use.
In response to Rob: “it doesn’t seem to offer anything I, or I would think most folks here, would ever use.”
Fair enough, but consider the implications of the technology itself.
Maybe in a few years, the core engine in Photoshop could be sold as a hosted solution for a network.
Maybe you are a host and you can ‘resell’ the above as a feature to your clients.
Maybe you are traveling with a tiny laptop that won’t handle a full installation, but you just need some quick edits.
Maybe you have a large organization with users at various levels, and not all of them need a full copy of PS (ding! cost savings to corporations).
And the ever popular “et cetera”.
I’m more concerned about not having high-speed internet access while working on the beach (or some unpredictable place), and thus having no Photoshop. So saving to a network is not always possible.
I think any laptop made from now on can handle it. But it will be years before a Full full Photoshop exists as FlexiFlash.
May I respectfully suggest that some serious attention be devoted to the performance of the entire Adobe web site before placing much emphasis on a web based version of Photoshop?
It took me several minutes to enter the Adobe store, and I cannot even access the Adobe forums.
Thanks.
[Sorry to hear about your experiences. I have a query in to the team responsible for the forums, and I’ll pass your note along to those responsible for the store. Photoshop Express has nothing to do with either of those implementations, but I agree that it’s hard to ask users to trust a Web-hosted tool if our existing sites aren’t performing adequately. –J.]
There are some impressive tools included in Photoshop Express that I haven’t seen with any other online photo editor. So this looks like it could be a useful addition for consumers.
I’m anxious to try out a beta version!
My Photoshop is something I bought for my home based consulting business. Sometimes I find the need to do some simple photo manipulation at my real job. This would be great for that occasional use.
Some early competition, only with seam carving, morphing, etc.
http://fotoflexer.com/demos.php
Adobe isn’t likely to give away the milk of their cashcow. Expect an entertaining twist. Perhaps more sheet time with spyware? (192.168.112.2o7.net)
Adobe really needs to step up to compete with
http://splashup.com/
😉
If I have the full version already loaded, will the express override it ?
2-My picture gallery now is attached to the full version if I remove this and put on the express, will I lose my gallery ?
Only because I have the full version on another computer would I remove the full version.
I have a serious issue with Flash Player. I have downloaded and installed the “fixes” from Adobe and Microsoft and still do not get the download to work. I click on “accept and install” and nothing, I mean NOTHING happens. Does anybody know how to fix this?