Learn Photoshop Now: Free from Adobe Photoshop

Recently Adobe announced that it will release a free online version of its popular Photoshop image-editing software within six months. The online version of the program will be a stripped-down version of the application that has become an industry standard for graphics professionals.

The move is part of a larger effort by the company to bring key aspects of its software portfolio - which includes audio, video and graphics applications - online to draw advertising dollars and lure users into buying software upgrades. Until now, Adobe's business has been based primarily on packaged software.

A sneak peek at online photography's future: the company currently has four editions of its Photoshop software, beginning with the high-end CS2 package which is targeted to creative professionals all the way to the free Album Starter Edition which is for the casual photographer. The online offering will be more like the consumer products, according to Adobe.

Last month, the company also publicized that it was planning on entering a partnership with image- and video-hosting web site Photobucket in order to give the site's 35 million users free access to Adobe's web-based video editing tools.

At that time the company said that it expects to announce more partnerships with Internet companies over the coming months, and that the ventures would be driven by Adobe's pursuit of higher advertising revenue and increased software upgrades from existing customers.

Plan on Photobucket features to become available to the site's users sometime in March. As mentioned earlier, Adobe's shift to free online applications follows similar moves by other software makers. Google (Charts), for instance, has released online word processing and spreadsheet software under the Google Docs banner. Discover how to Learn Photoshop Fast. Free Tips Blog For Photoshop Newbies ...what are you waiting for?