Photoshop Leaps to the Cloud—Should You Follow?

Whether you want to do portrait touch-ups or reality-bending illustrations, Photoshop is the go-to. And the professional version of the program has become so complex that few people would call themselves experts on all facets of it.

But the software program, now more than two decades old, has just made a huge leap?one that sparked heated responses from customers. Gone are the old cardboard boxes with installation discs. Gone, too, is the need for serial numbers to authenticate electronic downloads. Adobe is moving Photoshop (as well as its entire suite, including Illustrator, InDesign, and Dreamweaver) to a cloud service and charging its users a monthly fee to download and continue using the software.

From Cardboard to Cloud

In early May Adobe Systems announced that customers will have to join an online service called Creative Cloud to access the professional software. The service made its debut last year when the company began luring customers by offering discounts. Now, however, Adobe is using it to phase out the old distribution methods.

For new customers, Photoshop costs $19.99 per month with an annual plan. To gain access to the entire suite of programs, you can upgrade for $49.99 per month. An application manager handles all the software downloads and updates.

There is a catch: Users have to validate memberships periodically (every 30 days for month-to-month subscribers; every 99 days for annual memberships) for security purposes and product updates. The cross-platform license allows users to download programs on up to two personal computers. The synch function preserves the user's preferences and settings on both machines.

The cloud will provide users with continuous software updates, which is another notable departure. Adobe typically ran on an 18- to 24-month development cycle for releasing big enhancements to the program, leaving users to decide whether to hang on to their older versions or spring for the new one. The continuous changes will allow Adobe to more freely integrate features across its suite of programs.

For now the latest version, Photoshop CS6, can be downloaded under a perpetual software license for $699. While the company plans to continue providing bug fixes and security updates for that version, CS6 won't have the latest improvements of the soon-to-be-released Photoshop CC (Creative Cloud).

New Features

As with previous product releases, there will be a host of improvements for Photoshop CC.

Storage: In addition to a seamless updating process, Creative Cloud members will have storage space where they can back up their files or share work with coworkers on multiple devices and within Adobe's user community at large.

Blurring: A new camera-shake reduction tool cuts down on blurring.

Pixelation: In what Adobe calls intelligent upsampling, users can blow up an image to the size of a billboard without pixelating it.

3D Editing: Previously, users had to upgrade to an additional application in order to perform 3D image editing. Now it will be combined in one program.

Alternative Options

Not surprisingly, many users who were upset with the idea of renting rather than owning their creative software took to Adobe's blog and Facebook page to complain. For those feeling loath to pay for the company's cloud service, there are alternatives.

For users who just need basic photo editing, there's still the consumer version, Photoshop Elements 11, which downloads for a one-time fee of $99.99. To minimize the learning curve, you can switch from "Quick," "Guided," or "Expert" editing modes. Among many clever features in Elements 11 is one that lets you plot your photos on a map based on where they were taken.

There are several free applications. For Mac users, the most basic is Apple's iPhoto that comes installed on new computers and can do the basics. The latest version, iPhoto '11, can create calendars, cards and other print products through Apple's fee-based service. Windows users can download the highly acclaimed Paint.NET. Its advanced features allow users to work in layers and undo edits with a History tool.

There are dozens of free Web-based editors, such as Gimpshop. The downside is that you have to first upload your photos to a third-party site, then download them again if you want edited copies on your hard drive. Otherwise, it's fairly easy to share images via social media.

Adobe's Photoshop Express Editor mimics the common features of its software versions. It also provides a good starting point if you want to get more advanced later on. FotoFlexer is a good alternative as well.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/software/photoshop-leaps-to-the-cloud-should-you-follow-15535069?src=rss

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