Adobe Systems Inc., maker of the popular photo-editing software Photoshop, has launched a basic version of the program available free of charge online. While Photoshop is designed for trained professionals, Adobe says its Photoshop Express, which it launched in a "beta" test version last month, is easier to learn. Photoshop Express is completely web-based, so consumers can use it with any type of computer, operating system, and browser. And, once they register, users can get to their accounts from different computers. After signing up for the free service, users can upload their photos and then edit them with Adobe’s simplified set of point-and-click controls for removing “red eye,” cropping, adjusting the brightness and color saturation, and other functions. Users can group photos into online albums and can post them to popular social-networking sites, all from within the web-based program.

http://www.photoshop.com/expressp>