It's been inevitable, even if Adobe hasn't admitted it in the past, but Adobe is going to release an online version of Photoshop in the next six months.
Driven by the move to the web, Google's increasing overtones and a plethora of online image editors, Adobe is going to release an online version of the grandaddy of image apps - and according to CNet, Bruce Chizen said it was going to be funded by on-screen advertising.
Chizen said Adobe laid the foundation for a hosted Photoshop product with Adobe Remix, a Web-based video-editing tool it offers through the PhotoBucket media-sharing site.
Like Adobe Remix, the hosted Photoshop service is set to be free and marketed as an entry-level version of Adobe's more sophisticated image-editing tools, including Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Chizen envisions revenue from the Photoshop service coming from online advertising.
I can't imagine it's going to be anywhere near as powerful as the desktop program (just the size of many large image files used in Photoshop would be problematic), but it does plug the obvious gap between online and offline. And of course given Adobe's other ventures - Flex and Apollo - it was only a matter of time before somebody else came up with a compelling solution that really bridged the chasm.
