If you think web apps are just a simple, stripped-down version of real desktop programs, you'd better change your mind - and soon! After Google's first steps on the online software world with tools like Google Docs and Google Spreadsheets, here comes another bigwig: Adobe Photoshop.

According to Bruce Chizen, the company's CEO, Adobe is planning to launch an ad-supported online version of the popular photo editing software within six months.

The announcement takes place only a few weeks after Adobe signed a deal with Photobucket to provide its users with an online photo and video mixing tool, known as Adobe Remix.

In Chizen's words:

That is new (for Adobe). It's something we are sensitive to because we are watching folks like Google do it in different categories, and we want to make sure that we are there before they are, in areas of our franchises.

This is clearly a giant's step in webware. It seems that big companies are taking web apps more and more seriously, in anticipation of what may happen in the next few years. The so-called Web 2.0 is putting users on the spotlight and challenging coders to go one step ahead in the creation of software.

The Internet is not just a source of information anymore. It's a living being, a breathing creature in constant development where websites have turned into user-fed communities and interactive tools. If you can create documents, edit photos or mix video online, what will be next? We're eager to see!

Yesterday quite a few Flickr users had the fright of their lives when they thought their photos were lost forever. A technical issue, carefully explained today on Flickr's blog, made the Flickr database serve random photos when Flickr users clicked on thumbnails, about 1/7th of the times. So, instead of your own personal photos, you could get just about anyone else's.

Fortunately, Flickr engineers and technicians rapidly took control of the problem. After being offline for a few hours, Flickr was back to normal again, nonfunctional servers were restarted and every photo returned to its rightful owner.

Besides the basically anecdotal side to this story, one starts wondering about the degree of reliability offered by online services. With an ever-growing range of online services, we've ended up entrusting many websites with our data: personal photos, confidential e-mails, our most inner thoughts explained on a blog. It's a bit daunting to realize just how much of your digital life is stored on servers located around the world and controlled by people you don't even know.

In any case, I personally think there's no reason to fret. I believe big companies like Flickr realize that the material that users upload is invaluable to them and they do their best to protect and secure it. I just trust them. Otherwise, I wouldn't even think of storing my photos on their site. Would you?

Adobe have announced the first commercial release of Photoshop Lightroom 1.0 meaning beta users will have to pay-up or do without the program from February 28. Up until now, the photographic software has only been available in a free downloadable beta version but now users will have to pay $199 to continue using it ($299 after April 30th). Those hoping it will be released in the next version of Creative Suite will be disappointed as Adobe have officially confirmed that it won't.

The new version offer various improvements featuring more import options and a new and improved metadata browser that offers faster access to information tags. Photographers can also filter through large collections with an advanced keyword tools library and color labels that have a new pick/reject system.

There's also a new handy feature for making virtual copies and snapshot tools for providing multiple versions of the same image for comparison without touching the originals.

Finally, you'll also have more control over saturation, hue and luminance with advanced brushes for making the most detailed of changes possible. Adobe also claim that more cameras are now supported including Nikon and Pentax brands.

Apart from Picasa's indisputable first position among image viewers, there's a very interesting competition in the Top Downloads list for this category on Softonic. Two of the most powerful candidates are FastStone Image Viewer and XnView, two popular image viewers that share many features but also have certain differences. Let's analyse both of them in depth.

When launching both programs, the first noticeable difference is their interface. Whilst XnView looks very much like Windows Explorer, with a tree-like structure on the left and the selected folder's contents on the right, FastStone Image Viewer uses a neatly designed interface that you can customize with skins. Both programs use thumbnails to display photos and ALT text windows to show detailed information about each picture.

Anyone who works with images on a regular basis will be familiar with the default image viewer of Windows, and also with its very limited scope for doing anything meaningful. There is a healthy selection of alternatives but FastStone Image Viewer has come to our attention as one that deserves to be singled out not only because it is free but also because it brings to the table a strong combination of speed, usability and versatility.

While the viewing functionality is a no-brainer, FastStone comes with a range of methods with which to browse pics. First off, there is the standard file browser that displays thumbnails of your images with a preview window for the file that is currently selected. There is also an option to check out individual pictures at their original size in the "Windowed View", which is along the same lines as the default image viewer in Windows. Finally you can see images in full-screen, switching between files using the keyboard, the middle mouse button or the slide-in toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

While we still maintain that Flickr is probably the best way to handle your photos online, the service is starting to annoy people as Yahoo! tightens its grip on the Web-based app. If you’ve managed to build up more than 3,000 contacts or 75 tags using the program then prepare to be disappointed – you’re no longer welcome.

According to Flickr’s owner, Yahoo!: “In our ongoing efforts to make Flickr better, we’re introducing two additional limits: the new maximum number of contacts is 3,000 contacts (good luck with that), and each photo on Flickr can have a maximum of 75 tags. We love your freedom, but, in this particular case, limiting these things will actually improve the system performance, making pages load faster across the site for everyone and cut out some unwelcome spammy behaviors. Both of these new limits apply equally to free and pro account members.”

While we can appreciate the case for reducing spam and increasing download times, it seems that the company is penalizing Flickr’s hardcore users just for the fact they’re enjoying the site and the community it has to offer. Instead of applying restrictions to the user perhaps Yahoo! could improve its file sharing system to allow everyone to share their photos without worrying about limits.

You may have a nice photo that would look much better if you could just add some kind of special touch. Well, let insideTonic lend you a hand: even if you're not the artistic type, you can still obtain really eye-catching results by following this simple, easy-to-use Photoshop trick.

First of all, open your image and select the area you'd like to emphasize using the Marquee tool. Then copy it to a new layer by pressing Ctrl+J.

Although Photoshop is the world's leading photo maniupulation tool, its not exactly cheap. If you are looking for a free alternative but don't want to lose all the things that make Photoshop so great, then The GIMP is worth a try.

It's not often that a program migrates from Linux to Windows but that's what happened with The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Programme). The program is completely free, available on all platforms and best of all, it has most of the features that you'll find in Photoshop. You can save and open files in 34 different formats and its also useful for quick-converting image sizes. And what's more, if it's extensibility you're after, the GIMP can handle most Photoshop plugins.

A handy menu at the top of the program gives you access to all of The GIMP's key features and a navigation palette helps you steer your way through an image when you've zoomed-in to work on details.

Of course, The GIMP can't compete with Photoshop in every test (like certain image rendering tasks) but it's about as close as you will get to the real thing without spending the dollars.

Without doubt, Photoshop is the greatest image editor to grace the screen and on the surface appears to contain everything you need to create web sites, enhance photos and produce stunning graphic designs. However, the power of Adobe’s flagship app can be boosted even further by installing plug-ins that add extra functionality. It’s this extensibility that has helped to make the program so popular, and some of today’s add-ons are so advanced that they match up to the best stand-alone graphics software.

We’ve rounded up the most popular Photoshop plug-ins on Softonic to bring you an essential list of the tools you need to improve your graphical creations and save you time to boot. If you have a favorite plug-in that you couldn’t survive without then we’d love to hear from you.

1. Genuine Fractals: Increase image sizes without reducing quality

2. AKVIS Chameleon: Create image collages without any fuss

3. FocusFixer: Sharpen even the most blurred images

4. Neat Image: Reduce visible noise in digital photos

5. Background Remover: Extract an object within an image

6. PhotoZoom Professional: Enlarge digital images without distortion

7. PTLens: Correct lens pincushion/barrel distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting

8. ColourWorks: Modify colour values within photographs to create original effects

9. Topaz DeJPEG Plug-in: Eliminate imperfections caused by JPEG compression

10. Flood: Add realistic 3D effects to your images

Luckily for some but sadly for others, Christmas is over. Now it's time to go back to harsh reality and forget about the holidays... or maybe not! Because if you used your digital camera while enjoying Christmas dinner or meeting some old friends back in your home town, now it's time to make the most of those pictures.

To begin with, Picasa is a good option to store and organize pictures in your computer. It also allows you to retrieve them easily by means of a handy timeline. Then you can just select the best ones and create a nice printed collage with Arcsoft PhotoImpression.

However, if you’re on the ecological side and don’t want to waste paper, you can always record a photo VCD with the help of MemoriesOnTV. It’s a really easy-to-use piece of software that will enable you to show off your best shots on the DVD player.

If any picture needs retouching, take a look at PhotoFiltre, a powerful app that features everything you may need to edit and optimize photos. Like the well-known Photoshop, but smaller, lighter and cheaper – basically free.

One last tip: don’t forget to resize your pictures before sharing them by email; otherwise the message will take ages to download. VSO Image Resizer will do it for you in just a couple of mouse clicks, saving you time, work and bandwidth.

Wired reports that a sneak preview of the first version of Photoshop designed to work on Intel Macs - Abobe Photoshop Creative Studio Suite 3 - is available to download. The measley two day trial preceeds the final verison by a few months which is expected to be released in Spring 2007.

Windows users with more than 2Ghz processors can also try it out although its only available on Windows XP and Vista. Wired reports that in tests they conducted, the new version of photoshop is incredibly fast, starting in less than 6 seconds with image manipulation lightening fast.

However, many dedicated Mac users consider the release something of a hoax claiming that the only reason it has been released is to give MacTel owners a native Photoshop. However, since on Intel Macs there are no cursors available, many editing functions are impossible because all they see are crosshairs!

Instead of manually dragging all your new photos, videos and music onto your Windows Media Player library, just use the "media information changes button" in the library tab. That way the application will automatically browse your PC for new content and add what it finds into your library. If you add new stuff constantly, make sure you do this regularly to keep your media collection up to date. Check out our screencast:

[googlevideo]8414783378667319480[/googlevideo]

It's simple and only takes a few seconds. If you have the new version of Windows Media Player (version 11) installed, try it out.

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While it’s fair to say that there is a piece of software that covers virtually every computing requirement, it seems some people are still left wanting when it comes to performing certain tasks. Despite the rise of online photo-blogging services like Flickr and applications such as Web Photos Pro, one Indian paediatrician was disappointed at the lack of tools for his personal requirements and decided to take the matter into his own hands by creating his own piece of software.

In order to help him set up his bird photography site, nagpurbirds.org, first-time developer Tarique Sani turned his hand to a spot of PHP programming and conjured up his fully featured photo blogging creation, CheeseCake Photoblog, in just three weeks. Like many before him, Sani believes that the open source PHP and MySQL platform is proving to be the perfect launchpad for bringing bespoke web applications to life.

The doctor-turned code junky explained: “PHP has a phenomenal potential for India. There's money to be made provided it is built up properly. Now it's making inroads into the enterprise class of code, which was earlier dominated by Java. That's good news.”

Though it’s unlikely that CheeseCake will ever come near to toppling Flickr, it’s certainly a decent application with plenty of tailor-made features such as buzzwords, specifically designed for blogging, and is open to expansion by bolting on plug-ins. With PHP authors such as PHP Designer and DzSoft PHP Editor becoming ever easier to manipulate, we’re bound to see more part-time developers making in-roads into extremely niche areas within the software world that the big players simply don’t have the inclination to explore.

Now that Adobe has successfully monopolized the graphic design market following its aquisition of Macromedia, insight into the company's bumper software portfolio is becoming increasinlgy sought-after. Whether you're looking to build websites, design posters or produce magazines, Adobe now rules the roost over the best packages available.

Thankfully, the corporation is far from being a big, bad money-making machine (well, maybe to some extent) and has always made the effort to foster a community of users and educate them on how to deliver the best results through its software. Whether you're using Photoshop, GoLive or Illustrator, the Adobe Creative Suite Video podcast provides a great way to extent your skills with these programs. With professional demonstrations of how to manipulate the apps to produce wonderful creations, the site is perfect for anyone who wants to get away from merely Photoshopping their mate's head onto a gibbon.

Given that phones have had cameras built-in for a number of years now, it can be pretty disappointing that when you first fire your camera up, it'll more likely than not be lacking in anything beyond the most basic features. That's where programs like Camera Magica come in. Camera Magica is capable of using bigger zoom, higher contrast and larger image sizes as well as being able to create new types of images such as seamless panoramas and 'joke' pictures.

While opening up the possibilities of your phone's camera, programs like this are actually using some pretty clever technology. When creating panoramas, Camera Magica automatically detects the edge of the last image you took and looks for it as you slowly move the camera. When lined up, it takes the next shot, making it easy for the program to blend the edges of your images for that seamless effect!

PhotoFusion, from Scalado, has similar features. Along with its panorama tools (which use transparent overlays to help the user line up image edges), PhotoFusion allows you to create 'Photo Strips' (one image made up of nine others, in grid format), and warped images. Its developer, Scalado is recognised as being at the forefront of phone camera software development so we can expect more to come from them in the future.

Separating these two programs on anything other than price is pointless: they're both well designed, fun programs which will help you get the most out of your smart camera phone. Camera Magica is true Freeware and is thus our favourite but PhotoFusion certainly deserves a test run for its novel approach to user-interface and attractive output.

As Sony Ericsson's latest offering (the CyberShot Phone) makes clear, portable telephony and photography are now inextricably linked. What may have seemed like a fad has become a major feature - one which is improved and enhanced by programs like CameraMagica and PhotoFusion.