"The big emphasis in this version, version 4, we wanted to come up with lots of great ways for people to share photos because for many people, the experience isn't about how great the editing experience and hours spent editing is. It's really about when you go to share and you want other people to look at what you've done and be proud of that."
Key to that is an improved slide show creator….an area where Microsoft held an edge with the PhotoStory function in its Digital Image Suite. Now, Dahm says…
"Not only did we add panning and zooming, but we added an additional level of flexibility that really characterizes the elements product as well. We give people a nice, broad access to some controls and when the customers wants to dig down and go a little bit deeper, Elements is, for the most part, deep enough that they can continue to grow and learn with the product. And the same is true with our slide show editor and pan-zoom. We have, for pan-zoom, the ability to define not just one or two spots, but any number of spots that they want."
Microsoft may still hold the edge when it comes to ease of use, but Adobe gives customers more room to grow. PhotoShop Elements version 4 sells for 99 dollars. A bundled package with a new version of Premier Elements…for digital video, is 149. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.