Adobe is offering to the public a free beta test of its Photoshop Express software. Included in the freebie is up to 2G of online storage. Users can then store, edit or use eye catching effects to modify their photographs. All of this online and is done through your browser. [Gee, this sounds like more cloud computing.] According to Adobe:

SAN JOSE, Calif. — March 27, 2008 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe Photoshop Express public beta, a free Rich Internet Application (RIA) available to anyone who wants to store, sort and show off digital photos with eye-catching effects. During the public beta period, Adobe will solicit Photoshop Express user feedback on product features and functionality, which will continue to evolve over time. As the newest addition to the Photoshop family line, Photoshop Express has taken much of Adobe’s best image editing technology and made it simple and accessible to a new online audience. Photoshop Express allows users to store up to 2 gigabytes of images online for free, make edits to their photos, and share them online in creative ways, including downloading and uploading photos from popular social networking sites like Facebook.

For all of you who have been waiting to join in on a beta program, this is your chance to play with new software all for free.

Link to Adobe press release is here.

Sign up is here.

Microsoft is offering a test drive of Windows Vista Ultimate without having to install the operating system onto your computer. You can run the system right through your browser to see what you think of the new OS. In addition to testing the OS, videos and tutorials are also provided to assist a new user into the ins and outs of the OS.

Microsoft states:

The test drive is intended for evaluation purposes only.

• The test drive requires Internet Explorer 6 or later, a browser plug-in, and a broadband Internet connection. A minimum 1024 x 768 screen resolution is recommended.
• There is no product support for the test drive. You are welcome to participate in a Microsoft Windows Vista newsgroup to share your trial experiences with others and ask for advice. Find a Windows Vista Newsgroup.
• The Windows Vista version hosted in the test drive contains most of the functionality of the regular versions, but browsing the internet is not enabled.
• You may notice a slight delay or pause as you experience the product. This is due to the fact that this is a hosted trial and is dependent upon your bandwidth, local machine resources, etc. This does not necessarily represent the actual experience you will have with Windows Vista if it were installed on your PC.

So take Vista Ultimate for a spin and see what you think. Let us know what your experience with this trial has been after you use it.

Comments welcome as always.

Try Vista Ultimate for free here.