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Surely you remember Adobe’s new web-based image editor, Photoshop Express.  Why would Adobe release part of Photoshop’s power for free to the public?  Simple.  They want to allow users to familiarize themselves with some of the features of PS for free in hopes that they will then go on to purchase the boxed version.  Now, it just so happens that one of Photoshop’s main competitors, Aperture, is made by Apple.  What is Apple doing to drive sales of their image editor software?  Frankly, not enough.  The real question is, what can they do?  If you ask me, it starts with .Mac Web Gallery, but first some important changes must be made to it.

1) Obviously, add image editing features to it.  The image viewing on .Mac Web Gallery is slick and easy as you would expect from an Apple product, but it could be so much more.  Allow users to edit the photo while online just like Photoshop Express does, except with an Aperture style twist, and you’ve got yourself one awesome platform.  This, like PS Express, could give users a chance to see what Aperture is like without having to install a whole demo.  It could also prove to the user how functional Aperture can be, even at a limited level.  Who knows, maybe they will like the online version so much they will buy the desktop version which would be the whole goal in the first place.

2) Open it up!  Currently, the only way to have a Web Gallery is to purchase a .Mac Membership, a $99.95 a year package.  Why limit this great service to just a select few who are willing to pay for it?  Steve Jobs said it himself in a 2007 press conference, people are moving away from hard media and onto digital media.  Apple should be helping them do this by easing the difficulty of the transition (i.e. making a service like this free).  Giving them a free, easy to use, feature limited (compared to the desktop version) Aperture online would be a great start to opening up this service and getting some hype behind Aperture.

3) Build a community around it.  Everywhere you go, you hear it, “Companies need to start embracing social media.”  In my opinion, Apple hasn’t done much to that effect.  They could use .Mac Web Gallery as a social service that would not only allow for image editing, but a better way of sharing media.  Sure, you can share your Gallery now by sending friends and family the link, but I mean at a higher level, such as being able to add friends.  Mr. Jobs also mentioned in that same keynote that the point of this service was to make “send [your media] to the world.”  If so, make it easier and more fun to do that.  “If you build it, they will come.”

As with anything. there would be roadblocks in tackling such a task.  For example, how do deal with the extra traffic to the servers and how much space to give each user.  However, Apple has plenty of money to make this work and the outcome would be worth it.  In summary, all Apple needs to do it open up .Mac Web Gallery (also, untie it from the .Mac package) and add some more features to it.  If you’re from Apple, this would be great to have by, let’s say, June.  Sound good?  Awesome.