Microsoft: No plans (for now) to host Expression Studio

On February 28, Adobe announced plans to release a hosted version of Photoshop within six months. Is rival Microsoft rushing to do the same with its growing family of design tools? For now, at least, the answer is no.

In spite of its push to build a services component for just about every one of its software products, Microsoft doesn't have plans for a hosted Expression product line. Microsoft's philosophy is that while the Web is good for somet things, it's not suited for everything, a company spokeswoman said.

"We never rule out any options and rely on feedback from our customers base to help inform our product strategy, but right now do not have plans to provide a hosted version of Expression Studio," the spokeswoman said. "Above all else, customers want flexibility, and we are dedicated to delivering that with software + services. However to be clear, we're not trying to take the PC interface and functionality and port it on to the Web.

"It's important to look at what the Web is uniquely good at like universal access and sharing, and to look at the things that the PC is good at like flexible, fast UI regardless of connection speed and reliability. We're looking to provide the right combination of software + services that maximize the inherent strengths of both the online and offline worlds," she added.