Google Updates Picasa Photo Sharing
Google has added a slew of new features to Picasa, its online digital photo storage and sharing service. The new version of Picasa went live today and Michael Herf, Picasa Engineer, posts on the Google Blog:
It has a feature called Picasa Web Albums that lets you post and share your photos online for free with just one click. You can show the world (or just your friends and family) what kinds of pictures you’ve been taking. And best of all, you can even download your friends’ online photos right back to Picasa… And we’ve added a shiny new feature to photo-editing: Save. Your Picasa edits can now be preserved when using other programs. The save feature is even undoable, so you never lose your original files.
And there’s more — you can import into any folder you like, make time-lapse sequences into movies, search by color, create a screensaver with beautiful visual effects, and even re-arrange Picasa’s buttons. Oh, and we also made Picasa work with Google Earth, so you can put information about where you went on vacation into the photos themselves, and then, view your shots on a 3-D globe.
The new Picasa can be tested and used at http://picasa.google.com/
Additionally, here’s a list of the new Picasa services, from their Sept. 15th Release Note:
Share photos online
Upload photos to Picasa Web Albums for easy sharing on the web. Select the photos you want in Picasa and upload them to the web by clicking the “Web Album” button. When viewing your friends’ albums online, you can even download them right back into Picasa on your own computer.
Nested Folder View
Now you can choose how to display folders in Picasa, whether they’re nested or sorted by date.
Save Changes to Disk
Picasa has always kept your original files safe. But we know that sometimes, users also like to be able to save their Picasa edits. Now you can save your edits and have access to them in other programs, but we also provide an automatic backup that lets you revert back to the original anytime. We even match the jpeg quality of your original!
Improved import
We know you’ve wanted to import files into an existing folder. We’ve also made importing faster, and made it easier to copy just a few files at a time.
Screensaver
Show starred photos in a collage, or pan and zoom your Web Album photos. Choose between four presentation options to display your best shots.
Geotagging
Picasa now works with Google Earth. Tell Picasa where you shot each photo, and view them on a 3-D globe in Google Earth. You can also export KMZ files for sharing online.
Larger thumbnails
Our thumbnails are slightly larger, so images are clearer, and we’ve improved speed as well. You will notice Picasa updating all of your thumbnails after the upgrade.
New RAW features
We support more cameras and RAW formats (including the Canon 30D, Nikon D200, and DNG). Color accuracy is better, and conversion speed is improved.
Other goodies* Improved caption editing
* Starred photos organize automatically into a special album
* “Just raw frames” option lets you export time-lapse sequences in the movie maker
* The bottom row of buttons can now be configured to suit your needs
