Google's latest version of its software-based Picasa uploader for Mac has a handy new trick up its sleeve. It now lets you download entire albums back to your computer, making it a simple tool for backing up large photo libraries.
The Windows and Linux version of Picasa have allowed you to do this for some time, but seeing as Mac users do not (yet) have a version of Picasa to call their own, this is a far better option than downloading the originals one at a time from the Web, or having to use third-party programs.
I gave it a spin this morning, and it's incredibly easy to pull in several albums one after another. The one thing it cannot do, however, is grab your videos; Google says that's coming in a later release.
Google is widely expected to release a Mac version of Picasa at next year's MacWorld Expo, taking place in early January.
See also: Picasa Web Albums Assistant 0.3
Picasa's Web albums uploader has a new option to download entire albums, something users of the PC program have been able to do for a while now.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
On Friday, Google's Picasa Web Albums rolled out a new page that highlights community photography, with featured shots from its users, a stream of live updating uploads, and a game that makes use of media that's been geotagged.
Of all the new features, the "Where in the World?" game is the most fun. It lets you guess where a photo was taken by clicking on a giant world map. You're awarded points for how close you were, with closer guesses racking up massive points. It does this using shots that have been geotagged, although that doesn't necessarily make it easier. Success in the game comes from shots that contain landmarks or language markers with local signage. If the shot doesn't have any of that, which seems to happen more often than not, you're playing with pure luck.
Picasa's new Explore section outlines some of the newest and most interesting photographs from Picasa users. (Click the image for a larger version.)
(Credit: CNET Networks)The featured photo section is also a great start but hardly the exploratory experience competitor Flickr has established for itself. There's no way to sort by date, and Google has not made it clear how the photos have ended up on the front page by hiding how many people have viewed and bookmarked each shot.
One thing missing from the equation is more ways to explore the actual users. You can still get to someone's profile with all their public shots, but there's not yet a community spotlight for interesting photographers.
The Where in the World game lets you guess where photos were taken. You're lucky if there's some sort of language or landmark...otherwise it's anyone's guess. (Click the image for a larger version.)
(Credit: CBS Interactive)
Oh Google, you got my hopes up today.
I logged into my Gmail and there it was, a little surprise at the top called "Photos." I speculated that you had created an integrated photo-sharing service, but clicking on the new link just took me to Picasa's Web Albums site. Sure, it's been eight months (to the day actually), since Picasa's Web Albums was born; I just thought you had finally gotten around to combining it with Gmail and the rest of your office apps...but it was just a tease.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
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