PicLens, coolest Web photo viewer ever, gets updated

PicLens, which we've covered before, is a browser plug-in that replaces the typical photo viewer you use on sites like Flickr. It's recently been updated, and if you haven't checked it out lately, now's the time. It's stunning.

The plug-in, which works in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Flock, and Safari (where it's a bit limited), lets you create a moving wall of images where you'd otherwise just see your Web app's more static display of pictures. Launching the viewer is just a matter of clicking a new "play" icon that appears on images when you're on a PicLens-supported site.

Sort of like CoverFlow, and in a very good way.

You can fling the wall backwards and forward to see images in the list, zoom in to full-screen versions of files with a double-click, or start a slideshow. It's a very Mac-like experience.

You also get a search bar in the viewer, which can scan for tagged images on Google, Yahoo, Flickr, PhotoBucket, SmugMug, and DeviantArt. The plug-in itself recognizes images from more sites, including Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Picassa Web Albums, and AOL Images.

I use it to keep my kid entertained (a slideshow of helicopters will quiet him right down). It really is a better experience than the standard search, view, and slideshow experience you usually get.

There's no embeddable version of the PicLens view yet. I'd like to see that.

CoolIris, which makes PicLens, is nicely funded by Kleiner-Perkins, and as yet has no system to make money from the service. Expect ads in the system to come once the user base has grown. Until then, you can enjoy this sweet product without commercial interruption.

[abulle87]

good

[Coollector]

If you like Piclens, and if you're also a movie buff, here's a freeware that uses Piclens 3D wall to display your DVD collection, your favorite movies & series, your favorite actors, etc...
It also uses the latest PicLens feature to find videos on YouTube (trailers, interviews, making of, alternate scenes, spoofs, etc...)

www.coollector.com

[darkcobra]

Yes, it's a very slick 3d-like viewer with only one enormous problem . . . all you can do is look at the images! You can't save a thing! This alone is a major flaw and deal breaker for serious use in its current form. If the developer is truly serious then they will open this up for actual "use". Unless and until they do it is little more than a cool gadget to look at.

[rolexfakes]

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[Go-Gulf]

Here?s how PicLens becomes useful to me: I?m writing a blog post or preparing a presentation and want to quickly scan a bunch of Creative Commons photos in Flickr. Clicking through page after page just takes too long. But with PicLens, I can quickly go through hundreds of images and find one that suits.