Yahoo has launched a beta of improvements to its free e-mail service that are designed to let subscribers more easily send and share digital photos, the company said Thursday.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo, which hosts the top-ranked Web-based e-mail service, said the PhotoMail beta will scan photos on a person's hard drive, and if a person so chooses, drag and drop selections into an e-mail message, without adding cumbersome attachments. The new service can also scour for photos in a person's Yahoo storage locker and Yahoo's image database of 1.5 billion pictures.
"We're maximizing your time and experience," said Andy Spillane, a vice president in Yahoo Mail division.
Photo-sharing technology is a hot area of development. Yahoo, for example, recently introduced a new instant-messaging technology that lets people view photos in a chat window much like a slide show.
Meanwhile, competitors are eyeing the market. Last year, Google bought photo service Picasa, which includes an instant-messaging application for picture sharing. The company has made several updates to the photo service, and many industry watchers expect Google to unveil an instant-messaging client of its own.
Numerous rivals include Kodak's Ofoto, Shutterfly and Webshots, which is owned by CNET Networks, publisher of News.com.
With Yahoo's PhotoMail service, people can include up to 300 pictures within an e-mail message in thumbnail version. People can also add captions and borders to photos with the software.
Every time I here something like this, it make me cringe. How is their service goign to make it easier to share photos (or anything else)?
I, like many others, have a broadband Internet connection. The easiest way to share photos are: drag them to a folder on my computer and share it via HTTP, or mount remote directory at an ISP and drag and drop to that. So plain and simple that a monkey could do it.
So why is it again that they offer a service with this flaky and awkward web-based file-upload and management that doesn't integrate with my desktop environment? Oh, that's right, they "just don't get it." (tm)
Most of these photo sharing services have a simple model: You upload a photo and then everyone who looks at it and wants a copy pays the service for that copy. Read the agreement very, very carefully if you use one of these services. Many of the services require you to give up all rights to the photos and make it so that anyone who wants to print their own copy must purchase the print from the sharing service.
The reason that you read about everything and anything that Google & Yahoo do is because they have huge PR machinery. In fact many of the BIG media outlets, such as this news.com too - are major share holders in Yahoor or Google or are held by same Institutional investors.
Gotta agree. There may be some cool things about this enhancement. But it is yet another new service from Yahoo that pretends that everyone in the known universe uses IE as their browser. When, if ever, are they going to make their email program fully compatible with other browsers?
Francois is 100% correct. None of the players get it. They can make drag and drop apps all day, but most users don't realize that you can drag from a maximized window to another window. Users don't understand window management, or file management. They tend to guess there way through a computer experience. This product looks like a joke to me. I also agree that it should simply be a folder on the desktop that you paste your photos into, but a lot of users wouldn't be able to do that either. For myself, I use Francois's http solution for sharing. But I also have a folder on my mac they I applescripted. I drag a file into it and it's attached to an email and addressed and sent. The point though is that software makers don't realize most of their users have no idea about how to use their products.
Every time I here something like this, it make me cringe. How is their service goign to make it easier to share photos (or anything else)?
I, like many others, have a broadband Internet connection. The easiest way to share photos are: drag them to a folder on my computer and share it via HTTP, or mount remote directory at an ISP and drag and drop to that. So plain and simple that a monkey could do it.
So why is it again that they offer a service with this flaky and awkward web-based file-upload and management that doesn't integrate with my desktop environment? Oh, that's right, they "just don't get it." (tm)
Most of these photo sharing services have a simple model: You upload a photo and then everyone who looks at it and wants a copy pays the service for that copy. Read the agreement very, very carefully if you use one of these services. Many of the services require you to give up all rights to the photos and make it so that anyone who wants to print their own copy must purchase the print from the sharing service.
The reason that you read about everything and anything that Google & Yahoo do is because they have huge PR machinery. In fact many of the BIG media outlets, such as this news.com too - are major share holders in Yahoor or Google or are held by same Institutional investors.
Gotta agree. There may be some cool things about this enhancement. But it is yet another new service from Yahoo that pretends that everyone in the known universe uses IE as their browser. When, if ever, are they going to make their email program fully compatible with other browsers?
Francois is 100% correct. None of the players get it. They can make drag and drop apps all day, but most users don't realize that you can drag from a maximized window to another window. Users don't understand window management, or file management. They tend to guess there way through a computer experience. This product looks like a joke to me. I also agree that it should simply be a folder on the desktop that you paste your photos into, but a lot of users wouldn't be able to do that either. For myself, I use Francois's http solution for sharing. But I also have a folder on my mac they I applescripted. I drag a file into it and it's attached to an email and addressed and sent. The point though is that software makers don't realize most of their users have no idea about how to use their products.
Another spam message from the clown prince of spammers! I don't care how good or bad the service he's spamming about is, if he has to spam to promote it then it deserves to DIE.
Another spam message from the clown prince of spammers! I don't care how good or bad the service he's spamming about is, if he has to spam to promote it then it deserves to DIE.
Web giant is spending $120 million to beef up its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, according to filings with the city reviewed by the San Jose Mercury News.
The Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 S6500 could make its debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month, according to a leaked promotional image.
MIT creates a simulation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Spacewar. A relic of the early days of minicomputers, it was one of the first computer video games and set the stage for many others, including Asteroids.
rofl, since when has Yahoo! provided the "number one" email service?
rofl, since when has Yahoo! provided the "number one" email service?
me cringe. How is their service goign to make it
easier to share photos (or anything else)?
I, like many others, have a broadband Internet
connection. The easiest way to share photos are:
drag them to a folder on my computer and share
it via HTTP, or mount remote directory at an ISP
and drag and drop to that. So plain and simple
that a monkey could do it.
So why is it again that they offer a service
with this flaky and awkward web-based
file-upload and management that doesn't
integrate with my desktop environment? Oh,
that's right, they "just don't get it." (tm)
In fact many of the BIG media outlets, such as this news.com too - are major share holders in Yahoor or Google or are held by same Institutional investors.
[Edited by: admin on Jun 6, 2005 11:40 AM]
I also agree that it should simply be a folder on the desktop that you paste your photos into, but a lot of users wouldn't be able to do that either.
For myself, I use Francois's http solution for sharing. But I also have a folder on my mac they I applescripted. I drag a file into it and it's attached to an email and addressed and sent.
The point though is that software makers don't realize most of their users have no idea about how to use their products.
me cringe. How is their service goign to make it
easier to share photos (or anything else)?
I, like many others, have a broadband Internet
connection. The easiest way to share photos are:
drag them to a folder on my computer and share
it via HTTP, or mount remote directory at an ISP
and drag and drop to that. So plain and simple
that a monkey could do it.
So why is it again that they offer a service
with this flaky and awkward web-based
file-upload and management that doesn't
integrate with my desktop environment? Oh,
that's right, they "just don't get it." (tm)
In fact many of the BIG media outlets, such as this news.com too - are major share holders in Yahoor or Google or are held by same Institutional investors.
[Edited by: admin on Jun 6, 2005 11:40 AM]
I also agree that it should simply be a folder on the desktop that you paste your photos into, but a lot of users wouldn't be able to do that either.
For myself, I use Francois's http solution for sharing. But I also have a folder on my mac they I applescripted. I drag a file into it and it's attached to an email and addressed and sent.
The point though is that software makers don't realize most of their users have no idea about how to use their products.
[Edited by: admin on Jun 6, 2005 11:39 AM]
[Edited by: admin on Jun 6, 2005 11:39 AM]