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Picasa's outstanding design is marred by an amazingly dumb flaw -- it only recognizes JPEG images. But a fix is expected soon.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

An 'iPhoto' for Windows? Picasa sure comes close


Dec. 1, 2002


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard

   Gasp! Has iPhoto arrived for Windows PCs?
   iPhoto is the program that organizes and displays digital images on a modern Macintosh computer. It has fans worldwide, and Apple, the maker of the Mac, has won awards for making iPhoto both superbly easy to use and amazingly powerful.
   So has the unthinkable happened? Can Windows users get their own version of iPhoto?
   Almost. Apple hasn't ported iPhoto over to Windows, but a company called Lifescape Solutions is introducing the closest thing to iPhoto I've ever seen. It's called Picasa.
   If I said Picasa is the best Windows program I've seen all year I'd be guilty of misstatement. It's the best Windows program I've seen EVER. Period. End of argument. It's incredible. Except for an inexplicable flaw in the program, Picasa is amazing. (The flaw? Picasa only recognizes JPEGs, ignoring all other kinds of images. The company that makes Picasa hopes to have a free fix within weeks.)
   Picasa, which runs on Windows PCs from Windows 98 to Windows XP, costs $30. You can try it out for free at www.picasa.net. You can buy it online as a downloadable file, or you can order a boxed version.
   At last, somebody in the Windows software world understands why typical Mac software is so good. Picasa doesn't turn your virus-prone Windows PC into a Macintosh lookalike, of course, but it does ease the pain. If you're waiting to save enough money for a Mac, Picasa will make the wait worthwhile. And if you never intend to leave Windows behind, Picasa will make your digital life rewarding beyond your fondest dreams.
   Exaggeration? Maybe. But that's how I feel about this software. Programs of this kind might come along only oncve in a lifetime. When they do, it's time to shout for joy.
   What does Picasa do? If you've ever used iPhoto, you're excused. The rest of you need to listen up. Imagine this:
   You plug your digital camera into your computer (or slip the memory card into your card reader) and your computer automatically organizes the pictures. And I mean ORGANIZES. I don't mean that it just shows them to you. It organizes them in a zillion possible ways. You choose.
   You download a couple of pictures from the Web and your computer absorbs them into its database of photos, all on its own. You don't have to do anything.
   You see a timeline of photos (pictures that were all taken on the same day, maybe) and you like a couple of them enough to keep in view. Click a single button and they snuggle up to a docking bar at the bottom of your screen. They're there for as long as you want to have them handy, no matter what else is going on.
   You want to see a picture larger than the standard size you see on the screen. What do you do? Of course, you simply double click.
   You want to see a lot of your pictures one after the other. Slide show? You've got it. Click once. A manual progression instead of an automatic one? It's yours. Click once.
   A couple of pictures are a little dark. They don't have much contrast. Or they lack the right colors. A quick fix? It's yours, pal. A single click.
   The best thing about Picasa is also the best thing about iPhoto. It doesn't expect you to know anything geeky. It doesn't pester you with details. It just does the right thing nearly all the time.
   Just as delightful is the way Picasa, like iPhoto, massages your ego without insulting your intelligence. It never simplfies things so much that you feel stupid -- after all, it's not simplicity that we need, it's ease of use -- and it never fails to make your photos look better than you ever thought they looked. The display all at times is outstanding.
   Picasa even has a 3D mode that would make Disney Studios jealous. I won't tell you more about that feature; you need to discover it yourself.
   Picasa has one problem. It "phones home" (by connecting with its parent Web site) every time you run it. You can, and should, turn this function off. Picasa's programmers say it's a way for Picasa to check for a new version of the software, but of course such a thing doesn't have to be done every time the program runs. And when Picasa contacts its Web site, it's feeding back information on your habits. That's a total No-No to me. Be sure to turn off the automatic update check. (I've asked Picasa's parent company to disable this function. To me, it's THAT important.)
   Other than that little annoyance, this software is as close to perfect as you can find. Get off your duff and treat yourself to the neatest discovery in years. You won't be sorry.