Picasa for Mac!

Google finally released the long awaited Picasa for Mac (in beta of course). Before I switched to Mac, I love Picasa on Windows. It’s pretty much iPhoto, if not better, on Windows. Although iPhoto 08 is pretty good, I still miss Picasa.

Features I like in Picasa:
-Ability to watch folder(s). You can set Picasa to watch certian folders, and it will automatically import any new pictures it find in those folders. This is something that you would think Apple would’ve thought, but no such features in iPhoto.
-I’m feeling lucky. I’m feeling lucky is a one click quick fix button. From what I see, it does a much better job every single time when compared to iPhoto’s auto enhance.
-Folder structure. Although I really like iPhoto 08’s way of organizing pictures with events, Picasa’s folder structure is more flexible and easier to manage.
-Collages. Again, something that you would think Apple would’ve thought. This is a pretty fun feature, especially when you want to create a cover for a photo album or wallpaper. Example below:

The only downside is since Picasa is google’s product, upload integration is only for Picasa web album or Youtube. Still, Picasa is an excellent software, and the Mac version is long overdue. Let’s see what Apple would do with iPhoto 09.

 

iPhoto 08 Impression

First most notable improvement, events. In iPhoto 06, photos are first organized by “rolls,” and then you have to create albums manually on the sidebar. In iPhoto 08, organization is much easier since iPhoto will automatically create an “album” for you when you upload your pictures. They’re called Events. The arrangement of “events” is much easier to users then “rolls.”

Unfortunately, I found the “quick view” feature somewhat annoying. When I double-click a picture, instead of automatically go into editing mode, iPhoto only enlarge the picture. To edit it, I have to click on the edit icon. Annoying extra step. The picture adjustment features is better than 06 though, having clearly labeled sliders like shadows and highlights, and finally a dropper icon to choose a neutral color instead of command-clicking.

Although I still think Picasa to be the better software, I find it much easier to use iPhoto 08 compared to 06 thanks to “Events,” and haven’t touched Picasa ever since.