pics

Get a design sidekick with PicPick

If you do any kind of digital art or design, we can't think of a reason you wouldn't want to have PicPick as your sidekick. This handy set of tools can handle many small yet important design-related tasks without the hassle of opening a full-blown design program.

PicPick has an attractive, no-nonsense interface that lists all of its features up front. And what a list it is; PicPick's capabilities include a variety of screen capture options, a color picker, a color palette, a magnifier, a pixel ruler, a crosshair, a protractor, and a whiteboard. The program also … Read more

Pic-Poster analyzes faces and image metadata to estimate the subject's age

Sometimes we get to try the most unique, unusual, and specialized software. For example, take SoftWeird's Pic-Poster. This unusual free tool analyzes faces and image metadata to estimate an individual's age range, based on initial data you enter. You can post your images online to view or share, too. It works with a wide range of images, but it's meant to be used on digital snapshots of individuals (like newborns) bearing date stamps and other metadata. Its chief purpose seems to be to help busy parents quickly sort through gigabytes of family snapshots without the help of … Read more

Instagram competitor PicPlz to shut down in July

Instagram competitor PicPlz will cease operation in July and delete all the images and data in its possession, the photo-sharing service announced this weekend.

The photo-sharing first announced the closure Friday on its Web site in a message that began, "It has been a pleasure bringing picplz to our users, but we have decided to move on to other projects and have made the tough decision to shut it down." The Seattle-based startup sent out a follow-up e-mail to users today:

On July 3, 2012, picplz will shut down permanently and all photos and data will be deleted. … Read more

Sexters who are all about caution: This app's for you

By now, we have all seen how it happens. Pictures from "stars," such as Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton, are leaked on the Web, and all the gossip Web sites spread the pics like wildfire. People also probably remember the scandals that followed Brett Favre and Congressman Anthony Weiner when their pics were leaked and went viral. Even worse, many people out of the public eye will send risque pics to their significant others only to find the pics online when the relationship turns sour.

SnapChat (free) is an app that puts a time limit on pics sent … Read more

Easily edit images online with PicMonkey

The plug gets pulled tomorrow on popular Web image editor PicNik, but do not despair. An intrepid band of PicNik engineers started up a new Web image editor, PicMonkey, which is free and easy to use. It doesn't require you to register -- just drag an image into PicMonkey to start using its wide array of image-editing tools.

After you drag a photo into PicMonkey.com, the image editor opens with your image on the right and the tools on the right. There are seven groups of tools: Basic Edits, Effects, Touch Up, Text, Overlays, Frames, and Textures.

In … Read more

Seven Instagram alternatives for the iPhone

Instagram created a social-media uproar last night when it changed its terms of service to state that it could license user photos for display by advertisers without consent and without compensation. Granted, Instagram isn't the first social-networking service to claim the right to use uploaded content, but the broad language with phrases like "without any compensation to you" spurred a quick and vocal backlash. And rightly so.

Fortunately, it took less than a day before Instagram began to realize its mistake. As rivals began to pounce on its fumble and users threatened to leave, CEO Kevin Systrom … Read more

Facebook app: Save a pet by sharing its photo

Facebook users can now rescue homeless cats and dogs by potentially fixing them up with the right owners.

Spearheaded by PetSmart Charities, the new Share a Pic, Save a Pet campaign is calling on users of the social network to spread the word among family, friends, and followers about pets available for adoption in their communities. Information and photos of local homeless pets, along with links to the local shelters currently hosting them, can be shared directly on your Facebook timeline and appear on the newsfeeds of your friends.

Facebook users who want to do their part can tap into … Read more

How to easily round the corners of a photo with RoundPic

Rounding the corners of a photo can be visually appealing, especially in profile photos and avatars. Sure, you could get it done in Photoshop and or other photo-editing programs, but a Web service called RoundPic can do it for you in about a minute.

To use RoundPic, upload a photo or paste in the URL of a photo you want to round, then click the Round it! button.

After RouncPic completes processing, you'll be presented with a rounded photo. If you want to customize the rounding, change the settings to your preferences, then click the Round! button. Once you'… Read more

AnyPic is for anybody

Digital cameras are everywhere and in every phone. Today's PCs ship with terabyte storage capacities. Online storage sites grow ever larger. And there are unlimited subjects to photograph. Add them up and it's clear that personal snapshots will soon take over the world. What can you do about it? Post your pics pronto, pal, that's what. But that means resizing each and every one, one by one; it's a tedious chore you'll never start, let alone finish. That's where AnyPic Image Resizer Free enters the picture. It's a free tool designed to make … Read more

Send pics using Twitter's official picture service

Twitter recently started allowing people to send pictures from Twitter.com, using Twitter's own photo-sharing platform. Until now, only those who are using Apple's iOS 5 beta had access to sending pictures via the new service.

It's dead simple to send a picture on Twitter, but it can easily be overlooked if you aren't sure where to look for it.