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photography

Google drops Picasa's 'beta' (and pigs fly)

Only two and a half months after announcing Picasa 3 beta, Google has done the uncharacteristic and on Thursday has issued Picasa 3.

Here's the clincher:Picasa 3 is the exact same desktop organizer and editor it has been under the beta flag. (This is a good wagon for the Gmail team to climb aboard--Google's e-mail service has been in beta since 2004 and its latest releases have been earthshaking themes and emoticons.)

Although Version 3 beta users won't see changes in this release, those switching from Version 2.7 will enjoy the substantial boost in features. … Read more

Pixelmator: Image editing for the rest of us

Though Photoshop rules the roost when it comes to image-editing software, not everyone needs many of the more advanced functions Photoshop has to offer. Many casual digital camera users probably don't want to spend the money on higher-end software, either.

That's where Pixelmator comes in. With Pixelmator ($59) you get most of the tools, color-correction features, effects, and layer management options you would find in a program like Photoshop, but without the steep price tag. The recently released version 1.3 adds several more useful features and fixes bugs from previous versions.

Familiar image-editing tools like the selector, … Read more

ACDSee Gift Pack for those about to photo manage!

This morning I offloaded nearly 1,000 images from my camera's SD card. As I watched the photos tick off one by one, I had a feeling I had already put most of them on my computer, but since I am hopelessly unorganized I'll now have to go through them all to make sure I don't have doubles taking up valuable storage space.

If you have similar issues and/or know someone else who does, too, you might be interested in this holiday deal from ACDSee. From now until December 1, the company is offering up its … Read more

Conceptual hands-on photography

In movies, photographers hold up their hands and form two L shapes to use as a frame and compose their shots. This has almost become a universal sign of photography. But what if technology comes into play, and you can snap a shot at whatever is in the frame?

Japanese designer Mac Funamizu's idea of the future camera is just a pair of sunglasses and your hands. When you wear the shades and create the frame in front of it, Fumanizu said the eyewear will recognize the varying dimensions that the two L frames create and prompt you to … Read more

Buckle up that digital photo

Usually, we display our favorite pictures on the wall, properly framed and large enough to be a talking point when visitors drop by. However, Kimbra Studios has a rather innovative way for you to showcase your latest works.

At the PhotoPlus Expo in New York, the company showcased its technology to imprint photographs onto personal accessories such as bracelets and belt buckles. All you have to do on its Web site is select the type of jewelry you like and upload an image. Within two to three weeks, the finished product will arrive in your mailbox.

The process sounds simple … Read more

Catch a cold--in photographs

Viruses are often known as the invisible enemies that make you weak, but virus expert Julian Tay and Pennsylvania State University engineering professor Gary Settles have discovered a way to see how gas travels when a person coughs in order to find out more about how viruses can spread through the air.

The method the duo uses, Schlieren photography, is not new. It photographs the flow of fluid and is commonly utilized to check the aerodynamics of vehicles in air tunnels. Additional equipment used includes precision optics, a curved mirror, and a razor blade to control how much light passes … Read more

Duplicating keys via distant digital images

Beware of flashing your keys in public.

Computer scientists at the University of California at San Diego have developed software that can make a duplicate of a key from just a distant photo of it using technology available to almost anyone.

Referred to as Sneakey, the system is capable of "teleduplication--extracting a key's complete and precise bitting code at a distance via optical decoding and then cutting precise duplicates," according to Sneakey's Web site.

Part of the project's mission is to make people realize that traditional keys are not really as safe as they might … Read more

Photo site Digital Railroad derailed completely

If the news about bank collapses hasn't devastated you enough, I have another depressing one. This time it comes from the Internet, but is no less devastating for a good number of people, hopefully not including you.

As of Wednesday, if you go to the Web site of Digital Railroad you will be greeted with this:

To our valued Members and Partners:

We deeply regret to inform you that Digital Railroad (DRR) has shut down.

On October 15th we reported that the company had reduced its staff and was aggressively pursuing additional financing and/or a strategic partner. Unfortunately, … Read more