| Picasa | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Picasa version 3.9.137.141 on Windows 8.1 | |
| Original authors | Lifescape, Inc. |
| Developer | Lifescape (Google) |
| Initial release | October 15, 2002; 23 years ago (2002-10-15)[1] |
| Final release | |
| Operating system | Desktop: Windows,OS X,Linux Television: LG Smart TV,OrsayGoogle TV, Sony Internet TV |
| Successor | Google Photos |
| Type | Image organizer,image viewer |
| License | Freeware |
| Website | picasa |
Picasa is a discontinued, cross-platformimage organizer andimage viewer for organizing and editingdigital photos, integrated with a now defunctphoto-sharingwebsite, originally created by a company named Lifescape[4] (which at that time was incubated by Idealab) in 2002.[5] "Picasa" is ablend of the name of Spanish painterPablo Picasso, the wordcasa (Spanish for "house") and "pic" for pictures.[5][6]
Native applications forWindows XP,Windows Vista,Windows 7, andmacOS were available.Linux support was provided by bundling the Windows version alongside theWine compatibility layer. AniPhoto plugin and a standalone program for uploading photos were available for Mac OS X 10.4 and later.
In July 2004, Google acquired Picasa from Lifescape and began offering it asfreeware.[5] The name was also registered by Google as anLLC.[7] On February 12, 2016, Google announced it was discontinuing support for Picasa Desktop andPicasa Web Albums, effective March 15, 2016, and focusing on the cloud-basedGoogle Photos as its successor.[8] Picasa Web Albums, a companion service, was closed on May 1, 2016.[9]
The latest version of Picasa is 3.9, which supports Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, and hasGoogle+ integration for users of that service.[10] Version 3.9 also removed integration with Picasa Web Albums for users of Google+.[11]
Since June 2006, Linux versions have become available as free downloads for most distributions of theLinux operating system. It is not a native Linux program but an adapted Windows version that uses theWine libraries.[12] Google has announced that there will be no Linux version for 3.5.[13] The only officially offered 3.x version of the software is Picasa 3.0 Beta for Linux.[citation needed]
On April 20, 2012, Google announced that they were deprecating Picasa for Linux and will no longer maintain it for Linux.[14]
To use latest version of Picasa on Linux, Linux users can useWine and install Picasa for Windows.[15] Linux users can use other programs to upload to Picasa Web Albums, includingShotwell andDigikam.[16]
On January 5, 2009, Google released a beta version of Picasa for Mac (Intel-based Macs only).[17] Also, a plugin is available for iPhoto to upload to the Picasa Web Albums hosting service. There is also a standalone Picasa Web Albums uploading tools for OS X 10.4 or later.[18] The Picasa for Mac is aGoogle Labs release.
For organizing photos, Picasa had file importing and tracking features, as well astags, facial recognition, and collections for further sorting. It also offers several basic photo editing functions, including color enhancement,red eye reduction, andcropping. Other features include slide shows, printing, and image timelines. Images could also be prepared for external use, such as for e-mailing or printing, by reducing file size and setting up page layouts. There was also integration with online photo printing services. Other simple editing features included adding text to the image. Picasa supported Google'sWebP image format as well as theJPG format and mostRaw image format (RAW files). A user could view and edit RAW files and save the finished edit (as JPG, or other forms) without any changes to the original RAW file.
Picasa used picasa.ini files to keep track of keywords for each image. In addition to this, Picasa attachedIPTC Information Interchange Model (IPTC) keyword data to JPEG files, but not to any other file format. Keywords attached to JPEG files in Picasa could be read by other image library software likeAdobe Photoshop Album,Adobe Bridge,Adobe Photoshop Lightroom,digiKam,Aperture, andiPhoto.
According to the Picasa Readme, Picasa could parseExtensible Metadata Platform (XMP) data. However, it could not search local files for existing XMP keywords.[clarification needed]
Picasa had asearch bar that was always visible when viewing the library. Searches were live, so that displayed items were filtered as one types. The search bar would search filenames, captions, tags, folder names, and other metadata.[19]
Picasa also had an experimental feature that allowed searching for images that contain certain colors with the "color" operator.[20]
Picasa has no separate view window. There is only an "edit view" with a viewing area. Fullscreen view is available in slideshow mode, by holding down the ctrl+alt keys while in "edit view", or by pressing the Alt Gr key. This feature is also available through the context menu of Windows Explorer, and provides a way to start the Picasa editor as well.
In Picasa 2 and earlier versions, changes to pictures made in Picasa overwrite the original file, but a backup version of the original is saved in a hidden folder named "Originals" in the same folder as the original picture (.picasaoriginals on Mac OS X).
In Picasa 3, changes to pictures made in Picasa are saved to a hidden filepicasa.ini in the same folder as the original picture. This allows multiple edits to be performed without altering the original image. Viewing the picture in Picasa or using the Picasa Photo Viewer will apply modifications on the fly, whereas viewing through other programs (such as Windows XP's Photo and Fax Viewer) will display the original image. Changes can also be made permanent using the "Save" function, where the original file is backed up in a hidden folder.picasaoriginals located in the same folder as the original picture and the modified version is written in its place.
On August 15, 2006, Google announced it had acquiredNeven Vision, whose technology can be used to search for features within photos such as people or buildings. Google applied this technology forface recognition, and this functionality was launched on Picasa Web Albums on September 2, 2008.[21]
Neven Vision incorporates several patents[22] specifically centered around face recognition from digital photo and video images.
Since June 2007, Picasa can write geographic coordinates toExif metadata, thusgeotagging an image.[citation needed]
Since version 3.5 of Picasa, geotagging may be done directly inside Picasa, in the Places panel.[23]
The geotagging functionality is described in the Picasa User's Guide.[24]
BesidesGoogle+, Picasa also integrated withPicasa Web Albums, animage hosting andsharing web service. The service allowed users with aGoogle account to store and share their photos on the service. Users with a Google+ account received unlimited storage for photos of a resolution less than 2048x2048 pixels; all others received unlimited storage for photos of a resolution less than 800x800.
Hello by Google's Picasa was a free computer program that enabled users to send images across the Internet and publish them to theirblogs. It was similar to aninstant messaging program because it allowed users to send text, butHello focused ondigital photographs.[25] Users could opt to view the same pictures as their friends in real-time. One of the advantages claimed at the website is that photos could be shared through firewalls.
The service was canceled at the end of 2006, and users were instructed to try the Picasa "Blog This" functionality for uploading pictures to their blogs.According to the official website,[25] the Hello project was shut down on May 15, 2008.
On February 12, 2016, Google announced that the Picasa desktop application would be discontinued on March 15, 2016, followed by the closure of the Picasa Web Albums service on May 1, 2016.[26] Google stated that the primary reason for retiring Picasa was that it wanted to focus its efforts "entirely on a single photos service" the cross-platform, web-basedGoogle Photos. While support for the desktop version of Picasa ended, Google stated that users who downloaded the software, or who chose to download it prior to the March 15th deadline could still be able to use its functionality, albeit with no support from Google.[27]
