January 23, 2012
Well shucks – I’m not a happy camper. Picnik is closing on the 19th April this year and all I can say (in a whiny voice) is ‘thanks a lot Google. Don’t you realize that Picnik’s Photoshop for Dummies?!’.
To say I’m pretty gutted is an understatement. I’ve used the online picture editing software for over 3 years now, and honestly can’t fault the usability or the range of features that it offers to the likes of me – the edit-images-with photoshop challenged.
I’ve never minded the annual subscription, if anything I thought it worth every penny, so when I went to the site over the weekend I was more than a little dismayed when I was met with the ‘sorry we’re closing’ message. That and the ambiguous reasoning behind the closure. Hey Google … some of us love the program and don’t mind paying for it, ya know?
Now me and others that love Picnik are left scratching our heads as to ‘what now … where’s home gonna be??’. Is there an answer, is there something else out there for us? Worry ye not (at least don’t panic just yet) for Google, in all it’s greatness, has decided to (sneakily?) integrate some of the more popular features found in Picnik into what’s known as the ‘creative kit’ on Google + … which has got to be better than nothing!
Kind of. You get about 25% ish. I’m not the math wiz I wish I was but, having had a good look around, I reckon that 25% is a good guestimate. So – what’s there (or rather … what’s left)? Well, if you’re familiar with Picnik photo editing, the Creative Kit offers (pretty much) the following well-love features:
- 25 image effects features (including 4 from the touch-up set)
- 20 decorate features
- the same basic edits – crop, auto-correct, sharpen etc
- almost all of the fonts in text
And that’s it. It sucks. There are some aspects of the software that were, in a word, awesome. I love some of the Touch-up features, such as the teeth-whitening, not to mention the sticker collection. *sighs * … oh well. It appears (to me) that Google are cleaning house: rebranding, regrouping, reducing their stable.
As of the last year or so, Google have brought an end to:
- Labs
- Buzz
- Knol
- Gears
- Health
- to name a few
- to be added to …
In truth I can understand what’s going on at Google Inc. Cloud computing is breaking fast ground and anyone that’s online (and knows what the virtual world is all about) recognizes exactly where we’re heading. Online apps, such as those already given the push, just don’t fit into the cloud computing mold. And, if it’s any compensation, the likes of me and you (as in anyone that’s paid for the premium service) are in for a full refund.
Honestly? I’d rather Google kept it and Picnik closing was little more than internet buzz. Oh well … if, as Camp Google are telling us, they follow through then more of the features will be transported over to the Creative Kit by the time Picnik officially closes down.
Sniff …
G'bye Picnik ... we'll miss you ...
January 19, 2012
More than a few folks are wondering what a Google hangout is. Let’s clear up the mystery – it’s everything to do with online conference-type video calling and nothing (at all) to do with the Google Inc chiefs chilling out in a Silicon Valley style tree house.
In essence, participating in a Google hangout is pretty much like MSN Messenger of old used to be – remember the chat room days? Fast forward 10 or more years and it’s all about seeing who you’re talking to, as well as being able to respond to them much the same way as you would in any normal conversation.
Basically Google Inc have developed a free (yes free … is this going to become Google’s new Google Earth? I do hope so) software app that enables users from around the world to get together, to ‘hangout’. And truth be known it’s cool, it works and you can have a lot of fun with it.
The hangout app uses Google’s voice and video software, which has been kicking around the internet for quite some time. However, Google decided to stack a little incentive behind the using of it, by way of tying it in with the all new Google + social networking system. Which, I have to say, is pretty cool in its own right.
How does it work? Like this:
- make sure that you’re signed into your Google + account
- go to the Google + homepage
- click on the ‘start hangout’ icon, found down the right side of screen
- then, like it says – make sure you’re presentable and simply click ‘hangout’
That’s it. Now you either invite people to talk to or wait until someone in your circle sees that you’re available for chat and joins the conversation – supposing that you’re already having one.
Yay ... go you, you're hanging out!
Having used the voice and video app, it’s fair to say that it does exactly what it says on the tin. It is a lot of fun, especially when someone joins the conversation that you weren’t expecting (which is easy to do – you just leave the hangout ‘door’ wide open) and once those in your circle (or not – be warned!) get the hang of it, you’ll be transported back to the MSN chat-room heyday … only with a bit more class and self control.
Ok we’ve got Skype, we already have Google voice and video, we’ve even (still) got MSN, albeit in a much reduced form, and yet Google hangout has definitely got a place in the world of online communication. For a start – who doesn’t have a Gmail account? Who doesn’t surf the internet using Google as Point A? Who doesn’t know what Google is? Let’s face it … if Muppets can get a hangout going …
There’s also the fact that the hangout app doesn’t lag up and cause those irritating computer crashes that you can get when you’re using the equivalent (let’s say) Facebook feature. Plus you can download the Google hangout app to your cell phone – a really cool little app that allows you to talk with your Google + circle wherever you may be.
What’s more the mobile app version is also free, and will work on pretty much any android cell phone, providing that it’s the minimum Android 2.3 and over. All in all, the Google + hangout is little more than a new and improved MSN chatroom but it’s definitely slicker, a lot more fun (because you can control who joins the conversation) and did I mention that it’s also free?
Want it for your cell phone? The click here!