News: Computing
Picasa 3.5 brings name tags, improved geotagging
23.09.2009
Google's free Picasa photo-editing software has released an update (3.5) that adds name tags to compliment facial recognition and has also tweaked its geotagging to make it easier to use.
Picasa 3.5, which is the free-to-download version for the PC or Mac, now syncs with Google's Picasa Web Albums and has some nice improvements on its previous iteration.
First off the bat, the minute you launch Picasa 3.5 it will begin scanning the databank of images on your computer and analysing for faces, which are then displayed for you to either label or ignore.
You can also attach addresses from your Gmail contacts to the faces you identify, and it groups images together by person.
You can also save time by syncing this with name tags you've already added online: go to Tools > "Download Name Tags from Picasa Web Albums" and import all your existing ones.
Geotagging is much easier now because Google Maps is integrated into the program itself and you no longer need to have Google Earth downloaded and open to use the geotagging feature.
Importing images is also much easier than before: you can now upload photos straight to Picasa Web Albums during the import process from your camera or memory card and tag them for sharing or not.
One more thing: Picasa for the Mac has now left beta phase and works well with iPhoto without affecting the photos stored and labelled there.
By Marie Boran
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