Google releases Picasa for Mac

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
After limiting Picasa to Windows and Linux machines, Google on Monday launched a test version of the photo management software for Macs.



The public beta of Picasa 3 is said by the search engine giant to contain virtually the same features as on other operating systems.



Often considered a direct competitor to iPhoto, the suite lets users manage photos and either manually upload or sync them to Picasa Web Albums. It's also possible to share photos through posts on Blogger sites or to create slideshow movies.



Minor, non-destructive direct image editing is also possible, Google says.



The official release confirms recent leaks from sources speaking with AppleInsider but isn't accompanied by any additional information, including any tentative schedule for a final release.



Picasa requires any Intel-based Mac using Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or higher.







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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 54
    In before lock. Oh wait.. we don't get to play that game anymore.
  • Reply 2 of 54
    I think ill just stick to iPhoto.
  • Reply 3 of 54
    virgil-tb2virgil-tb2 Posts: 1,416member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    After limiting Picasa to Windows and Linux machines, Google on Monday launched a test version of the photo management software for Macs....



    Certainly far from the most attractive of apps, which is unusual for an "art" application, but worthy of a tryout perhaps.



    I wonder if this is a pre-emptive strike due to Apple possibly releasing a web-enabled new version of iPhoto tomorrow?
  • Reply 4 of 54
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    There are a few features shown in that video that I don't think are offered in Apple's photo management products.



    It's a nice option to have. I have Aperture and aspire to jump to Lightroom if Aperture doesn't get some of Lightroom's better features on the next update, so I really won't benefit so much from Picasa.
  • Reply 5 of 54
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    *frowns in disgust*



    Google just...doesn't get it. Waiting all this time for *this* is just a slap in the face.
  • Reply 6 of 54
    amac4meamac4me Posts: 282member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OahuSurf View Post


    I think ill just stick to iPhoto.



    I think this will be the case for most Mac users.
  • Reply 7 of 54
    yup. that is one ugly app.
  • Reply 8 of 54
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by amac4me View Post


    I think this will be the case for most Mac users.



    I didn't have to be like this. Google is swimming in cash and developers. Why is it that the companies with the most cash have to produce the most putrid, disgusting app!?



    Why is it that tiny team of developers with zero cash can produce amazing Mac apps and the biggest companies produce such garbage!? It simply makes no sense to me.



    I can't stand it anymore, I'm utterly disgusted by Microsoft, Adobe and Google.
  • Reply 9 of 54
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Picasa requires any Intel-based Mac using Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or higher.



    It sucks that it's intel-only. My Dad could really use it, but he's got a PowerBook released just before the switch to Intels.



    And the scrollbar in it feels weird. I switch they had stuck to the standard scrollbar instead.
  • Reply 10 of 54
    bdkennedy1bdkennedy1 Posts: 1,459member
    And it looks like a Windows or Linux app. Yuk.
  • Reply 11 of 54
    Picasa is first and foremost a Windows applications. Google used WineLib to port Picasa to Linux, so they must have used WineLib to do the Mac Port as well. That's important because WineLib used to require X11 for its GUI support. Obviously Google has added native OS X display support to WineLib, which is great news.



    The app itself appears to work just as well as the Windows version, doesn't look terribly out of place on the OS X desktop, and absolutely destroys iPhoto in the speed and memory usage department.



    Both Picasa and iPhoto have their own set of features they do extra well. I find I miss iPhoto when I use Picasa, and I miss Picasa when I'm in iPhoto. It's definitely nice to have the option to use both. Extra nice that Picasa works with my existing iPhoto library.



    All in all, very nice work.
  • Reply 11 of 54
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    WIth the exception of Sketch Up, Google's Application business seemingly exists mostly to further cement it 's leadership in Search. I doubt Google would try to make a serious contender to iPhoto because there is no money in it. If there were, it would risk annoying Apple.



    iPhoto for most people is free and it is a pretty good application. WHy spend money on replacing that? I think most of Google's applications are for the most part the work of what developers do in their company paid free time.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kim kap sol View Post


    I didn't have to be like this. Google is swimming in cash and developers. Why is it that the companies with the most cash have to produce the most putrid, disgusting app!?



    Why is it that tiny team of developers with zero cash can produce amazing Mac apps and the biggest companies produce such garbage!? It simply makes no sense to me.



    I can't stand it anymore, I'm utterly disgusted by Microsoft, Adobe and Google.



  • Reply 13 of 54
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    What they really should have done was create a better Picasa upload plugin for iPhoto. The current one is very limited. I played around a little with Picasa on Windows only becuase I wanted to upload videos to my Picasa album and there was no way to do that from a Mac. It was a very jarring experience compared to using iPhoto.



    Google gains nothing by making a Mac photo management application. It's the online albums where they get the visibility. The more people posting online to Picasa, the more visitors they'll get which will turn into more Picasa users and therefore more useres of Google's other online tools. They'd be much better off making it easier for iPhoto users to get their photos and videos online to Picasa rather than trying to get them to switch photo management applications.
  • Reply 14 of 54
    lorrelorre Posts: 396member
    It's a pretty nice looking app... if this were Linux or Windows.



    Jeez, could an app look any less OSX-like? Even stuff like NetBeans and Eclipse, that look virtually identical to their Windows and Linux counterparts, look more native than this.
  • Reply 15 of 54
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by astrosmash View Post


    All in all, very nice work.



    You gotta be shittin' me.
  • Reply 16 of 54
    jnoeljnoel Posts: 19member
    My biggest gripe as of late with OS X (really iPhoto i guess) was the lack of ability to have a central network repository for photos that all the clients on a network could view. This "gotta import the files into the iPhoto DB or have locally stuff just blows.



    This made my night!
  • Reply 17 of 54
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    I've downloaded the app. I don't really like the scrolling function. In many ways, Picasa is quicker and has a more deterministic feel to the controls than iPhoto offers, except for that goofy scroller. Start Picasa and it opens right away with much less delay. Going to the single image view mode just happens rather than make me wait, I can switch photos nearly instantaneously rather than see a low res preview and wait seconds for the full image. I didn't expect to see performance like that. It's still indexing photos, it's at 22,000 photos and still feeling quite snappy.



    It actually offers to let you do something with geotag data.



    To be frank, the vehement complaints about the appearance sound more than just a little overboard to me.
  • Reply 18 of 54
    virgil-tb2virgil-tb2 Posts: 1,416member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by astrosmash View Post


    Picasa is first and foremost a Windows applications. ... All in all, very nice work.



    I disagree.



    I'm going to try it anyway, but I agree with the poster that was griping about how it seems impossible for the bigger companies to do quality work. When you look at some of the apps made for the iPhone in a very short time they all look like gold-plated miracles next to this thing.



    How is it that one of the richest software companies in the world with the best developers can't spend the time to use X-Code and Cocoa and turn out a "real" OS-X app?



    If this was Microsoft's half-hearted attempt at cross platform compatibility I would understand. They are direct competitors, they have a different culture (i.e. - no culture), and they generally make crap software anyway. Google is supposedly none of those things, yet they toss this thing out decades late, and ugly as well? This is sounding disturbingly similar to the fiasco of "development" that led to Chrome.



    More and more I think that Google really needs a shake up in it's corporate culture. The place must be almost completely staffed by slackers at this point. Creative types need to be able to goof off at work, but they also need to, you know ... work sometimes.
  • Reply 19 of 54
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OahuSurf View Post


    I think ill just stick to iPhoto.



    Yep. This is surely for PC users who have no clue how great iLife is.
  • Reply 20 of 54
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    I've downloaded the app. I don't really like the scrolling function. In many ways, Picasa is quicker and has a more deterministic feel to the controls than iPhoto offers, except for that goofy scroller. Start Picasa and it opens right away with much less delay. Going to the single image view mode just happens rather than make me wait, I can switch photos nearly instantaneously rather than see a low res preview and wait seconds for the full image. I didn't expect to see performance like that. It's still indexing photos, it's at 22,000 photos and still feeling quite snappy.



    It actually offers to let you do something with geotag data.



    To be frank, the vehement complaints about the appearance sound more than just a little overboard to me.



    Interface aside, and I have no idea yet but does it totally and seamlessly integrate with Aperture, iMovie, iWeb, Pages etc.?
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