Picasa makes all of your photos better

So, I'm a big fan of Google software. They seem to strike the perfect balance between ease of use and flexibility. But even people who don't care about flexibility should download Picasa. Picasa was originally promoted as "what should have come with your digital camera." It's true.

Have you ever used Photoshop? I have. And if you're reading this blog, you don't want to. Photoshop is definitely for advanced users only. And while sometimes I want that, for my everyday photo editing needs, I always use Picasa.

For one, the user interface is really intuitive. You tell it what folders to scan (or have it scan your whole computer), and your pictures show up in nicely-sized thumbnails. It can also download from your camera or any other device. Double-click on a picture to edit it. You can crop your pictures really easily, and adjust the lighting, tint, and color, add effects, or have Picasa automatically edit your photo by clicking "I'm feeling lucky." It usually does a great job. For most pictures, I just crop them, then let Picasa handle the rest.

Also, as with most Google products, it has a great way to share the experience. You can click one button to upload any of your albums onto Google's servers. You can add captions, give locations, and make the pictures public, or choose who to share them with. The online site will also scan your pictures for faces, and if you do it enough, it will start recognizing people. It's kind of creepy/awesome. Go here to see my public album. And go download Picasa!