Picasa 2

Google Picture Organizer, Picasa, has just released a new version: Picasa 2. With this version, there have been a lot of improvements. For one, Picasa 2 is now integrated with your Gmail account, so you can send pictures to your family and friends easily (though they don’t have to use Gmail.) Also, the new version provides many more image editing tools than before. Beyond the basic fixes (red eye removal, cropping, contrast, etc.) you can now apply different effects to photos like Sephia, B&W, and Glow, to name a few…and it’s much easier than using a complex program like Photoshop. Another new feature is the "Order" button, which takes you a page where you can order prints from either Shutterfly, Walmart, Snapfish, or Kodak’s Ofoto.

However, one of my favorite new features is the "Collage" feature, which will generate a collage of selected pictures by either merging them on top of each other (as a multi-exposure), arranging them as a contact sheet, arranging them as a grid, or, (the default setting): picture pile, which makes your pictures look like a pile of polaroids. You can then save your creation to your "My Pictures" folder, save it to your Desktop background folder, or apply it as a screensaver. Very cool stuff.