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iOS 6: Shared Photo Streams
Apple shuttered MobileMe Galleries in June, which many Mac users were happily using as photo albums for sharing on the web. Apple has made a small step back toward photo sharing with Photo Stream sharing, which is now a part of iOS 6 and iPhoto and Aperture on the Mac. The implementation is flawed in many ways, but here's how it works. On the iPhone or iPad go to Photo Stream in your Photo app and press the + button. That will allow you to name your collection of photos. Type in an email address (it must be someone on iCloud) and decide if you want the stream posted publicly or not. If you make it public you will get a URL so anyone can see it. If you are keeping it to other iCloud users, your album will show up in their Photo Stream collection, and they will get a notification that it is available. You'll get a notice back when they subscribe. It's completely different with iPhoto, for no apparent good reason. With iPhoto, you select your pictures from your iPhoto library then click on share at the bottom-right of the iPhoto window. Select Photo Stream and it will make copies that will show up in a new album on the Photo Stream window, or photos can be added to an existing album. Once those albums are created new photos can be added from any iOS device or a Mac. Photos can also be deleted by clicking on the edit button. However, photos can't be rearranged in the gallery. That's kind of messy, and very un-Apple like. It's also far behind the functionality you got with MobileMe. When your friends or family view the public web page it appears as a collage. Apple has done the layout, so again, you get no control. When a photo is clicked on it expands to full screen. People can move from photo to photo, or trigger an automated slide show. After a shared Photo Stream is created you can add more subscribers, make it public, turn public access off or delete the entire stream. These Photo Stream galleries do not count against your iCloud storage, which is a plus, but the whole shared Photo Stream feature set is non-intuitive and severely limits your ability to determine how things are arranged and displayed. Apple can do better and I hope they do. %Gallery-166152%
Apple updates nearly every app for iOS 6, sneaks in key GarageBand, iPhoto and Podcasts updates
If you didn't already know that iOS 6 was out in the wild, Apple just delivered a torrent of mobile app updates to make it perfectly clear. Virtually every app that isn't preloaded now has explicit iOS 6 support to keep it running smoothly, and some of the upgrades are thankfully more than just skin-deep compatibility tweaks. Among the highlights are Podcasts' new subscription list syncing through iCloud, ringtone creation with GarageBand and iPhoto support for 36.5-megapixel image editing on the latest devices -- you know, for that moment you need to tweak Nikon D800 photos on an iPhone 5. We're including direct links to a few of the juicier updates, but we'd recommend checking AppleInsider's comprehensive list to see everything that you're missing.
Apple announces iPhone 5-compatible updates for iPhoto, iMovie, Keynote and more
At its press event today, Apple announced the new iPhone 5 with a 4-inch, Retina display. For customers, the larger screen means there's extra room for apps to display their content. The most noticeable difference will be the homescreen, which will now display five rows of icons. This extra screen real estate allows built-in apps like the calendar to display the full five-day work week. Other apps like iPhoto, iMovie, Keynote, GarageBand, Pages and Numbers will also be updated to support the new screen.
Flare 1.4 adds Retina support, Twitter sharing, more
Yesterday we saw an update to Realmac Software's Analog Mac photo effects app; today the news is from Iconfactory, and the app being updated is Flare (currently discounted to US$9.99). Like Analog, Flare (see TUAW review here) provides a way to add and adjust pre-loaded visual effects. Flare comes with quite a few more effects than Analog -- a total of 31 -- and allows quite a bit more in terms of control and the addition of effects. What's new in Flare 1.4? There's now support for Retina displays, there's new high-resolution editing and the user interface has changed. Like many apps updated for OS X Mountain Lion, Flare 1.4 adds a significant number of sharing services including "upload to Twitter." There's a new "Save to Aperture" feature as well. As we noted with the Analog update yesterday, the app supports the external editor mode in Aperture and iPhoto, and adds Lightroom as well. Several bug fixes have also been incorporated. For existing users, it's available immediately from the Updates tab of the Mac App Store.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me get my iPhoto library under control
Dear Aunt TUAW, Do you have any good ideas for cleaning out a 165GB iPhoto library and getting it down to a manageable size? Your loving nephew, Mike Dear Mike, Back in the days of film, each shot had a real cost. People realized, "If I snap this, it will cost $ for film and $ for printing" because you couldn't pick and choose shots on the roll at most photo processors. Then video happened. And digital cameras. And people got out of control. When you had 12 shots on a roll, you treated each one like a precious gem. You took maybe one or two photos per event, and then you put it in a photo album, maybe framed it. Now people don't enjoy their pictures because they have too many. When you record your entire life, where are the moments that matter? Even more, when you spend your life with an iPhone in front of your face, what kind of connection can you have with other people? People watch entire *live* concerts through their phone. You might have seen this during the Olympics opening ceremonies, too. Who's actually experiencing that event? The person or the iPhone? It's a thin line to ride: record this incredible experience or pay attention and be part of it. Professionals might need to be shooting all the time; amateurs (from the French, "lover of") are supposed to be enjoying what's going on around them. Yes, you can go all Alien with a camera strapped to your chest or a GoPro -- set it, forget it, and pay attention to what's going on, but even though you can now look around and enjoy the event, a vast monster of digital backlog is waiting to drown your computer. Utilities and approaches to deal with it may be current or abandonware or possibly somewhat ill-advised, but no software is going to tackle the core problem -- not even if you switch to the more library-flexible Aperture or Lightroom. How do you trim your iPhoto library (or libraries) to a manageable size? Discipline. Even if you're not OK starting from scratch, you still have to be willing to ruthlessly throw away memories. Allow yourself to curate your experience and pick just a moment or two. Select shots that have people's faces in them, or that show life in action, and then toss the rest. Just let them go, like the flow of time passing through your fingers. (And don't forget to empty iPhoto's in-app Trash.) You can open up iPhoto holding down Option and Command for some minor cleanup tools (including a thumbnail cache cleanout that's recommended by our commenters), and if you find that you have to split off a chunk of your library and file it away on discs, iPhoto Library Manager can help, but beware of bit rot -- pick your favorites, spend a little money and get them printed in a real album that can sit on a real, physical shelf. The secret of the iPhoto library is this: smaller is better. Too many moments mean that you won't enjoy any of them. Hugs, Auntie T.
Apple releases iWork, iPhoto, Safari, Aperture, iMovie updates
Apple has released updates to iWork, iPhoto and Safari, each offering compatibility with Mountain Lion, which shipped today (our review). The iWork suite (Pages, Keynote and Numbers) now offers iCloud & Retina MacBook Pro support. iCloud support will let users begin working on one device, stop and then resume on another compatible Mac or iOS device. With iCloud, changes are synced across all devices automatically. Click to grab the latest Pages, Keynote and Numbers. Note that these apps are still labeled as "'09." iPhoto 9.3.2, available today, lets users share photos via Messages and Twitter. Finally, Safari 6 has a unified search field/address bar, much like Google's Chrome. You'll also find support for Reading List offline, iCloud tabs and compliance with Do Not Track. There's more! Apple has also issued iMovie 9.0.7, which, according to Apple, Fixes an issue related to third-party QuickTime components that could cause iMovie to quit unexpectedly. Resolves stability issues when previewing MPEG-2 video clips in the Camera Import window Fixes an issue where audio was not included when importing MPEG-2 video clips from a camera Finally, Aperture 3.3.2 includes compatibility with Mountain Lion plus: Addresses issues that could affect performance when entering and exiting Full Screen mode Auto White Balance can now correct color using Skin Tone mode, even when Faces is disabled Projects and albums in the Library Inspector can now be sorted by date in addition to name and kind Performance and stability improvements Go get 'em. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
iPhoto auto-downloads expired MobileMe galleries
They've hung out the 'Closed' sign on our old friend MobileMe, but Apple is still giving you the opportunity to download iDisk files and stored pictures for a limited time. In fact, if your iPhoto library is linked to your MobileMe account, iPhoto will take care of copying your galleries for you. Just launch iPhoto (version 9.2.2 or later) and the dialog box above will pop in. If you click Learn More, you'll end up at Apple's tech note; don't worry, you can come back and get the files later by relaunching iPhoto or by clicking the MobileMe entry in your iPhoto source list. When you do, iPhoto will download all your galleries into a "From MobileMe" folder. Handy! Note that if you're slightly behind on iPhoto versions (before 9.3), you won't get your Aperture-uploaded galleries this way. Of course, Apple's Photo Stream sharing can ease the galleries pain a bit; there are also many online photo options, including the free Pixi.me and freemium services like ThisLife, Flickr, Smugmug & Shutterfly. You may want to be a little selective with your photo site choices; as we've seen, company size is no bulwark against obsolescence or business shifts. ZangZing recently announced it is going dark (only months after encouraging MobileMe users to switch over), as did Picnik and Kodak Gallery before it. (Ars Technica has a great post up about the Kodak to Shutterfly migration in progress.) With iDisk's archives still accessible for a bit, you can still download your MobileMe websites if needed and rehost them elsewhere. Companies like LifeYo and MacMate will happily host your site for you, although you may lose some features like legacy comments. MacMate just added a Galleries feature to match up better with the late MobileMe hosting package. For a nice video rundown on the farewell to MobileMe, check out TidBITS' session from a couple of weeks back.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me store my photos
Dear Aunt TUAW, I have a MacBook Air with only 120 GB of storage. My iPhoto Library is over 40 GB. I don't need all the the photos on my Mac but don't want to lose them or the events that they have been sorted into. Is there a way to keep my iPhoto library stored on iCloud and only download the albums that I need? Your loving nephew, Matt Dear Matt, After doing a little looking around and consulting with Uncle TJ, Auntie has decided to recommend Flickr Pro, perhaps with a second service that backs up your Flickr account. Flickr Pro costs about $2/month and gives you unlimited uploads and storage, ad-free sharing, and a few other nice benefits. Uncle TJ points out, "As much as I don't have confidence in Yahoo's management of Flickr long-term, there are enough people who have pictures there that the ecosystem is rich enough for a lot of 3rd party support systems." Although you could probably use another service like Dropbox or Google Drive, Flickr offers specific photo management tools and doesn't cache your data locally the way Dropbox does. Auntie acknowledges this isn't exactly the answer you were asking for. Of course, with Auntie, when it is ever? She answers the questions readers should have asked, not the ones they actually do. With that in mind, she and Uncle TJ recommend Flickr Export for iPhoto, which does a whole lot more of managing how iPhoto syncs to Flickr, than iPhoto might do with its built-in functionality. Basically, this is the solution that Auntie would use if she had to manage pictures on an MBA without a secondary computer. Hugs, Auntie T.
Apple releases updates for iPhoto and Aperture, unifies libraries
Apple has pushed out updates to its iPhoto and Aperture apps. The updates add a number of fixes and also bring support for the new Retina display MacBook Pro. However, one significant new feature to each app is unified photo libraries. From the Mac App Store Aperture description: New unified photo library for both iPhoto (v 9.3 or later) and Aperture; no import/export required; Faces, Places, slideshows, albums and web sharing work across both applications. This will be a welcome change to photographers who used both Apple's pro and consumer-level photography apps. Previously, Aperture and iPhoto used different libraries, which meant that users had to import and export photos from one library into the other. Now, after a single import from the camera, all photos are available to both apps. Currently, the updates are only showing up for iPhoto and Aperture in the Mac App Store and not via OS X's Software Update, but expect them to show up there shortly.
Photo trips with the iPhone 4S and iOS photo apps; past and present
It was about 14 months ago that I took a jaunt to Northern Arizona for a landscape photography trip. I hit Canyon de Chelly, a dramatic area of seldom visited beauty, and the iconic Monument Valley that straddles the Utah and Arizona borders. On that trip I had my trusty DSLR, a Canon 5D, and for fun I took some shots with the iPhone 4. I've repeated the trip, only this time with my iPhone 4S. What a difference a year makes! I still did the majority of my shooting with my Canon, but for a quick grab and a share with friends and family you can't beat the iPhone 4S photo system. In general, I still use Pro HDR. It supports the full resolution of the iPhone, is faster at rendering than previous versions, and still delivers an excellent image under high contrast situations. We now also have iPhoto for iOS, which I found invaluable for editing, but also for creating journals (iCloud users only) of photos that can be shared directly from the iPhone. We also have Snapseed from NIK software, that gives you a measure of control when editing on the iPhone that is both simple and powerful. I also used a free app called Magic Hour to predict the best lighting for photography. The only challenge is connectivity. I didn't see any wireless access in and around Monument Valley. There might be W-iFi in the hotel rooms there, but I didn't see any wireless networks come up. Even phone reception was spotty, and sometimes I saw the AT&T EDGE Network and sometimes not. At Canyon de Chelly near Chinle, Arizona things are a bit better. The town has cell service, and generally I could get on the EDGE network, although uploading photos is slow. The two major hotels in Chinle -- a Best Western and a Holiday Inn -- both have free wireless, so I was able to get some images out. The only downside of the visit was that I just missed Johnny Depp who was there filming the new Lone Ranger movie. I was also testing Place Tagger, an app that puts GPS data on your DSLR images by syncing your location to photos taken at the same time. Of course the iPhone automatically embeds that info when you are using the iPhone camera. I'll have a complete review of Place Tagger soon. I was also surprised at the number of iPhones being used by tourists. I don't really consider the iPhone 4S camera my primary photo gear, but for lots of people it is. I saw far more iPhones taking snaps than I saw Android devices or other cameras or camera phones. And like me, people were sending those images back via the web, or using Photo Stream to have them when they get home. Perhaps the biggest surprise was that the iPhone seemed to outnumber point-and-shoot cameras, at least in the places I was taking pictures. I have to say I'm impressed with how much heavy photographic lifting the iPhone 4S can do for photographers. It's becoming more and more mainstream, and with supporting editing apps, services like the iPhoto Journal feature, and of course with maps and specific travel guides, the iPhone is a one-device solution for a lot of casual photographers. Check the gallery for some iPhone 4S photos, and feel free to share any similar experiences you've had in the comments. Note that the images have been reduced in size and resolution for our publishing system. %Gallery-156386%
Apple releases Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.13
Apple has released Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.13, which adds RAW image compatibility support for six new cameras to iPhoto '11 and Aperture 3. The newly supported cameras are: Canon EOS-1D X Nikon D800E Nikon D3200 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF5 Sony Alpha SLT-A57 The update is available via Software Update in OS X 10.7 Lion and weighs in at 8.2 MB. Interested users can also read Apple's knowledge base article here.
Hello iPhoto for iPad & iPhone is an amazing new way to learn
If there's one thing about iPhoto for iPad and iPhone that I've never been too happy with, it's that the apps aren't exactly self-explanatory and Apple doesn't provide much in terms of an onboard guided tour. Long-time Apple developer and publisher Saied Ghaffari has just published a new iBook titled Hello iPhoto for iPad & iPhone (US$1.99) that provides a unique way of learning the tricks of iPhoto for your iOS device. I had the opportunity to talk with Saied recently about the book, which was created in iBooks Author and has been featured by Apple in the iBookstore. He's no newcomer to the how-to book market, having created the popular "It's About Time: Learn the Switch to Mac" application that led a generation of switchers to the OS X platform. That app made it into special bundles with Parallels Desktop as well, providing a way for switchers to painlessly make the way between Windows and OS X. Times change, and now Saied has embraced iBooks Author and created a helpful companion to the iOS version of iPhoto. Once purchased and downloaded to your iPad, the book appears on the shelf in iBooks. With a tap, it opens to a gorgeous photo of the Grand Canyon -- an image repeated on other chapter headings. In the lower left corner is a small thumbnail that opens a launch page when tapped. %Gallery-155531% The launch page provides a portal to learning a bit about iPhoto and iTunes on your Mac, iPhoto on your iPad, or iPhoto on your iPhone. Tapping any one of the images on the launch page takes you right into that specific book chapter. Going to the iPad chapter brings up three more images, any one of which can be triggered with a "tap to learn." The main topics are an Overview of iPhoto, Browsing & Sharing, and Editing. If I select Browsing & Sharing, for example, I see a more focused page with descriptions of two lessons -- one for Browsing, one for Sharing. With a tap on either description, I'm into the lesson. Once you're at this level, the document is readable in the usual "swipe to turn a page" manner. This is where Saied's experience in computer-based training really shines. Through the placement of small "magnifying lenses" on the page, your eye is drawn to a feature of iPhoto that you're going to learn about. Saied then takes you through a succinct written description of the feature to accompany the images. To be honest with you, I pretty much ignored iPhoto for iOS until I read Hello iPhoto. In the short amount of time that it took for me to go through the book, I was able to pick up a lot of hints and tips about iPhoto for iOS that I wasn't previously aware of. I feel that the $2 price tag of the book is a perfect price point for Hello iPhoto, as it definitely provided much more value in terms of a learning experience. If you have purchased iPhoto for iOS, but still find yourself not using the app all that much, you owe it to yourself to buy Hello iPhoto. It will get you up to speed on iPhoto in no time at all.
New Maps for iOS? It's not exactly a surprise
The latest rumor to get everyone talking is that Apple will drop Google Maps for their own proprietary software. Sources told 9to5 Mac that a new Maps app will debut with iOS 6 with an Apple-created backend that will resemble the current Maps app, but with a more amenable solution. This really isn't the big shocker that everyone is making it out to be. The writing has been on the wall for a couple of years. It was never a matter of if Apple would drop Google but when. The question was asked as early as 2009 when Apple bought Placebase. This was followed by the acquisition of several 3D-technology companies -- Poly9 in 2010 and C3 Technologies in 2011. While Apple and Google did renew their partnership last year, it was most likely on a year-to-year basis. Apple wasn't ready with the technology in 2011. It looks to be ready now, and the leak could be intentional to drum up excitement for WWDC. The proof is in iPhoto for iOS. When the iOS version of iPhoto debuted in March, Apple was using older OpenStreetMap data instead of Google. This was most likely a testing ground to see how their own maps would function before pushing it out to a wider audience with a major iOS release. While the iPhoto maps aren't anywhere near as full-featured as a new Maps app would likely be, and I hope it looks different because the maps in iPhoto are rather ugly, it was a good place to start. Maps for iOS has long lacked the features offered to Android users, including a solid integration with voice control. If this Maps app does debut with iOS 6, I hope Siri can be used to voice turn-by-turn directions. The addition of 3D-map technology would of course bring additional benefits. What features would you like to see in a new Apple-originated Maps app?
OpenStreetMap gets acknowledged in iPhoto credits
After iPhoto landed on iOS in March, people quickly discovered the app used OpenStreetMap data for the map tiles. At the time, there was no attribution given to OSM but that has changed in the latest version of iPhoto, which was released earlier this week. OpenStreetMap pointed out in a tweet that Apple now lists OpenStreetMap contributors in the long list of acknowledgements for the app. Richard Fairhurst, OpenStreetMap Foundation board member, explains how the foundation nudged Apple to get the attribution added to iPhoto, The OSM Foundation has made informal contact with staff at Apple and, in addition, one of our volunteer mappers who is an iOS developer spoke to people at Apple. We believe it was the latter that precipitated adding the attribution - it's great to have such an active and engaged community! OpenStreetMap is a crowdsourced mapping platform that provides free map data in exchange for an attribution. Both FourSquare and Wikipedia use OSM data in their apps. [Via TalkingPointsMemo Idea Lab]
Apple updates iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand for iOS
Apple just pushed a series of updates for its iLife iOS apps. The iPhoto 1.0.1 update doesn't add any new features, but does offer a number of stability improvements including when publishing a journal to iCloud, the URL of the journal can now be copied using a Copy Link button. It also addresses an issue that could cause duplicate photos to appear in Photos view. iPhoto for iOS was first released at the beginning of March and in only 10 days hit one million downloads. GarageBand 1.2.1 fixes an issue that could lead to crashing or missing songs when sharing to iCloud, resolves an error when logging into SoundCloud using a Facebook account, and addresses minor issues related to performance and stability. iMovie 1.3.1 squashes a number of bugs, including problems accessing Help on iPad. There's also a new feature too: now you can easily send a song from GarageBand to iMovie. Apple also pushed another update to its Cards app. The 1.1.2 update doesn't address any noted issues that weren't already listed in the previous two updates to the app in April. iPhoto, GarageBand, and iMovie are $4.99 each and Cards is a free download.
On "mystery meat" gestures and iPhoto's learning curve
Just shy of a month after its release, Lukas Mathis provides well-reasoned criticism regarding the learning curve for iPhoto for iOS. It's new territory for Apple, as he points out, but it might be pushing the boundaries a little too hard. As much as I like the new iPhoto myself, Mathis brings up some good points regarding some of the gestures. I disagree with him on the help provided in the app. I think this is probably Apple's best help menu, especially on an iOS app. It's dynamic and changes with the tool you're using and helps you to utilize iPhoto better. Even though the tools change, I can undo anything I've done by clicking on the bottom right spoke button. What Apple does, I notice, is that it helps you along the way and then makes you take a leap of logic regarding the next step. The example that Mathis provides is the magnifying loupe. Holding down two fingers gets you the loupe, as the help menu suggests. But it doesn't tell you to twist on the black rim to increase the magnification. Does Apple need to tell you that? Probably. Or maybe the developers were guessing that you're most likely going to twist your fingers on your own and figure it out anyhow. And Mathis is correct in that the buttons in iPhoto on the iPhone are just way too small. I found that on the iPhone, I've gone back to my tried-and-true Camera+ for photo editing there. What do you think? With iPhoto for iOS having been out for a few weeks, what are your thoughts now? Let us know in the comments. [Via Daring Fireball]
Find the best photo manager to fit your needs
After months of deliberation, I finally brought home a new addition to our family -- a digital SLR camera. With the DSLR comes a plethora of options I didn't have before, with the ability to shoot RAW images being at the top of the list. My husband and I passed the camera back and forth to take a few test images, which were uploaded to iPhoto on my MacBook Air. Instant crawl. Anything involving the RAW images was a drag on the machine, though it has far more to do with the MacBook Air (11-inch October 2010) than iPhoto. But, it did remind me to ask the TUAW brain trust: Is it time to upgrade to Aperture? What about Adobe Lightroom? What's the best photo manager overall to use? With the RAW support and the potential increase in picture-taking overall, my needs are poised to outgrow iPhoto's capabilities, and it's the same question that other people will face as digital SLRs grow more powerful and affordable. Here's a quick look at three of the major players out there. What is a photo manager? A photo manager is a digital version of a traditional album, where you store images from your digital camera and can organize them into albums. They range from free (if you purchase a new Mac or plan to be an Adobe Creative Cloud subscriber) to US$149. All of them can edit photos, but not manipulate them -- for that, you would need a program such as Adobe Photoshop or Pixelmator. All of them have the ability to create photo books and web galleries, as well as social media integration. iPhoto 11 Who's it for? Those who are just getting comfortable with handling digital photography and those who want a basic photo manager and editing tools. Evidence for: It's the lowest-cost out of the three and it's easy to use, especially for photo novices. The learning curve is very low, especially if you're using the iOS version of iPhoto. Evidence against: Bigger libraries tend to cause the program to hang up. It doesn't handle multiple libraries well, so if they're split up among different machines, you'll want to consider investing in iPhoto Library Manager for $19.95 or the free iPhoto Buddy. You can only access one library at a time. Some users report having issues with photo libraries with more than 10,000 photos. Cost: $14.99, Mac App Store only. There's no trial version. It's free if you purchase a new Mac. Aperture Who's it for? Professional photographers and serious hobbyists. Evidence for: For those used to iPhoto, it's a logical next step, and you can import your files from iPhoto. Handles large and multiple libraries much easier. Has some of the same features of iPhoto including the ability to bring in Photo Stream and Faces and Places tagging. Some users prefer Aperture's RAW conversion to Adobe's. You can batch-edit photos, and the full-screen edit mode has a number of fans. You can edit photos more precisely than iPhoto. Evidence against: It's not the solution to consider if you have a low-powered machine. As Macworld notes, Faces can be a severe deterrent to Aperture's performance. Cost: $79.99, Mac App Store only. Apple used to offer a 30-day trial, but did away with it. Adobe Lightroom Who's it for? Professional photographers and serious hobbyists. Evidence for: If you can navigate Photoshop blindfolded, then the tools in Lightroom will be second nature to you. Like Aperture, you can batch-edit photos and create workflows. Some users prefer Lightroom's interface, which is more workflow-oriented. You can actually try Lightroom before you drop a lot of money on it. It's a bit more powerful than Aperture. Evidence against: The price is nearly double Aperture's, but that'll be a non-issue for those who plan to become Adobe Creative Cloud subscribers. It's not tightly integrated with iOS devices like Aperture and iPhoto are. Some find that switching between modules is a bit frustrating. Cost: $149.99 on its own or $99 when purchased with Adobe Creative Suite. It'll be included in an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. A 30-day trial version is available. There are other alternatives, such as Google's free Picasa. Most cameras will come bundled with some sort of photo-managing software. One of the drawbacks to all of them is that unless you're going from iPhoto to Aperture, any editing of metadata will be lost. From parents taking photos of their kids with marching bands to professionals with studios or out in the field, the type of photo manager you wind up with reflects your interest in photography. If you want an easy place to dump photos and share them with the grandparents, you most likely will not want anything beyond iPhoto. If your interest lies in truly crafting your art, then give Aperture or Adobe Lightroom a try.
iPhoto 9.2.3 out now
Not too much in this one -- the latest update to iPhoto is mainly just stability fixes. There is one mentioned issue that causes iPhoto quitting when dealing with multiple user accounts on the system, but otherwise everything else is just smoothing out the app. iPhoto 9.2.3 is now available in your local Software Update, or directly from Apple's site!
iPhoto for iOS hits one million users
Apple told Jim Dalrymple of The Loop that iPhoto for the iPad and iPhone reached one million users within ten days of the launch. Dalrymple points out that these are actual users, not downloads, which could be inflated by one person downloading copies to multiple devices. If you're interested in iPhoto for the iPhone and iPad, but haven't purchased it, you can check out our hands-on review. iPhoto is available from the App Store for US$4.99.
iPhoto Beaming: Under the hood
Earlier today, Steve Sande showed you how to beam photos using the new iPhoto app. Now it's my turn, and I'll briefly discuss what's actually happening when you use this new feature. Beaming relies on two devices sharing the same Wi-Fi network. That's because the communication channel seems to be built on Zero Configuration (Bonjour) networking. Bonjour, Apple's branding for zeroconf/mDNS device discovery, allows computers and mobile devices to advertise services on a shared network. This lets Macs, PCs and iOS devices easily connect to printers, AirPlay servers, and so forth. iPhoto Beaming uses a UDP service called _mobileiphoto._udp. Devices that are ready to receive beams announce themselves in an easily discoverable way. A service appears on-network as soon as you enable Wireless Beaming. To beam, a source device searches for possible recipients. Once detected, iPhoto offers to connect to them. It negotiates a handshake, asks for permission at the far end to send data, and then transfers photos. The Bonjour device name seems to be made up of a hash filed by a local file name. This is quite similar to what goes on with GameKit peer-to-peer connectivity. Only properly hashed identifiers are recognized as valid destinations. To spoof iPhoto, a Mac client would need to provide a valid hash in this way. And, no, I was unable to get my GameKit hashing to match the iPhoto beaming hash in my initial attempts. Possibly operator error on my part, possibly they just used a different approach. What's more, the executable seems to be built using GKSession objects, so there's apparently some common genetic background between the two approaches. I didn't find other GameKit classes, so not all that much commonality. Before jumping into iPhoto, I had been hoping this would be some kind of AirDrop implementation that might later open up to other apps -- but from what my quick dive indicates, it looks like this is proprietary to iPhoto and not going to become a general solution yet. To summarize, the iPhoto beaming looks, at least from my initial scans, to be a jury-rigged solution proprietary to this one title rather than a general iOS file-sharing solution. The app-specific Bonjour name (mobileiphoto) and lack of custom framework classes suggest this isn't the future, it's just iPhoto. Pity.
