This will excite many Mac users – Google have just announced a Mac version of its popular photo management software – Picasa.
If you’re a Mac user – download the new Mac version here and give it a spin. Let us know what you think with a mini review in comments below.
Tags: Picasa
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42 Responses to “Picasa Release Mac Version” - Add Yours
January 6th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
might have been decent if they’d released it 2 years ago. i think iPhoto’s got them beat by now.
January 6th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I have a Mac. I have iPhoto. Yet, I still manage all my photos using Picasa on Windows because IPHOTO IS SOOOOOO SLOW even on my dual-core Intel CPU with 2G ram.
So, I’m looking forward to seeing if Picasa on OS X is as snappy as it is on Windows.
January 6th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
No PowerPC support, so no good for my legacy Powerbook. Love the PC version and have no love for iPhoto. Bummer.
January 6th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I’m sure I’d love it if they supported intel-based macs. iPhoto is a lousy program.
January 6th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Did use Picasa on XP for quite a while and liked it but have moved onto Lightroom now. It has a lot more features but is still very sluggish compared to Picasa.
January 6th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
They’ve got one big bug to fix before I can start using it. It keeps scanning the entire desktop and it adds any kind of image I have on it, and since it’s my root folder I’ve got everything in it. I use picasa to import and organize the new pictures so it’s really important for me have only one folder being scanned.
I tried iPhoto: it keeps everything for him, like iTunes, and leaves lots of files around.
Lightroom is too complex for what I need, also the importing feature is less intuitive and quick than Picasa’s
January 6th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
>>I tried iPhoto: it keeps everything for him (…)
I meant to say that I need actual folders to work with, not virtual albums like iPhoto’s (and iTunes’ playlists).
January 6th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Wish it did a better job of importing from iPhoto when the library is in an external location.
January 6th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
I like it … some people (daringfireball.net for example) think it sucks cause it looks not enough like a mac app, because it more or less stays consistent with the windows version, but it doesn’t look like a windows app either, and doesn’t break with the colours of normal widgets (both are grey) so I don’t mind. I never really got around to like iPhoto especially cause it wants to have everything in its own folder, which at a certain size becomes a problem, and the fact that its organization scheme is kinda weird. But, the little stuff I had in iPhoto was imported really nicely. Also, beats iPhoto in terms of features hands down.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
My wife has been waiting for this for a long time. Her main dislike of iPhoto is how it forces you to keep everything in it’s folder, while Picasa allows you to use your existing structure (and my wife is big on good folder structures).
But she will have to wait now until we can afford an Intel Mac or the unlikely PowerPC version.
Note on why no PPC: I say unlikely for the PowerPC version because of the way the coding works. I am not sure how they wrote the code, but my guess is that all they really had to do for the Intel version is rewrite the user interface, while a PowerPC version would require a substantial code base rewrite, which is just not worth it as there are no new ones being made (by Apple).
January 6th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
A little too late. A looong time PC and Picasa user I just recently switched to a mac. I hated iPhoto at first but have grown to love it. I find that most people tend hate new ideas but it is their unwillingness to have an open mind which keeps them from learning new approaches to things…myself included. iPhoto’s way of handling/storing files is definitely different, at least compared to a PC, but it does make a lot of sense once you understand and work within the concept. As far as speed, I just stay away from the Photos/library view and all is just fine. That view is not really needed that much anyway.
Sorry Picasa, I have moved on.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
I’ve been waiting for this for so long. I love Picasa on Windows, and it is the only piece of software I’ve been missing on my new Mac. However, it was not to be. The beta crashes for me on startup every single time. Has anyone else seen this? Sometimes it crashes immediately, sometimes it crashes after about 5 seconds. Either way, the result is always the same.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:43 am
It’s really fast and it imports photos really quick. The editing options are better than iPhoto. But to compare with Lighroom it doesn’t have much options. The exporting options are good too. The best things about it is that you can go through your pictures really fast. It’s very user friendly. Over all, a great software for those who are NOT using Lightroom. I have decided to use Picaso for the pictures that I have from years ago and I am not gonna use them for anything special except for looking at them every once in a while. I rather not to have TOO MANY pictures on my LR.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:47 am
I forgot to add another things. I just found the pictures that I thought I lost them long ago!!!!! They were hiding somewhere in my hard drive and just saw that I have them in my imported items!! All thanks to PICASA!!
January 7th, 2009 at 1:56 am
Pros: It works with RAW images, Google didn’t mention this in the tech notes. All edits are non-destructive like Aperture/Lightroom which is very nice (I’m not sure if iPhoto does this). Organization is great. Files import very quickly. The “feeling lucky” option worked quite well for the few photos I tested with. It’s free
Cons: Not that I should expect this from free software, but the editing options are very limited. I was hoping to have at least color saturation and contrast. Temperature would be nice too, but I obviously understand that these are advanced features.
It’s a great program, but with Aperture installed, I have no use for it. I would definitely use it over iPhoto.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:09 am
Wow, I was excited for a moment, then realized it won’t work with my PowerPC Mac… guess I’ll keep using ACDSee. Not as intuitive as Picase for finding photos on your computer… but better than iPhoto.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Like others, I think it’s too bad there is no PowerPC support.
My guess is they went the same route as the Linux port of Picasa, and used Wine libraries to emulate parts of Windows instead of actually writing a native version.
Still looking for a free, good photo management program for my Powerbook — that isn’t iPhoto.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:16 am
As soon as I got the Daily Update from the Forum, I started downloading… my favourite picture management app out there, and finally I can use it on my MacBook… happy days!
January 7th, 2009 at 9:49 am
I am with Bill, I had a hard time switching over to iphoto when I got my Mac laptop. I was so used to Picasa. Now, I use iphoto to upload/store/sort images and then upload them to Picnik Premium, which has a lot better editing tools than picasa (the paid premium version that is)…I still sort my old stuff out on the PC desktop with picasa, but that’s about it!
January 7th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
But this is special version for mac users. It has one menu and two buttons show and delete, so not to confuse you (mac users) guys.
:)
January 7th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Finaly.
I use picasa on my main PC at home and use picasaweb. While iphoto is good and all, i find picasa preferable. And now i can more easily keep my laptop and desktop in sync with each other so as to be sure not to loose any of my precious photos!
I think Apple really shot itself in the foot by not releasing a windows version of iphoto like the did with itunes. Now they have some decent “free” (as in beer) competition for photo management on OSX. Well done Google.
Nick.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
I wanted to say that I do not have a Mac at this time…But I wanted to respond and ask or check in Jasons above post he said he wished it had color saturation and temperature featuress…I am wondering if he clicked all the option tabs…I only ask because the Picasa 3 for PC added this feature….We are purchacing a Mac for my husbands work as a musician (recording drum loops and such)….so I would like to here from anyone that uses the PC version (Picasa3) and Mac…does it have those features…if so perhaps you could post so your fellow Mac user will know where to locate them…just a thought..
and on that thought I have not tried lightroom…but as the above poster said Picnik is loaded with options..I also have the Premium…but the free version is great as well
January 8th, 2009 at 4:46 am
Frederico, if you don’t want it to download everything on your computer, try going to Tools> Folder Manager. There you can adjust what folder you want to be scanned.
January 8th, 2009 at 5:14 am
I don’t think beginning photographers know what exciting news this is! Picasa is SUCH AN AMAZING resource and for beginners it’s fantastic because it is SO easy to navigate. I used it exclusively for quite a while when I first got started. GO GOOGLE!!
January 8th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Rhonda, I do believe picasa has these features even before version 3 because I def. used to use saturation before I was ‘forced’ over to iphoto because I got a mac! Now, I am so used to iphoto. For actual editing, Picnik hands down is my fav. The Customer Service is excellent and I use it for my small photography biz. The premium has the levels, curves, boost, sort of built in actions like lomoish, cloning, etc. And as easy to use as picasa. (Natalie is completely correct. They did a survey on picasa in the UK a good few years ago and it won a ton of awards for ease of use and rivaled photoshop with basic editing. I guess it just depends on how much post editing you do…)
I think I will download the picasa onto my mac though and use it for sorting. One thing: I always found picasa’s sharpening a bit too extreme and you couldn’t adjust it (it was one click fix)
P
January 8th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
iPhoto has served me well for my family pics, but I will have to give this a try!
January 8th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
I have replaced both Picasa and iPhoto with Bridge and ACR and have never been happier. The only thing I miss is geotagging, and that isn’t even a part of Picasa on Mac yet anyway.
However as soon as that update is released I will certainly be using it for geotagging (as long as it doesn’t lag as bad as it did on windows after you have a few hundred photos tagged)
January 9th, 2009 at 3:50 am
I just switced over to iMac from PC & the one program I have really missed was Picasa, so I am thrilled to have this available! I also have Apeture 2 which I am learning for heavy duty editing, but for quick & easy editing Picasa is my choice. I have had iMac less than a month, so I never got into iPhoto too much, but the little I did, I found it not to be as intuitive as Picasa. So now my pc-based laptop & the iMac can work together with my pictures for email & web albums. Thank you Google!
January 9th, 2009 at 4:23 am
GeorgAnna wrote: “I have had iMac less than a month, so I never got into iPhoto too much, but the little I did, I found it not to be as intuitive as Picasa.”
That is what I said about iphoto when I switched over to a mac, but once I got over the folder mentality, I was loving it. I thought I needed the folders to control and organize pics, but that is in fact the purpose of iPhoto, to organize. I still have Photoshop for heavy editing, which I can access through iPhoto and Aperture.
Speaking of,I made the jump to Aperture thinking that I wouldn’t need iPhoto, but I still find myself using it. It is so simple to use. Plus, my daughter now has a separate iPhoto DB for her work. She’s young enough to where she doesn’t have any preconceived idea on how things should be, and she’s loving it too.
January 9th, 2009 at 4:34 am
I welcomed Picasa on the Mac, since I’ve used it on Windows and recommend it to most all of my Windows friends. Unfortunately it crashes within a minute on my iMac with 4GB of RAM apparently while trying to find all my pictures (even though I’ve turned off updating of all folders). There’s already been one update, which didn’t help me, but I’m hopeful it will work more reliably for me soon. I’ve found Google delivers great software, and this initial failure should be shortlived.
January 9th, 2009 at 5:15 am
I was a long time Picasa/PC person. Now exclusively Mac person. While iPhoto took a lot of getting used to (still hate the folder structure) I’ve learned to work with it. You can change a setting for example in iPhoto preferences to allow you to edit using Photoshop, which is what I do now.
Sorry this was supposed to be a review on picasa, but I’d say it’s too little too late – no need for it now.
January 9th, 2009 at 5:35 am
Was really delighted to find out that picasa is now available for mac. While I’m a heavy-duty Mac user, I always recommend picasa to PC friends and had been waiting for Mac version to come along.
While I still continue to use iPhoto as my primary photo software for importing photos. It is very refreshing to see what I actually have on my hard drive in picasa…I have seen many photos I had forgotten all about or even photos I wasn’t sure where to find in iPhoto (yes, I know about searching/dating option however I don’t always remember when!).. also in picasa, it is very quick when I’m just scrolling down especially with scroll wheel on mouse from very top to bottom scanning those pictures and am amazed that more than half photos I had forgotten or even took pix of!
Who knows…I may eventually have picasa as a primary photo software when they release more features such as iPhoto’s “Adjust” on picasa! For the time being, I’ll use it to quickly view what I have in there…
Billy
January 9th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Picasa for mac is not for Power PC. It’s for Intel Macs.
January 9th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
There seems to be a problem with Picasa for Mac and TIFF images created with Photomatix – check out the following thread and post a comment if this is the cause of your crashes – the more people post then hopefully the quicker this will be fixed!
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Picasa/thread?tid=43cace71df6d6150&hl=en
January 12th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I love my Mac and I would love to use Picasa on it… unfortunately there’s no PowerPC support… great:(
January 13th, 2009 at 3:55 am
I agree with Jason, if you are serious get Aperture 2 and plug- ins as needed. Ditto concerning iPhoto.
January 16th, 2009 at 8:16 am
I wonder if I could export my photos from Aperture to Picasa Web Albums the way I can export form Aperture to Flickr? Any news on that? I know that there’s an export option from iPhoto to PWA and that I can access my Aperture Library from within iPhoto but it’s so un-mac a sollution ;)
So unless there’s a true Aperture to Picasa Web Albums export I’m not switching from Flickr. And the only reason for me to switch would be the unlimited albums one can have in Google’s sollution vs. Flickr’s only 3 in the free account.
Could someone help me on this please,
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:44 am
I just downloaded Picassa. I have a G5 Power Mac single processor running Leopard. I read in lots of comments that Picassa for Mac does not support Power PC macs. Does that mean I can’t use Picassa on this Mac? Is it made for only Intel Macs? Should I delete it?
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Yes, that’s right. Picasa will not run on any G5 – it is Intel only…
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:05 pm
In related news, there was an update released earlier today that is meant to fix the problem with it crashing with certain TIFF images, notably Photomatix images.
January 24th, 2009 at 4:54 am
Hmm however the “fix” released today does not run on my Mac… after I installed it, Picasa wont start… it doesnt show any error message, just doesnt start at all… anybody having the same problem?
February 17th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I definitely love picasa way more than iphoto. I was very disappointed when I switched from PC and had to use iPhoto. So glad this is here… thought I hope this doesn’t give any indication as to how long it will take Chrome to land on Mac (took Picasa more than 3 years).
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