Play! With Pictures Imaging Software
How about some “family friendly” imaging software? Play! with Pictures is a newly released piece of software from Vertus that could fill that requirement.
A fun new program for kids and families that is an easy, creative alternative to more intimidating imaging software. Anyone of any age or software experience level can take ordinary photos and turn them into creative compositions for family albums, greeting cards, calendars, school projects, or even jazzing up profile pics for Facebook or MySpace. Here’s a sample image for your facebook page, perhaps?…
PLAY! With Pictures is going to be given away FREE for the first ten thousand copies so make sure you get in quick if you’d like to check it out!
http://www.playwithpictures.com
You can find PLAY! With Pictures on Facebook, Flickr and they also have a blog.
Here’s a picture I made after installing (2 minutes of my time) and having a look at the application (5 minutes of my time!) …Hope you like it! (I call it “hot, cold, no hands!)
18 Responses to “Play! With Pictures Imaging Software” - Add Yours
February 15th, 2009 at 8:40 am
BEWARE of any software that requires you to be running a component at all times – i.e. it installs software that must execute at system startup, and runs all the time regardless of if you are using the target program or not.
This “Play With Pictures” application is one such program, and their license says nothing about having to run one of their components at all times. Suspiciously absent, this little tid-bit of important information.
The Mac version will attempt to install a daemon that runs at all times, and run in your startup items. The Windows version will try to install a service that also runs at all times on your system.
Run, don’t walk, away from any software that would do something like this.
If a software package needs something like this to verify its licensing/copy-protection, then let it run when I launch the program – and terminate when I shut the program down. Do NOT try and install something that must run on my system whenever it is powered up, even if I am not using the target product.
February 15th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Was wondering if you could ask what most people use for managing and storing images? Elements, Lightroom, etc.
I’m for some reason , don’t know which program to use, I have pics in elements, lightroom, picasa, and bridge cs4. I would like other thoughts on this and what people use and why.
Maybe it’s already been brought up. So anyways, thank you for your time, oh yes,please don’t ask which one I use for editing, all of them, which probably why I’m having a hard time grasping any one program.
Thank You
Richard
February 15th, 2009 at 10:53 am
I’m sorry, don’t mean to be way subject.
Thank You
Richard
February 15th, 2009 at 11:37 am
andre: Thanks for the advice.
February 15th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
… and Sime’s response is?
(I downloaded the trial version of this this evening. I’m wondering if it’s worth the time it’s obviously going to take me to learn it. Not as easy as I’d hoped.)
February 15th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Andre’s reply made it already clear to me not to install it.
Programs that eat up your memory without even doing something are things I only install when I really really need them.
Any graphical program can do what this program can, and a lot more.
So if you are interrested in this product and don’t have a post production software program first take a look at (Photoshop,The Gimp,Photoshop Elements,Paintshop Pro, … )
They might not be as simple but in the end will be much more worth.
Just my 5c
Ronny
February 15th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
A great tool for those who want to have fun with there photographs and not get bogged down with the technical aspects of much of the software out there!!!
I guess if you are finding it hard to work around, maybe let your kids take over – my lads can programme my DVD player far quicker than I. They have never read the instructions.
I feel its important to remember that photos for so many are just fun. they are to be enjoyed, played with and shared……..
February 16th, 2009 at 1:48 am
Errr, I’ve been a server admin for years (so, think it’s OK for me to reply on this…)
My reply to you, Andre, would be to “Take it out of your start up items” …a very simple process on mac and pc that will sort this out for you. (Google it..)
The guys that made this software are developing it, and, this is the sort of feedback they need – so, you don’t like it running at start up – I agree, 100%, software that automatically runs at startup is annoying. (Guys – next release, you could address this?)
Right, that out of the way, Andre, did you try the software, or was that it?
Richard – I use Lightroom 100% of the time.
Thanks for your feedback – please keep it coming.
Sime
February 16th, 2009 at 2:35 am
@Sime – Of course I can take it out of my startup items, but first of all, the software will not run without it. I tried running the app without it.
Second, it’s not just annoying, it’s potentially dangerous. Any app like this makes your system a wider target for attack. It may also use my resources. That’s an important word: my. It is MY computer, not any one else’s. It is for me to decide what will run all the time. Don’t try and slip something past me, and have something running I may not know about.
Third, if it is technologically absolutely necessary to do this (can’t imagine why though), then document it clearly. Tell me what the software is doing when it needs to be running all the time. Tell me it’s there for one thing, and make it clear that you think your software is so important it must become part of my regularly functioning system.
Until people start taking a stand on these things, others that know less about what’s going on will be victims to this. Most people will just blindly click OK and do anything that’s required to look at the pretty software.
People like us need to not simply say “guys – next release you could address this?”. We need to tell them we will NOT install this mystery piece of “necessary” code.
If you recall, Sony was also not completely up front about their methods of anti-piracy. Their music CD’s quietly installed rootkits on people’s systems. They played dumb about it, but when I was emailing one of their VP’s about it, he didn’t give a rat’s a** about my concerns. Their secret software was a good demonstration of how the technically-inclined community needs to keep an eye on these things and prevent them.
So instead of asking them to consider changing these policies, we need to just say no. Don’t run software from companies with these attitudes. And Sime, now that you are aware of what they are doing – and with your technology experience – you need to help prevent this. Don’t go recommending that people try this kind of thing.
Oh, and can you say with certainty that this little piece of important code isn’t doing something bad in the background – while I’m not using their main app? This code is from a 3rd party. Sony made that same mistake.
Just say NO.
February 16th, 2009 at 3:04 am
I think you missed the bit where I said I 100% agree with you, but thanks for the lecture :-) …I have emailed the people that made it and have asked for an answer…. Maybe I have more faith in human kind? I will recommend what I like. If I install it on my mac and pc with no adverse effects (which I do in every case) I will post it here if I see fit.
“Oh, and can you say with certainty that this little piece of important code isn’t doing something bad in the background – while I’m not using their main app? This code is from a 3rd party. Sony made that same mistake.”
You’re running Linux then? Cause surely you wouldn’t make a statement like this if you were on a windows machine / mac. lol…
February 16th, 2009 at 3:09 am
….And these guys are not Sony – I don’t think you should blanket cover every company with your views based on an experience you had with Sony?
Let these guys reply and then go from there.
Sime
February 16th, 2009 at 4:14 am
So, I’d already downloaded the Trial Version when I got to this thread, and looked to see if it had closed out completely. As far as I could tell, it had. (But I’m not the true geek in my family.) This morning when I turned the computer on, I looked again, and saw no signs of it except the shortcut.
Are you talking about the full version?
How could I tell if it’s misbehaving?
February 16th, 2009 at 9:30 am
You won’t be able to see the anti-copying software running (in your dock (mac) or system tray / taskbar (windows) ). Instead, it is a background program. On windows, control-alt-delete will probably let you see it. On macs, you’ll need to look in System Preferences -> Accounts -> login items. In either case, this is one reason that I dislike it: this software appears to be sneaky, even if it isn’t intended to be. Appearances matter.
February 16th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Hi Guys
I am the community manager at Play With Pictures.
Thank you all for you comments about the licensing software being ‘always on’ when your computer is running. I have told the head developer about this and are discussing what we can do about it. He is also writing a more technical response to the issue which he/I will post here.
I would like to re-assure everyone that Play With Pictures is a totally legit software program. We would never deliberately do anything to affect our reputation in our relatively small community. I can guarantee you that whatever is running in the background has no malicious intent so you can install it with confidence.
I will get the head developer to address these initial concerns and will try and see if there is a way to avert this issue in the next update.
Please get in contact with me at jon [at] vertustech [dot com if you have any other concerns.
February 17th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
I appreciate you coming to respond.
I am sure that your software – and the 3rd-party copy-protection utility – is not malicious – it is just not good computing practice. It puts your product into an area that will raise eyebrows with your computer-literate customers.
I accept that some software companies have the desire to protect themselves from piracy using technology. Fair enough, but please do it when your software is up and running, not the other 99.9% of the time I am using my computer.
This means don’t install something that goes in my startup – only start everything when I launch your app. Only things that are critical to a working computer should be launched at startup, or as a service. Daemons and Windows Services are for things that need to be available all the time.
When there are companies’ utilities running in the entire time on my computer, or launching every time I start the system, then I have lost control of my system. I have no idea that there isn’t some “update” occurring sometime, or phoning home, or a port open – all this for a program I might run occasionally.
I hope that you do find a good solution that can give you the protection you need while not scaring off customers. I will be glad to try out your software at that time.
Thank you
February 17th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Hey Andre
Yeah man, I understand your concern. It turns out quite a few software companies use the 3rd party protection service so we will look into how they handle the ‘always on’ issue and if there’s a way to turn it off.
I will let you all know when we have a decent answer.
March 17th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Hi all,
I removed the software from my Mac by just dragging the app into the trash. I cant however find the background app anywhere. Any clues on how to remove that ? I am writing to the developer anyway.
cheers.
April 10th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Yes, I’m new. New to the site and new to learning to edit photos and manipulate images. I downloaded everything without any problems. It really seems simple enough. I brought in the background and pasted a cut out without problems in about four minutes after downloading.
I’d like to be able to finish framing the photo with different edges… maybe softening the image to achieve a fading out from the middle. In other words… it is an easy way to make a good image fun to share but it doesn’t do enough to make me want to buy it. I’ve used Paint, Kodak and Picasa. I have Corel Draw but that has been hard for me to use…after several months I still shy away from it.
So, I’d keep “Play with Pictures” if it was free but with the limitations on what it does for the money I would not buy it at this point. (I don’t know how to get a free copy. When I downloaded it nothing was given about that…only to go to help to buy it.)
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