Monday, September 13, 2004
Picajet: Fast, Simple, Yet Surprisingly Powerful
Posted by Jason Dunn in "SOFTWARE" @ 09:00 AM
Digital Media Thoughts readers know what a big fan of Picasa I am, so it takes a lot for me to even consider using another image management program. Picajet looked interesting enough for me to take a look at - when I went to the Picajet Web site and looked at the screen shots, the interface looked clean and fast, but it also boasted features that Picasa did not, so I figured I'd take it for a spin.
The initial install of the 4.41 MB download was fast and simple - I read through the EULA and it gives no indication as to the limit of how many computers the software can be installed on, so my assumption is that I can use it on both my desktop and laptop computer. It would be nice if developers clearly stated said that scenario was allowed when they created the EULA. After the installation I put in my serial number and the software started up. And it did nothing. Later I discovered that there's a quick start wizard, but it never triggered when I started up the program.
People using Windows XP are more than likely using the My Pictures folder for their photos, so PicaJet should have immediately started to scan that folder for my images. I was able to set this up manually, and it offered the intriguing option to generate category keywords based on the file name and on something called the "IPTSM" - I have no idea what that means, and there's no help function on the import screen to explain what that means. At any rate, I started the import and was a little dismayed at how long it took - on my 2.8 Ghz P4 it's processing 2-3 pictures per second. The problem? I have 9209 photos, so the process took a very long time. Strangely enough, when the software was minimized, it would not scan - and after 30 minutes or so, it would crash. Ultimately I "fixed" the problem by letting it stay maximized, and it completed the scan without further problems.
In terms of features, Picajet is fairly powerful and quite well-rounded. It has many features that Picasa does not, the most important of which is likely the keyword management tools. In the most important way, however, Picajet falls short: displaying the images. Even once I figured out how to turn on the folder-picker, it appears on the right side and is generally awkward to use. If you can get past that, there's quite a bit to like about the program: once you double-click on an image, you can rotate it, crop it, adjust the brightness/contrast, and there's an "auto enhance" that works quite well. The lack of red-eye tool is curious and unfortunate. The full screen slide show mode uses smooth fade-through-black transitions, but there doesn't appear to be a way to get rid of the tool bar at the top, nor play music in the background of a slide show. The Web export is particularly strong insofar as the templates look superb, much nicer than the anemic templates Picasa offers. Scrolling through my 9000+ photos was relatively fast, but it took a painfully long time for the low-res thumbnails to resolve themselves into crisp images.
All in all, I'd say that this program is a step up from Picasa in terms of features, but the lack of a red-eye removal tool is unforgivable and the user interface, while quite good, lacks Picasa's drop-dead ease of use. At $29.99, the software is affordable, and if the next version can add a red-eye tool, speed up the scanning, and polish the interface further, Picajet could have a real winner on their hands.
The initial install of the 4.41 MB download was fast and simple - I read through the EULA and it gives no indication as to the limit of how many computers the software can be installed on, so my assumption is that I can use it on both my desktop and laptop computer. It would be nice if developers clearly stated said that scenario was allowed when they created the EULA. After the installation I put in my serial number and the software started up. And it did nothing. Later I discovered that there's a quick start wizard, but it never triggered when I started up the program.
People using Windows XP are more than likely using the My Pictures folder for their photos, so PicaJet should have immediately started to scan that folder for my images. I was able to set this up manually, and it offered the intriguing option to generate category keywords based on the file name and on something called the "IPTSM" - I have no idea what that means, and there's no help function on the import screen to explain what that means. At any rate, I started the import and was a little dismayed at how long it took - on my 2.8 Ghz P4 it's processing 2-3 pictures per second. The problem? I have 9209 photos, so the process took a very long time. Strangely enough, when the software was minimized, it would not scan - and after 30 minutes or so, it would crash. Ultimately I "fixed" the problem by letting it stay maximized, and it completed the scan without further problems.
In terms of features, Picajet is fairly powerful and quite well-rounded. It has many features that Picasa does not, the most important of which is likely the keyword management tools. In the most important way, however, Picajet falls short: displaying the images. Even once I figured out how to turn on the folder-picker, it appears on the right side and is generally awkward to use. If you can get past that, there's quite a bit to like about the program: once you double-click on an image, you can rotate it, crop it, adjust the brightness/contrast, and there's an "auto enhance" that works quite well. The lack of red-eye tool is curious and unfortunate. The full screen slide show mode uses smooth fade-through-black transitions, but there doesn't appear to be a way to get rid of the tool bar at the top, nor play music in the background of a slide show. The Web export is particularly strong insofar as the templates look superb, much nicer than the anemic templates Picasa offers. Scrolling through my 9000+ photos was relatively fast, but it took a painfully long time for the low-res thumbnails to resolve themselves into crisp images.
All in all, I'd say that this program is a step up from Picasa in terms of features, but the lack of a red-eye removal tool is unforgivable and the user interface, while quite good, lacks Picasa's drop-dead ease of use. At $29.99, the software is affordable, and if the next version can add a red-eye tool, speed up the scanning, and polish the interface further, Picajet could have a real winner on their hands.
