Digital Home Thoughts: Why Would you not Want to Share Your Vacation Photos?

"There are several great options that cost money—like SmugMug, for instance—but unless you're a major shutterbug, a free service might fit your modest needs and usage pattern better. Here we round up three of the top options for free image hosting around the Web—Flickr, Picasa, and Photobucket."

There are a lot of services that can be had online for free. From email to webhosting to videos, the quality of free hosting services can vary greatly from one to another. And while a lot of us are on a budget, we want to make sure we get the most out of our dollar freebies. Image hosting is no stranger to free services and the industry has had quite a while to mature. Each of the three featured by Ars Technica have their strengths and weakness, but if you find yourself becoming a serious photog, consider a paid service but whatever you do, do NOT rely on any image hosting service as an archive for your photos. As numerous people have learned, even large companies can change their mind and start charging for hosting images, or shut down their service altogether.