I was just over at the Picasa Beta homepage and noticed that they released a new version last week. Looks like they have been working on compatibility with other software like Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Vista:
We are testing a number of improvements to Picasa in this build:
- Windows Vista compatibility: installation, update, and several visible fixes
- New drivers for CD burning: improve compatibility and support dual-layer drives
- Fixes for video upload: timeouts are handled better in IE7
So it doesn’t sound like anything too major for those people who are still running Windows XP with Internet Explorer 6 installed. I used Picasa 2.5 briefly on Windows Vista a few weeks back and it was noticeably slower than it is on XP so I stopped using it since the built-in picture manager for Vista is pretty nice. You can tag images, rate them, and more…all from within the comfort of Windows Explorer. I haven’t installed this version yet but I will probably give it a shot tomorrow.
Download Picasa 2.6 Beta (Build 35.65)
Haven’t used the in-built Manager yet for Vista, but it’d have to be pretty damn good to beat Picasa. Picasa’s UI is marvelous.
The built-in manager for Vista isn’t really anything special and Picasa has more features by far. For the sake of being integrated though it is pretty nice.
I have 3 photo programs installed, Picasa, ACDSee, and Photoshop. I mostly use ACDSee to get get pics off my card and to do minor editing, Photoshop when I need to do some serious editing, but when I need to find a specific pic I run Picasa. I can browse all my photos so quickly the search time is cut significantly.
taf
I am interested in installing picassa but is it redundant to both the Vista windows Gallery which came with the machine and picassa..
Is there I way I can just use picassa?
Thanks,
Dixie
I wouldn’t say it is redundant, and yes you can use Picasa as your default program. It really just depends on what your personal preference is. There are a lot of people who still use Picasa on Vista.