IPHOTO

'iPhoto' is a software application made by Apple Inc. exclusively for their Mac OS X operating system. It is part of the iLife suite of applications and comes bundled with every new Macintosh computer. iPhoto can import, organize, edit, print and share digital photos. It is often compared to Google's Picasa and Adobe's Photoshop Album.

Contents

Description

iPhoto version history

Reception

Software Add-Ons

iPhoto Plugins

External Tools

See also

External links

Notes

Description

iPhoto is designed to allow easy importing from digital cameras, scanners, picture CDs and the Internet. Almost all digital cameras work without additional software, as do many scanners. iPhoto supports most common image file formats.
Once photos are imported, they can be optionally titled, labeled, sorted and organized into groups (known as "albums"). Individual photos can be edited with basic image manipulation tools, such as a red-eye filter, contrast and brightness adjustments, crop and resize and other basic functions. iPhoto does not, however, provide the comprehensive editing functionality of programs such as GIMP, Apple's Aperture or Adobe's Photoshop (not to be confused with Photoshop Elements or Album).
Numerous options then exist to share photos. Photo albums can be made in to dynamic slideshows, and optionally set to music imported from iTunes. These slideshows can be exported to QuickTime movie files, further edited in iMovie or burned directly to DVD-video discs using iDVD. Both slideshows and static photos can be shared to other Macs on a local network by using the Bonjour "zero configuration" technology. Or they can be uploaded using simplified web publishing to Apple's .Mac online service. iPhoto can also sync photo albums to any iPod with a color display. These iPods have an audio/video output that allow photos to be played back, along with music, on any modern television. Finally, photos can be printed to a local printer, or, in certain markets, be sent over the Internet to Kodak for professional printing. iPhoto users can order a range of products, including standard prints, posters and even 100 page hardcover or softcover volumes—again, such services are available only to users in certain markets.^[1]

iPhoto version history

'Version'	'Release date'	'Availability'	'New Features'	'Notes'
iPhoto	January 7, 2002	Free download from Apple website.
iPhoto 2	January 7, 2003	Purchase as part of iLife, free download.
iPhoto 4	January 6, 2004	Bundled with new Macs, also as a separate purchase (iLife '04).	"Smart Albums", photo ratings, Bonjour (now known as Rendezvous) sharing, better slideshows, support for up to 25,000 photos.	Bundled as part of the iLife '04 package.
iPhoto 5	January 11, 2005	Bundled with new Macs, also as a separate purchase (iLife '05).	Support of RAW images and MPEG-4 video clips. Enhanced editing support, better search support, more slideshow option and new book designs. Dropped the random order capability for slideshow viewing, but is still available by selecting desired images and hitting the play button.	Bundled as part of the iLife '05 package.
iPhoto 6	January 10, 2006	Bundled with new Macs, also as a separate purchase (iLife '06).	Enhanced scrolling, full-screen editing mode with more one-click effects available. Introduction of "photocasting", available to .Mac members, touted as podcasted for photos. Users can/will be able to construct calendars and greetings cards from photographs.	Bundled as part of the iLife '06 package. First version of iPhoto to be made available as a Universal binary. Also sports a refined look based on iTunes 5 and 6.
iPhoto 7	August 7, 2007	Bundled with new Macs, also as a separate purchase (iLife '08).	Use of "Events", to enable easier photo finding. Enhanced editing tools, users allowed to copy edit settings from one photo to another. Online web gallery for .Mac members to post photos to, which allows other .Mac members to post photos (if permitted by original gallery owner), which are in turn uploaded to the original iPhoto gallery.	Bundled as part of the iLife '08 package.

All versions of iPhoto run only on the Mac OS X operating system. iPhoto can easily share files with users of other programs and operating systems, including Windows and Linux, since it uses standard file formats.

Reception

Software Add-Ons

iPhoto Plugins

★ iPhoto2Gallery exports photos to a Gallery web site.

★ FlickrExport exports photos to the Flickr photo sharing web site.

★ KeywordAssistant enhances Keyword management.

★ Picasa Web Albums Exporter uploads photos to Picasa Web Albums

★ Facebook Exporter for iPhoto uploads photos to Facebook

External Tools

★ iPhoto Buddy is a multiple library manager for iPhoto.

★ iPhoto Diet is a utility that helps to slim down your iPhoto libraries. ('n.b.:' version 3.1, released 2006-09-10, is required to support new file organization in iPhoto 6)

★ iPhoto Library Manager allows for working with multiple iPhoto libraries

★ iPhoto Photocast viewer for mac & PC allows for the viewing of photocasts created in iPhoto 6 on older macs and on PCs.

See also

★ ACDSee

★ iLife

★ Lphoto

★ Digital photography

★ Comparison of image viewers

★ F-Spot

External links

★ iPhoto product page at Apple.com

★ iPhoto support at Apple.com

Notes

1. Pricing: Books, Calendars, Cards, and Prints