In a new move to fold Google+ into people's lives, Google releases a tool that lets people automatically back up their photos to the social service. December 30, 2013 8:35 AM PST Google+ Auto Backup offers to transfer photos from Mac and Windows machines running Picasa software to Google's social service. (Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET) Google wants Google+ to be the home for all your photos, and it's just begun a new effort to get them there. The new step involves an update to its earlier-era Picasa photo software, which lets OS X and Windows users edit photos and upload them to Google's Picasa Web Albums site. The update includes a utility called Google+ Auto Backup that copies photos from people's PCs to Google's newer Google+ photo service. Related stories Why Google Glass is the most personal tech you'll never own What to expect in 2014? Eric Schmidt fills us in Will streaming music services ever make money? 2014 may tell Google reportedly partners with Audi for on-board Android The software arrived offers to back up photos from various pictures folders and from cameras or memory cards connected to the computer. People have a choice of uploading the full-resolution images, which count toward Google's online storage limits, or downsampled versions a maximum of 2,048 pixels on edge, which can be stored in unlimited quantieis. The software mirrors an option already available for Android phones and for Chrome OS machines. Once your photos are at Google+, of course, you can share them with contacts on the social service and let Google work its auto-awesome fun. Google's Picasa software and Web service live on, but they're very much in the background nowadays compared to Google+ and the Nik photo-editing software that Google acquired. Nik-derived photo-editing tools are available on Google+ and also on Android 4.4 KitKat. According to the release notes, the new version of the Picasa software itself also increases the file-size limit from 50MB to 100MB; adds raw photo format support for new cameras; and addresses problems in image handling identified by security firm Secunia Research. Via unofficial Google Operating System blog The Google+ Auto Backup app offers to transfer photos from various folders on a person's computer. (Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)
In a new move to fold Google+ into people's lives, Google releases a tool that lets people automatically back up their photos to the social service.
Google+ Auto Backup offers to transfer photos from Mac and Windows machines running Picasa software to Google's social service.
(Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)
Google wants Google+ to be the home for all your photos, and it's just begun a new effort to get them there.
The new step involves an update to its earlier-era Picasa photo software, which lets OS X and Windows users edit photos and upload them to Google's Picasa Web Albums site. The update includes a utility called Google+ Auto Backup that copies photos from people's PCs to Google's newer Google+ photo service.
Related stories
- Why Google Glass is the most personal tech you'll never own
- What to expect in 2014? Eric Schmidt fills us in
- Will streaming music services ever make money? 2014 may tell
- Google reportedly partners with Audi for on-board Android
The software arrived offers to back up photos from various pictures folders and from cameras or memory cards connected to the computer. People have a choice of uploading the full-resolution images, which count toward Google's online storage limits, or downsampled versions a maximum of 2,048 pixels on edge, which can be stored in unlimited quantieis.
The software mirrors an option already available for Android phones and for Chrome OS machines. Once your photos are at Google+, of course, you can share them with contacts on the social service and let Google work its auto-awesome fun.
Google's Picasa software and Web service live on, but they're very much in the background nowadays compared to Google+ and the Nik photo-editing software that Google acquired. Nik-derived photo-editing tools are available on Google+ and also on Android 4.4 KitKat.
According to the release notes, the new version of the Picasa software itself also increases the file-size limit from 50MB to 100MB; adds raw photo format support for new cameras; and addresses problems in image handling identified by security firm Secunia Research.
Via unofficial Google Operating System blog
The Google+ Auto Backup app offers to transfer photos from various folders on a person's computer.
(Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)
