Google Picasa 3.5 released

Google have released version 3.5 of their free image management application, Picasa.

Available for PC and Mac in English only, Picasa 3.5 adds functionality that bring the desktop client features in line with those already offered on Picasa Web Albums. The Linux version of Picasa, which currently stands at version 3.0, has not been updated.

Picasa now offers face recognition with the 'name tags' feature. Similar to iPhoto '09 on the Mac, Picasa analyses your photos, grouping what it deems as similar faces together. You can then apply names to each identified face, allowing you to search photos based on the people that are in them. If you are signed into a Google account, names are handily auto-completed using your contacts database.

A growing trend amongst photographers, driven in part by the increase in GPS enabled mobile devices such as the iPhone, is Geotagging photos. Again, as in iPhoto '09, Picasa allows you to view your photos on a map. This is facilitated either by reading the EXIF location data embedded within the photo or by dragging your photos to the appropriate location on an embedded Google map. This functionality was previously (and optionally still can be) provided externally by the Google Earth application.

Other changes to the application include improved upload, import and sharing functionality, deeper integration with Picasa Web Albums, enhanced picture tagging, the ability to modify date and time on pictures, improved responsiveness in the 'Sharpen' tool and more reliable CD burning in the Windows version.

Google Picasa 3.5 released originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:30:00 EST.