Tag: Google

Google Photos -- Meh

I was a Picasa user for a while some time ago but decided that Flickr was better for my needs. Back then I used Google+ to upload and share images with other Google+ users. I still do. Google announced the new Google Photos as both a web service and an app at Google I/O. I was sceptical but decided to give it a try on my iPhone.

Google Photos can back up all the images in your iPhone's photo library. Just like Flickr, Google provides a desktop up-loader. There are two backup options that vary by upload size. Original is a full resolution backup of your iPhone images. The storage space used counts against your Google storage quota. I had that turned on initially but quickly realized my error when I got a message that my 15 GB of FREE Google storage was filled. I deleted the images and set my upload size to high quality. That let's Google make decisions about how to compress my images and cut the use of storage. This option provides me with free unlimited storage. The downside is that I have no control over the quality of my images. I am at the mercy of Google's algorithm.

Once you start syncing your images, changes you make to your images will sync as well. Changes you make to your photos, like editing and deleting, will happen on every device that syncs to your Google Photos library including across your desktop and iOS photo libraries. Be careful with the last one. Deleting an image from Google Photos will delete it from your iOS library.

Brian Young wrote an article for Petapixel comparing the compression quality of JPEGmini to that of Google Photos. His results were mixed. Don't depend on Google Photos as a backup option. Uploaded images are limited to 16MP. Use it for its intended purpose. Uploading images for social sharing.

Overall, I think Google and JPEGmini both have impressive algorithms. Google’s beats JPEGmini in compression some of the time, but it looks like there are still some kinks to work out to prevent aberrations and other artifacts.

Flickr gives me 1TB of storage and doesn't limit the size of the images or the quality. I have 49MP images on Flickr. I haven't noticed any compression artifacts after uploading JPG images. One great feature of Flickr is that I can embed images into any web site including sharing to Facebook, Twitter etc. I'm not sure you can do that with Google Photos.

I started this blog post to review the feature of Google Photos and I realized that they were all underwhelming. Meh! All of what Google Photos offers, I can do with Flickr while enjoying better image quality and sharing options.

I Hope Not

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[exif id="36251"]

Maybe, Thad. Maybe. But I certainly hope not.

There are a few other things that robots don't do.

  • Hospitality
  • Accents

I think part of an enjoyable dining experience is inviting and friendly experience for the staff. From the person who greets guests at the door and seats them to the wait-person taking my order. I enjoy talking to the wait staff. We may talk about the menu, why I'm there and sometimes I get insight into their lives. At one restaurant the wait person was so concerned that I was low on insulin -- she has a friend who had Type 1 diabetes -- that she took the extra effort to help me pick safe options from the menu. A robot will never feel welcoming to me.

Ever watch someone try to use Siri whose native language isn't English? I've watched my father-in-law get so frustrated that he handed the iPhone back to me and told me it was useless. I can't imagine how left out people who speak English with an accent are going to feel when the robot doesn't understand them or gets the food order wrong. Who will they complain to?

Published via MarsEdit

Found on Google+

Originally shared by +Keith Cuddeback

 

Mt Foraker-Alaska

During cocktail hour at a fishing lodge in Alaska I noticed this wonderful scene. I put down my manhattan and went for my camera and tripod. Mt. Denali is just out of the frame to the right. The light on it was not good so it didn't make the cut into my photo. Mt. Foraker, the tallest one on the right at 17,400 feet, is almost as tall as Denali, very impressive, but doesn't get the notoriety that Denali does. I mean, we've all heard of Denali/McKinley but who has ever heard of Foraker? I guess all those magnificent peaks around Mt. Everest also get the "not as good as" treatment.

Anyway it's a pretty scene with the low clouds/fog swirling at the base of the mountains. By the way, the photography here was a lot better than the fishing. It's my first time to Alaska where I could actually complain about the fishing. Usually I can bring home enough salmon to feed me for the winter until fishing season rolls around the following Summer. Fishing was so bad here that we called a bush plane to get us early and flew down to the Kenai river where the Coho were plentiful. In Alaska, bush planes are like taxi cabs.