Google Tools for Linux – Picasa

Picasa is an free pictures organizer from Google. Now it’s available for Linux. You can create Web Album, Email, Print, Blog, Collage (It’s cool), Export (resize & change the quality) to a new file.

Other things that you can do:

• Find the pictures you forgot you had

• Move and re-name pictures from inside Picasa

• Add a star rating

• Keep one pictures in multiple albums

• Password protect collections

• Amazing effects turn so-so pictures into works of art

• Write captions that stay with the picture

• Zoom. Pan. Tilt. Get the angle you intended

• It has RGB histogram, a real-time graph that shows the intensity of colors in your pictures.

• Create slide show.

• Export pictures to popular photo processing website.

• Burn to CD or DVD.

• Give gift CDs with slide shows.

• Create a network back backup of your pictures.

• Turn your photo into a movie.

• Make a personalized desktop picture or screen saver.

• Create a poster.

Step 1. Download the program.

Go to http://picasa.google.com/linux/ and click ‘Download Picasa 2.7 for Linux‘ to download the program.

The file size is 23MB.

• Choose Debian/Ubuntu format. If you use 32 bit processor choose (32bit) and choose (64bit) if you use 64bit processor.

• Downloading process will automatically start.

Step 3. Installation.

From Ubuntu Terminal screen (Applications > Accessories > Terminal), type:

Goto your the directory where you download the Picasa installation file.

For example, I downloaded the installation file in “mydata/my_ubuntu_collection/packages/”, so I type:

taufanlubis@toshiba:~$ cd mydata/my_ubuntu_collection/packages/

Then, use the command below to install the program. It will take a minute.

taufanlubis@toshiba:~/mydata/my_ubuntu_collection/packages$ sudo dpkg -i picasa_2.7.3736-15_i386.deb

[sudo] password for taufanlubis:

Selecting previously deselected package picasa.

(Reading database … 164694 files and directories currently installed.)

Unpacking picasa (from picasa_2.7.3736-15_i386.deb) …

Setting up picasa (2.7.3736-15) …

taufanlubis@toshiba:~/mydata/my_ubuntu_collection/packages$

Step 4. Run the program.

Click Applications, Graphics, Picasa and Picasa.

• For the first run, it will show you a ‘License Agreement‘. Just click ‘Next‘.

• Then click ‘I Agree‘.

• At the first run, Picasa will collects all pictures available in your hard disk. It will take time based on number of your pictures.

• After that, it’s ready to use.

• The menu is very simple, so just try it by yourself.

• Manual available at : http://picasa.google.com/support/