Flickr

How Flickr's overhaul kept me from fleeing

I'm encouraged by the signs of change at Flickr -- enough so that I've decided my photos are staying put there.

After years of what amounts to neglect, it's now clear that management of Yahoo's photo-sharing site is aware of what it needs to do -- and that it's doing it. Step by step, the site is building itself into something more competitive.

It's got a ways to go, and I don't see any easy way to tap into the power that Facebook has for photo sharing, but I still see grounds for … Read more

Flickr takes next step in its year-long overhaul

Uploading photos to the Internet is about the least exciting part of photo sharing that you could imagine, but Flickr believes a new tool for the task will improve the site dramatically.

The new upload tool, set to arrive this morning, replaces an interface that's remained largely unchanged for years: select multiple photos, watch transfer progress bars crawl across the screen, then add titles, tags, and captions.

The new tool, which runs in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari for now and will support Internet Explorer later, uses new standards such as HTML5's drag-and-drop so that you can copy image … Read more

Dropping Instagram already? Try these Android alternatives

It seems like almost immediately after news broke of Instagram's updated terms of use policy, the hip photo-based social app became a lot less cool. Droves of Instagram users have been crying bloody murder, and many are already committing themselves to jumping ship.

Dramatics aside, the reality is that Instagram is not irreplaceable. We Android users should know, since until earlier this year, we were perfectly fine without it. As I said in my review, Instagram is fantastic for its bustling network of users, but it is certainly not a powerhouse shooter, and its filters are even getting a … Read more

Seven Instagram alternatives for the iPhone

Instagram created a social-media uproar last night when it changed its terms of service to state that it could license user photos for display by advertisers without consent and without compensation. Granted, Instagram isn't the first social-networking service to claim the right to use uploaded content, but the broad language with phrases like "without any compensation to you" spurred a quick and vocal backlash. And rightly so.

Fortunately, it took less than a day before Instagram began to realize its mistake. As rivals began to pounce on its fumble and users threatened to leave, CEO Kevin Systrom … Read more

The ten patents Facebook claims Yahoo infringed

Last month, Yahoo set off a bomb when it sued Facebook for alleged patent infringement. Today, Facebook fired back, denying that it violated any patents and claiming that ten of its own were infringed by Yahoo.

Here's what Facebook alleges.

Facebook says a wide variety of Yahoo services infringe its patents, including its Flickr photo sharing system. According to Facebook's countersuit, those servies include:

the Yahoo Home Page, Yahoo's Content Optimization and Relevance Engine ('C.O.R.E.'), [Flickr], and advertisements displayed throughout Yahoo Including on My Yahoo, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo News, Yahoo Games, Yahoo … Read more

How to manage all your social network settings from one place

Bliss Control is a Web service that aims to ease the burden of updating a variety of settings on multiple social networks. It supports 12 settings on 13 different social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.

Bliss Control doesn't require access to your account or password because all it's providing is a direct link to where the specific settings are. Granted, it's not that difficult to find these settings on your own, but if you're trying to update your profile pic, e-mail address, or bio on several sites at the same time, Bliss Control can … Read more

Getting started with iPhoto for iOS

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Most hardware announcements Apple makes are usually accompanied by a piece of software. With the announcement of the new iPad and Apple TV today, Apple also announced the launch of iPhoto for iOS.

You can purchase iPhoto for iOS starting today in the App Store. It will set you back $4.99, and you will need to be running iOS 5.1 on your iOS device(s) for iPhoto to install. With the size of the app coming in at 106MB, you will need to be connected to Wi-Fi to download the app on your device.

Albums After … Read more

Flickr adds Pinterest opt-out code to copyrighted photos

Photo-sharing site Flickr has added Pinterest's new opt-out code to all Flickr pages with copyrighted or protected images, according to a VentureBeat story published Friday night.

Yahoo-owned Flickr did not immediately return an e-mail seeking confirmation on the move, but the site reportedly told VentureBeat that the code appears on all "non-public/non-safe pages, as well as when a member has disabled sharing of their Flickr content.... This means only content that is 'safe,' 'public,' and has the sharing button enabled can be pinned to Pinterest."

The virtual pinboard site, which is still in private beta, has … Read more

Flickr to get slicker in upcoming makeover

With Instagram, Google+, Picasa, and Facebook breathing down its neck, Flickr has had to play catch-up to stay in the photo game lately.

Flickr's head of product, Markus Spiering, told tech news site BetaBeat today that the photo-sharing Web site is planning a major makeover to begin rolling out next week. Big changes include larger photos, less white space, and a more polished photo layout. There will also be a new drag-and-drop upload interface, according to BetaBeat.

These changes come on the heels of Flickr lowering the cost of its Flickr Pro premium service last month and Yahoo reportedly … Read more