flickr

There have been plenty of ways to view Flickr photos and upload to Flickr from your iPhone using third-party apps. But Yahoo's Flickr for iPhone app is the company's first official take.

How is it? We're sorry to report that for avid uploaders, it's only so-so. You can search, view your photostream, and also friends' photostreams. You can also take and upload photos or video--for the latter, only if you've got the video-enabled iPhone 3GS. Commenting, e-mailing a photo, and tagging are also present.

So what's the problem? Flickr for iPhone is missing some … Read more

As a heavy Flickr user, half the time I'm accessing the site from my phone instead of my computer. So when Flickr got its very own iPhone application late Monday night (download link), I was excited to give it a spin. What I found though, is that despite some of its niceties, there are certain things you can only do on the mobile Safari version--many of which are important.

This in itself is odd. After all, native iPhone apps almost always do things Web apps can't, like store data locally, or make use of on-board hardware. This app does a little bit of both but is missing a few features that I think make viewing and managing your Flickr photos a more compelling experience in Safari's browser.

For instance, browsing photos cannot be done in landscape mode from the get-go. You're limited to viewing little thumbnails, then having to click on the image to load it again before being able to view it sideways. The need to do this every time there's an occasional photo in landscape mode can be a bit tiring, although you're encouraged to just stay in the full-screen mode. This isn't so bad if you're on a good connection, but if you're on EDGE, or a spotty 3G connection it, can drag on as it takes time to load each image.

But that's just a small quibble. My real complaint is that the app doesn't let you make any changes to photos you've already uploaded. For instance, you cannot rename a photo or video or give it a description unless you're uploading it. You're also unable to add tags or change its privacy level and licensing rights. This could get you into a sticky situation if you, say, uploaded a photo as public that you later wanted to change to private. Such an action would… Read more

At long last, Yahoo has released its official Flickr app for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. With a photo montage and a clean user interface, the photo app has the look. As long as you're not too needy, it also has the touch. In addition to viewing your photos and your friends' photostreams, you can also upload photos from the device to your Flickr account. If you've got an iPhone 3GS, the app also extends that uploading courtesy to videos that you can take on the spot or upload from your library.

The Flickr app supports comments, … Read more

Flickr has adopted a less severe way of handling copyright infringement claims after a small firestorm of controversy erupted about a photograph of President Barack Obama modified to look like The Dark Knight's rendition of the Joker comic-book villain.

Previously, certain copyright infringement complaints were met with the removal of an image, and if the complaint was overruled, the Flickr member who posted the image was allowed to repost it. After the Joker Obama case, Flickr decided to merely replace the image in question with a message, a move that means the discussion below the image is preserved and … Read more

Rafe Needleman and I get in a fight over Windows 7's loose activation policy. Brian Tong suggests we hug it out. Rafe and I seem to prefer stabbing it out. We also take Flickr to task for censoring images and wonder why the Internet addiction center is so expensive.

Windows 7 runs free without activation for 120 days with simple command http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/21/windows-7-runs-free-without-activation-for-120-days-with-simple/

Yahoo deletes anti-Obama image from Flickr http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-deletes-anti-obama-image-from-flickr-2009-8

Twitter … Read more

I use and enjoy Flickr. But with each passing month it worries me more that when I visit a photo page on the Yahoo photo-sharing site, it looks essentially identical to when I first started using it four years ago.

Flickr has typical online photo site abilities to upload, share, and print photos. What sets it apart, though, are features that make Flickr a community: discussions in comments below photos, groups for like-minded photographers to share their work, and social networking attributes that let people stay on top of their contacts' doings.

Flickr revamped members' home pages starting last September, … Read more

Flickr announced Tuesday that it has improved its search tool. The site's search results page now allows users to see small previews of photos and get details on those pictures without being forced to visit the individual photo page. It's a nice improvement.

But if you're looking for something a little different, these Flickr alternatives are worth checking out.

Bubblr Aside from the fact that it lets you search for photos by tag or user name, the real focus of Bubblr is to help you create a comic strip that you can publish for the Bubblr Archive.

When you search for pictures on Bubblr, it displays your search results next to the search box. From there, you can either go to the photo's respective Flickr page, or drag and drop images into your comic strip. When you create a comic strip, you can also add dialog bubbles to tell a story. When you're ready, Bubblr lets you publish your comic strip to its archive. I was pleased with how well Bubblr worked. Search was quick, dragging images worked beautifully, and the finished product was great.

Compfight Compfight allows you to search Flickr by tag or text. So, if you choose to find photos by the tags associated with images, simply input a keyword, and Compfight will do the rest. It displays several images matching the query.

If you're looking to search Flickr based on the text associated with pictures, Compfight will do that, too. In my experience, changing how you search will change the results quite substantially. When you click on an image, you'll be brought to its respective Flickr page. Thanks to a simple search box and little clutter, Compfight is easy to use. I liked it.… Read more

Yahoo-owned photo sharing site Flickr has a new search results page that marks a subtle, but important change in the way users can find the photo they're looking for.

Similar to the way most search engines display an array of thumbnails, users can now parse through small or medium size previews of photos, and view detailed information about the shot without even having to visit its photo page. It's also a lot more straightforward in how it directs users to various other parts of the service such as groups, other users, and photos with similar tags. These suggestions … Read more

Back from my mini-trip down to Southern California for the weekend and I certainly made heavy use of my phone while down there. One of the main ways was as my surrogate camera. I made the conscious decision to leave behind my Canon for this trip and see what it would be like to rely solely on the Palm Pre for any photo opportunities.

I have to say, that it performed admirably at this task. One thing I did run into was that I started getting tired of lightly smudging my screen with my fingers having to press the touch … Read more