Create digital photo albums
07/26/2002
Tech Files are video reports examining popular topics about technology and the
Internet. Links to helpful Web sites are listed.
Mike Goldfein reports from Washington.
STORY
Everyone knows what to do with photos from film cameras. We have them
developed, then thumb through them, send a few to the relatives and put
the rest in a shoe box. But what can you do with digital photos?
Here's Mike Goldfein:
There are loads of computer programs out there to help you edit and
print digital photos. But what if you just want to watch them?
And watch them in a way that makes them come alive?
That's what 3D-Album does. The $40 program — you can check it out at
3D-Album.com — takes your digital photos and turns them into a series of
scene-stealing shows, set to your favorite music.
The program comes with more than 60 different eye-popping presentation
styles. From this rotating wood-paneled gallery — to this gallery, where
the photos separate like elevator doors.
Or this Rubik's Cube style.
Even better, once you've created a show, the program lets you burn it to
a CD or e-mail it to friends, who can play it on their computer — even
if they don't own the program.
"All you need to do is gather your photos into your computer. Once you
do that, you are home free. All you need to do is point to the folder of
your photo, then choose one style. That's it. Two clicks — you are
done." — Yuting Tu, 3D-Album
And, in fact, that's pretty much it. The program is so simple that it
easly passed my 'I refuse to read the directions' test.
Yet it is amazingly sophisticated. In this presentation, the flame
flickers every time a photo changes. And in this one, the photos are
transparent, and billow in the wind.
The program is so much fun that you might even be able to show the
neighbors those photos from your last vacation — without having them run
for the doors.
On the Web for Belo Interactive, I'm Mike Goldfein.
