Monday, 29 May 2006

Google Picasa Now on Linux

Google has ported over its popular free Picasa photo organization tool to the Linux operating system. It has released a new build of version 2.2. In order to support the open source OS, Google developers are using a special version of Wine, along with code from Mozilla. "It incorporates nearly all the features of the current Windows version of Picasa, providing you with the tools you need to easily find, edit, and share the photos on your computer," explained Google's Open Source Programs Manager Chris DiBona. "And because it runs on a carefully tested version of Wine, Picasa avoids the slowing effects of an OS emulation or a virtual machine."

"Rather than a new version of the program, Google has taken the Windows version of Picasa and tweaked it slightly to run under Wine, a Windows application emulator. It includes all of the major Picasa features and the entire interface, minus the Hello instant messenger, CD burning, and backup TiVo. While the Google Firefox toolbar can run under Linux, this is the first time they’ve developed a full application specifically for that platform", wrote Nathan Weinberg in his blog.

The new release is expected to run on any of these Linux distros running on a an x86 compatible processor:

• Debian Sarge
• Debian Etch
• Fedora Core 4
• Fedora Core 5
• Linspire 5
• Mandriva 2006
• Mandriva 2005
• Red Hat Workstation 3
• Red Hat Workstation
• Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger)
• SuSE 9.3
• SuSE 10.0