Today I want to show you an online cloud service called Pixlr that offers several tools that you can use to capture and edit your images (and photos) right inside your web browser. You simply visit Pixlr.com and your browser is transformed into an image editor. No account sign-up is needed or required.
The tools in Pixlr are are driven by Flash and you need to have the Flash plug-in (get flash) to get it to work. Most PC’s today have the Flash plug- in already installed. To find out if you have flash installed, simply visit Pixlr and try to load the editor. The cool factor about Pixlr is that if you are using the current version of Flash, you will not have to upload your images (or photos) to the server. The image you desire to work on will be opened directly into your browser at the local level (on your PC). The plus about this is that your image is not being sent somewhere else, which could be a privacy concern; especially if the image is sensitive in nature. In essence, your internet browser (such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera etc.) becomes an image editor.
Pixlr Editor – If you are already familiar with image editing software (e.g. Photoshop, Gimp, Paint.net, Paint Shop Pro), then you will be right at home with Pixlr Editor. The editor offers the same functionality, navigation and tools, with the ability to handle layers, that you find in your typical image editing software. Your final creation can be saved to your computer as a JPEG, PNG, BMP or PXD (layer Pixlr image).
Available Tools:
Marquee tool
Move tool
Lasso tool
Crop tool
Wand tool
Clone Stamp tool
Pencil tool
Eraser tool
Brush tool
Gradient tool
Paint Bucket tool
Blur tool
Sharpen tool
Smudge tool
Sponge tool
Dodge tool
Burn tool
Red Eye Reduction tool
Drawing tool
Bloat tool
Pinch tool
Color Picker tool
Type tool
Hand tool
Zoom tool
In addition to Pixlr Editor you will also find Pixlr Express and Pixlr Grabber.
Pixlr Express is an online utility that gives you the ability to “quick fix” your photos with basic tools (e.g. crop, resize, rotate, flip, adjust the color and apply photo effects).
Pixlr Grabber is a is a light weight application that enables you to right click any image on your desktop and open them in Pixlr Editor. It is available as a Windows application or as a Firefox extension.
post to jaanix
November 5, 2009 at 9:42 pm |
Rick,
One more indication that we are on the road to (full) cloud based computing. It may be some way off yet, but it seems to me to be virtually inevitable.
I’m not sure I want to participate but..
Great article!
Bill
November 5, 2009 at 11:22 pm |
Bill,
I’m with you… I’m not sure I want to participate either, but… Just read recently (can’t remember where) that by 2015 cloud computing will be the permanent fixture.
Thanks for commenting.
Rick