GeekSugar

How To Upload Pictures To Flickr

GeekSugar — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 18:21:56 -0800

Last week, I helped you pick out a new digital camera, and showed you how to download your photos to your computer, but which program should you use to manage and share them online? Flickr is still my go-to site for archiving pictures because it allows you to put your pictures on the web and view your friends' archives. Because of the site's added tagging feature, it's easy to categorize your photos and explore photos by photographer, tag, time, text and place.

If you have a lot of photos and exceed the Flickr free account 10MB monthly size cap, using Flickr's web based image upload tool or their Windows application to upload your images can become very tedious. For example, I have a really great camera which takes gorgeous, high quality images around 2MB in size. This means I would only be able to upload 5 high quality images per month. Since I like to get my pictures on the net for my friends and family to view, I resize and save them with Photoshop before uploading.

For step by step instructions on how to upload pics to Flickr, read more

Another way to get pics to your Flickr account is by using email. Enter Picasa and Gmail. Picasa is a great free photo management tool that lets you organize and perform simple edits and manipulations to your photos. I love Picasa because it lets you email directly from its software and you can tell the application to automatically resize your photos before sending them.
Check out the Picasa website for more info and to download.

Uploading Pics To Flickr

Login to your Flickr account. Near the bottom of the page click on the link that says Upload by Email.
Copy the email address that is presented to you. This is a personalized email address that you can use to send photos to your Flickr account.
Now, open Picasa and click on the Tools>Options>menu.
On the Email tab, choose Use my Gmail Account then set the picture size (using the slider) to whatever size you want. This is the size that Picasa will scale your image to before sending it.
Click the OK button and you’re ready to start sending images to Flickr.
Click on the image that you want to upload then click on the Email button near the bottom of the Picasa application window. Picasa will ask you to enter your Gmail login details.
In the To field, enter the email address that Flickr gave you.
Enter the title of the picture in the subject line. This is the title that Picasa will use when it displays your picture.
Enter the description of the photo in the message area. This is the description that Picasa will use when it displays your picture.
Finally, click the Send button and the photo is uploaded to Flickr.
The only limitation with this method is that you cannot tag the image. You will need to login to Flickr to do that.

If you need more help, check out Uploading Flickr Photos from the Flickr website.

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Tech Dating 101: How Can I Tell If He's Into Me Online?

GeekSugar — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:02:55 -0700

Trying to navigate the the online dating scene and feel like you're swimming upstream? Get your digital dating questions answered in geeksugar's Tech Dating 101 series, where I share my take on topics like gadgets in the boudoir and texting during a date. Today I'm tackling how to tell if someone is using the Internet to flirt with you, or just playing the friend game.

Unfortunately, it's often easier to figure out that he's just not that into you than it is to establish his intentions are of the Don Juan variety. If he doesn't IM you back after an hour and you know he's online, he doesn't see you as a priority. If you've had the "relationship talk" and he hasn't changed his relationship status, he's hesitant to announce he's off the market. But, just like happy hour flirtation, it's important to look at the whole picture if you think he wants to get fresh: Is he single? Is he dropping flirtatious hints and innuendos? Is he singling you out specifically or playing the field? And most importantly, is his aim true?

If you suspect a certain someone is trying to bust a virtual move, play PI and track his online interactions, both with you and others. If he's hitting up your Facebook wall weekly, sends you personal emails and links, shares items with you via his reader because he "thought you'd like this!" and Tweets back, chances are high he's interested in you on some level. He wants to know what you think about things. If he's spamming every girl he knows, he's just fishing around and looking for someone to take the bait. For a list of questions you should ask yourself when trying to categorize his intentions as romantic or purely platonic, read more.

Does he comment on all your status updates, blogs, or Flickr photos? If he doesn't comment (or "like") everything, does he comment more than other friends or potential lovas? Weigh his interactions with you against your BFF and a casual acquaintance for perspective.
Does he comment on obscure things? If he's dropping links, hints, and comments on random social network sites you've signed up for, or random pics you uploaded a year and a half ago then he's intentionally seeking you out.
Does he tweet back more than once or twice a week? Most people don't tweet back unless they truly appreciate a Tweet, or want to engage with you.
Is he following and friending you everywhere? If he's suddenly taken an interest in all your online activity and started following you everywhere, he's trying to get to know you and wants to monitor your activity. Use your commonsense based on his attitude in person to measure what this means.
Does he use a flirty tone and sexy humor? Come hither phrases and sexy talk are innuendo, whether online or not. If it sounds like flirtation when you read it out loud, it's flirtation. Men don't use words like "baby," "cute," "hot," and "sexy" unless they mean it. Well, they do, but they always mean it on some level.
Does he send you special private messages, notes, or links? Maybe he's not interacting with you on Facebook because he doesn't want your friends in common, his ex, or (yikes!) his current girlfriend to know he's singling you out, but if he's instant messaging or sending you links and private messages daily, and even weekly, stop and consider his intentions. You may just be online buddies, but his tone and the content he sends you will speak volumes.
Does he retweet, reblog, or reuse your "material"? This can be the ultimate compliment, but also a telltale sign of his intentions. If uses your material, but gives you credit (say by calling out your name) he's OK with letting people know he watches you. If he uses it without crediting you he's clearly figured out how awesome you are, but is timid about calling out his discovery. Beware the man who hides his online interaction with you. He may be running a messy game.

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Three Photos Sites to Make Your Life Easier

GeekSugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:00:52 -0700

Online photo management sites like Flickr sure do offer a ton of features and editing tools. But what about other things you need to do with your pics - like being able to post them on your social network pages from your phone, or finding a fast site to host them, and even a way to easily share high-res photos? Don't worry, I've got you covered; check out the free helpful sites below that do all of the above and more!

Pikchur - With Pikchur you can send pictures straight from your phone (via email or MMS) to one of your social networking accounts like Twitter or Facebook. Just sign up for a free account to get started.
Fumpr - Need to quickly store your pics online for use on your blog? Fumpr claims to be "the world's fastest photo storage," a site that will let you upload a generous 8MB worth of pics!
SeeYouThen - Isn't it frustrating when you want to share, upload, and download high-res photos from your friend's wedding, and it usually becomes a big headache just to do a couple pics? SeeYouThen has you covered, giving you the ability to create your own wedding website and give your guests the ability to upload unlimited high-res photos.

Make The Best Of Your Digital Photos

GeekSugar — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:00:04 -0700

Despite the bajillions of online photo management and sharing sites that allow users to upload photos and create online archives, Flickr is still one of our favorites. The site is clean, easy to use and so long as you pay the yearly subscription fee of $25, offers fool proof options for organizing, geotagging and enjoying your photography.

The trouble is, the joy of trolling through your own photo archives and even your friends' collections can wear off pretty quickly. When you do get bored of leaving comments on your friend's bizarre outfits and goofy post bar night photo shoots, check out some of our favorite second party tools and applications that add a new element of fun and artistry to your digital photo browsing,

The selection is near endless: From Flickrvision (pictured at right), which is a mashup site that displays the pictures people across the world are posting on Flickr on a map, to the Flicker Related Tag Browser, which offers a beautiful display of images and image tags related to your search.

Check out the widget below to see some of our favorites.

Geek Tip: Get Flickr Email Notifications

GeekSugar — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:00:14 -0700

Having a flickr account is kinda like having an email account-you always have to check it for new messages, which can get very tedious. Thankfully flickr is now offering to send email notifications via email when people comment on your photos or when your contacts upload new photo-so you don't have to keep checking it. According to Lifehacker, this isn't a brand new feature, just something that has gone unnoticed by many! To change your account settings to receive notifications, sign into your flickr account, click on my account, then email and edit notifications. You will then see the screen below. Do you know a great shortcut or tip you think geeksugar readers should know? Share it in our 'How To' Help - Guide To All Things Geeky group, read more

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the 'How To' Help - Guide To All Things Geeky
Click "Create and Share!" on the left hand side
Choose "Blog"
Give your photo a Title
Leave the category as "general"
Change the channel to "technology and gadgets"
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Geek tip")
Click on the "Add Image" link below the "body" box
A popup window will happen - click on "Browse" to find your image on your computer
Once you have the image chosen, click "Submit"
The popup will show you your image, choose size: "normal" - if you want, you can give it a title (which will show up as a caption)
Click "Insert" and the popup will go away
Your "body" box will now have some text in it. Leave it as is. If you want to add some text before the picture telling me why you think this person is geeky, do it before the code that has appeared.
Click Submit

So join the 'How To' Help - Guide To All Things Geeky and start sharing your favorite tips! Your tricks just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Geek Tip: Search Flickr With Fun Tag Browser

GeekSugar — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:00:21 -0700

One of my favorite things about using Flickr is playing with all the fun applications and alternative ways to view archived photos. If you've already checked out retrievr, Spell With Flickr and Depictr, you should check out the Flicker Related Tag Browser, which offers a beautiful display of images and image tags related to your search.

For example, My "cookies" search turned up a ring of tags like "chocolate," "mint," "food," "dough," "foodporn" and "baking." When I clicked on "chocolate chips" I was treated to a drool-worthy matrix of chocolate chip pictures people have uploaded to Flickr.

View 3 Photos ›

How to Make Your Wedding Slideshow

GeekSugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:03:39 -0700

In your wedding planning mania, don't forget the touches to the wedding that are distinctly you - and one way to remind your guests of what is you, literally - is photo slideshows! Slideshows are awesome for weddings, whether you want one to show at the wedding, the reception, rehearsal, and showers - as well as making one from the wedding and honeymoon itself, to have for you and your honey to keep for yourselves.

Luckily, software and tech helpers have evolved, preventing your slideshow from being a cheesy affair - remember the days of photo collages at weddings?

To see wedding slideshow tips and ideas, just read more

The Pictures

As far as photos, you can do a slideshow of photos of your life together so far, or you can start with baby pictures and work your way up chronologically.
Decide what story you're telling, and think about that in accordance with how long you want the show to be. If it'll be something guests see as they arrive or will just visit briefly, then a shorter show (75-100 for about 10 minutes) may be what you want, so everyone can see all the pictures but not create a distraction. In that case, it's fine to set the photos an a shuffle setting. If you want to show the slideshow to everyone as a main event of the reception, like during the meal or drinks, then you could go longer and set the photos to go in a certain order.
Consider the quality of each photo you're including - but they don't all need to be high-res because they'll be projected - use old black and white, vintage-y looking shots for a nice mix.
Have any old home movie clips, or short video you've taken with your cell phone? Insert that somewhere in the slideshow to keep the audience on their toes!

Getting It Done

If you'll be able to use your computer and project it at the event, then it's achingly easy to upload your photos to a photo-sharing service like Picasa or flickr (pretty much any photo-sharing site does this) and set it to slideshow mode. Just arrange them how you want, and they'll flow in that order. If you want something fancier (like transitions between each picture), you can use a program like iPhoto. Watch the tutorial here.
Want it done for you? DVD Photographs slideshows start at $79.
Make sure your venue has a projector (or be sure to rent one) and a way to hook up your computer, or burn the slideshow onto a DVD if you want to screen it on a TV there. Can't do it yourself? Walgreens can help.

To see more wedding-planning coverage, don't forget to check back on IDoSugar!

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Use Geotagging To Plan Your Vacation

GeekSugar — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:00:30 -0700

Geotagging, or adding geographical identification to images (usually latitude and longitude coordinates or place names) was once a feature reserved to the most extreme Flickr and online photo community addicts, but it turns out it's proving helpful to even the average geek. This weekend's New York Times travel feature "Snapshots That Do More Than Bore Friends" looked at how through geotagging, users can add G.P.S. data to their pictures, which can then be plotted on a digital map and actually aid friends and even strangers in planning their own vacations. Here's more:

For example, people planning a trip to Cancún can use Google Earth, a free mapping software, to zoom in on Cancún’s crowded hotel zone and click on dozens of candid photographs, from the lounge chairs at the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach hotel and the pool at the Omni Hotel & Villas, to snapshots of less-crowded beaches and the nearest mall.

If you are feeling adventurous and don't use Flickr or a site like SmugMug.com, the Times notes you can use sites like Everytrail.com, a GPS travel community that lets users upload geocoded photos from their favorite hiking trails, biking routes and sailing trips. I hadn't ventured outside of flickr's geotagging until last night, but when I checked out the images from a Maui North Shore Scooter Expedition I was hooked.

Top 7 Reasons to Scan Your Old Photos

GeekSugar — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:00:57 -0700

While most of us have switched to digital cameras we all have boxes and photo albums lingering in our closet and under our bed. It can be daunting to even consider scanning all your pictures, but it's certainly worth it. Why you wonder?

Protection - Scanning your photos will allow you to protect your precious memories from fire, flood and forgetfulness. For many of us, pictures of the baby’s first steps, your parents’ wedding, or that fun-filled trip you took to Maui as a child, are so irreplaceable that they’re the first things we think of taking when faced with the threat of natural disaster.
Save them from the abyss - Preserve old photos that have withstood the test of time before they crumble or become discolored.
Sharing is caring - Sharing your photos with family and friends is much easier when they're digital. You can share photo albums though services like KODAK “EasyShare’ gallery, Flickr or even your TeamSugar album.

For the rest of the list, read more

You don't have to do-it-yourself - If you are worried about the amount of time it will take to scan all your photos you can always get outside help. You can get up to 200 photos professionally scanned in minutes with KODAK Gallery’s Scan Van or at a local photo studio.
Get organized! - Once you’ve scanned in the photos, you can organize your pictures chronologically, by event, or by family member-with just a couple of clicks.
Easily edit your photos - You can take pictures with spontaneity and fix the details online by using all my photography tips.
Photo books make great gifts - Once your photos are uploaded, you can make a beautiful leather-bound legacy photo book to mark your mother’s birthday, or put your new baby’s face on a mouse pad or coffee mug, so Grandma will always have him close by.

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