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Microsoft has just announced two new Windows Live products, Windows Live Folders and Windows Live Photo Gallery. Windows Live Folders is Microsoft's online storage solution, set to compete with AOL's Xdrive, Box.net, and a lot of other startups in this market. Windows Live Photo Gallery acts as an upgrade to Vista's Windows Photo Gallery, providing tight integration with Windows Live Spaces and Windows itself.

Windows Live Folders features a 500 MB storage limit, which is a below the industry norm, compared to competitors like Xdrive which provides 5 gigs or Box.net which … Read more

Ever been stuck in a can't-leave meeting knowing that the minutes on your parking meter are about to ding you? The PhotoViolationMeter will call to warn you that your meter is running low and let you buy more time over the phone.

The device, created by Photo Violation Technologies of Canada, also gives customers a variety of payment options, including credit and debit cards for the coin-challenged (the meter's wireless network capability allows for instant, real-time authorization of the cards--and free Internet hotspots for anyone who wants to do some on-street surfing).

The first wave of machines are … Read more

Admist some of last week's hullaballoo regarding Flickr's censorship on some of the photos of its German language users, it's timely that the creators of The Pirate Bay, the popular BitTorrent tracking site, have recently launched their own censorship-free image-sharing service called BAYIMG. It's similar to other image-hosting services like ImageShack, TinyPic, and DivShare, with one exception--the only person who's able to remove uploaded photos is you. That is, assuming you don't forget the secret removal access code you picked when uploading.

Despite this well-advertised stance on free speech, the service claims that if … Read more

Here's a fun piece of Webware that made its official launch last week. It's called Graphita Live Studio, and it's a really fun and well-done Web-based photo editor. Unlike some of the other solutions I've looked at in the past, Graphita doesn't have any grand scheme to replace your favorite desktop photo-editing software. Instead, Live Studio provides users with a way to quickly deface, or "enhance" their photos with all sorts of rasterized stamps and a trouble-making doodling tool.

To get started, users simply need to upload a photo from their hard drive. … Read more

The site is named Photorgy, and its tagline is "Do it with your friends," but the photo-sharing site isn't as risque it sounds like it might be.

Photorgy enables members to upload images using AOL Instant Messenger's file transfer abilities, sending the images to the "photorgy" bot. The site houses pictures organized by AIM screen name; multiple people can share the same folder of photos for group image-sharing purposes.

"Photorgy isn't a porn site!" the site takes pains to explain. "Photorgy makes photo sharing a group activity that you and … Read more

Canon is evaluating a new file format for future digital cameras, according to photographer, consultant and blogger Rob Galbraith, posting last week after a trip to Canon headquarters.

"Canon intends to offer a new file format in future digital cameras," Galbraith said, citing Masaya Maeda, Canon's chief executive of operations for image communication products. "The format could be in addition to or in replacement of either JPEG or CR2 RAW, but the company is still studying its options and hasn't committed to any one format as yet."

Google has acquired Panoramio, a community Web site that allows people to "map" their photos on Google Earth. The technology links the exact geographical location of where the photos were taken with that location on the map. Users can also view the photos in Google Earth and search and browse others' photos.

Panoramio has been a default layer in Google Earth since the beginning of this year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but there is a bit more information at the Official Google Blog. The company will move its operations to Zurich, where Google's European … Read more

The average U.S. household has almost 1,000 digital photos stored on CDs, DVDs, Web sites and hard drives, according to a Photo Marketing Association survey of digital camera owners in 2006 that was published Monday.

The total per household was 994 images, the association said--about three or four years' worth of pictures. CDs and DVDs were the most widely used storage method, with 632 images per household on average; hard drives were next at 626. Web sites housed 230 photos on average.

As archiving photos and such in digital form is increasing, storage companies are trying to entice customers to buy external drives and other backup products. … Read more

This morning Google added Street View, an all new way to browse Google Maps. Launching with five major cities, Street View joins satellite and traffic maps as new ways to view geography. When in an area with a Street View, users can toggle the mode to navigate within a 3-D photograph using their mouse or keyboard shortcuts. Users get their own "person" that shows which direction you're looking at.You can also just click and drag them to new locations. The experience is a mix between Quicktime's VR environment and Microsoft Live Labs' PhotoSynth project since … Read more