The Download Blog

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Just about anybody with a little computer experience can put a bunch of photos together onscreen and print them out. But what if you want something a bit more exciting? Maybe something that gives you the flexibility to control the layout, add captions, and upload your work to the Web so your friends and family can enjoy it. JAlbum, for both Windows and Mac is one of my long-time favorite programs. JAlbum just got a major upgrade, so if you're looking for a way to get your photos out to family and friends, it's definitely worth checking out.

Browse skins using JAlbums instant previews.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

JAlbum helps you make snazzy photo albums from premade templates, giving you a professional-looking album in just a few clicks. What's great about JAlbum is that everything is customizable, letting you resize thumbnails to fit your desired specs, write captions the way you want them, and set the overall look of the album to fit your photos. You can even add different file types to your albums--such as sound and movie files--to add spice to your project. Did I mention the interface is completely drag-and-drop?

Get more skins and layouts at the JAlbum Web site.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Once you have your album laid out to your specs, JAlbum lets you share your creation in a number of ways. Using the integrated FTP client, you can upload your album to your Web site or you can use the integrated Web server to serve your album from your computer. You can even create an account at the JAlbum Web site to get free hosting for your albums. So all your friends and family will need to do is point their Web browser at the link you send them, and your holiday photos will appear onscreen without the need for extra downloads.

Make quick edits to your images with the new image editor.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The folks at JAlbum sent a press release today to tell me about the latest version, so I reacquainted myself with this great software and got a look at some of the new features. One welcome addition is the integrated image editor that adds plug-ins for common tasks such as red-eye removal, image cropping, and color adjustment, and they also added a few simple image filters for more drastic effects. There are only a few skins included in this version, but it's easy to add more using the huge skins section at the JAlbum site. While you're there, you can also check out other user's albums for more ideas.

If you've been looking for a new way to post your photos, JAlbum is a great choice with an extremely easy-to-use interface and plenty of options to create the perfect album.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

I take a lot of pictures with my digital camera at birthdays, family gatherings, and other events, so I'm always on the lookout for new ways to share the photos. As new programs hit the scene and older programs evolve over time, my favorites change because of various factors like ease of use, number of features, and of course, the king of all reasons: price.

One of the best ways I've found to share pictures with friends and family is to make them as accessible as possible by creating Web albums. With the right software, you can lay out your pictures any way you want, create a template to fit the theme, and write in your own captions. When you're done, simply send a link to your personalized Web album.

There are plenty of paid offerings to choose from in this category of software, but I've found several free programs that do the job nicely. The best Web album software provides ways to host your work on the Web so all you'll need is some creativity and your already honed photo-snapping skills.

The step-by-step process makes it easy to create simple albums.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Photozig Albums Express offers a step-by-step process so you can design your project from start to finish. Big button icons with descriptions make it easy to start your project and select the preferred output for your images including sending in e-mail, burning to a CD, or uploading to a Web site. The finished product is a basic layout of thumbnails that you can click to enlarge, but you'll have no skins to choose from with this one. The Photozig Web site requires you register with an e-mail address, but you'll be able to display your albums on the Web for free once you're signed up. For basic albums, this is the one to choose.

A clean-looking interface and several themes make album creation easy.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Web Photo Album is another simple free album creator offering several nice (if sometimes cheesy) templates. A nice interface layout makes it easy to find the pictures you want and quickly create a simple album. It offers basic editing functions like red-eye removal and picture rotation, and you can add captions to each picture. The finished product comes out as a page of thumbnails and once you click on a picture, you're given a close up with the ability to navigate to other shots across the top of the page. Though there are a staggering number of themes to choose from to match your pictures, your overall layout is unchangeable. Web Photo Album lets you sign up for the free Photo hosting service, or you can save to a folder to burn to CD or post to your own site.

With numerous skin and layout choices, JAlbum is tough to beat.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

JAlbum for both PC and Mac users is one of my long-time favorite free Web album programs. It doesn't direct you through the process like Photozig, but a quick look through the menus will be enough for you to get started creating great Web albums. There are several great-looking templates and skins to choose from, with more skins available at the JAlbum Web site. An integrated FTP program makes it easy to post albums to your Web site or blog. The JAlbum site also lets you post your projects to their Web hosting service for free, but as with the others, you'll need to register with a name and e-mail address.

With spring weather returning here in the Northern hemisphere, you're going to have a lot of chances to snap some great pictures. Use one of these free Web album programs to turn your pictures into a nice project that's easy to share with anyone.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Digital cameras keep getting better, and as a result, just about anyone can get an extremely high-quality camera without breaking the bank. These days, you can get 7.1 megapixel cameras for less than $200. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago when a 2-megapixel camera went for twice that much, but one of the great things about technology is it always gets better--and cheaper!

If you're a serious photographer you probably like to use a full-strength image editor for color correction, filters, and other advanced features. But if you just use your camera for holidays and family events, how do you manage and display your pictures? There are a number of online sites like CNET Webshots, Flickr, and Shutterfly, which do a nice job of presenting your pictures, but if you want to keep your work local before pushing it out to the Web, want to post pics to your personal site, or want a few more customization options, a downloadable program might be your best bet.... Read more

(Credit: Gallery Project)

Taking digital pictures is simple; transforming them into a constructive project is a whole 'nother story. Web services like Flickr, Picasa, Shutterfly, Webshots, Snapfish, and countless others let you create photo galleries that are hosted on their servers, but what if you want to create a gallery for your own Web site?

Personally, I'm the sort of guy who wants to start with my raw images and my trusty NoteTab Light text editor, but I seem to have lost my patience for HTML and CSS (not to mention JavaScript and XML) over the last five years. ... Read more