So I constantly get asked by friends and family on how to crop or edit a photo. It’s usually something really easy or quick but the problem is they don’t have access to Photoshop or GIMP. They could be either at work or on someone else’s computer. Has this happened to you? If it has, your in luck – read on. 

Luckily there is an alternative. No, Im not talking about “Paint.exe” either. If the computer has access to a fairly current browser version and internet, you could opt for a web based photo editing application. There are quite a few out there so I’ll give you a run down of what each can do and how they can help. 

First up, of course would be Adobe Photoshop Express. This online tool is based off a bit of a mix between lightroom and Photoshop. You do need a free Adobe account to use this however. Its very versatile in that you can import photos by uploading from your computer or linking to your flickr, facebook, photobucket, or picasa albums. To have all your photos in one portal to edit is a real time saver.  This tool will allow you to do some of the most basic things like crop, rotate, resize, change the exposure, red-eye removal and changing the saturation. It also has a good variety of Tuning and Effects for your photos as well as a bonus “Decorate” feature that adds a bit of fun to your pictures if you want like “sunglasses” or “hats”.

All in all, this is one of the leading online photo editors that if mastered can go a long way if your without the real Photoshop.

Next up on my list is one called Sumo Paint. This handy online photo editor really packs a punch and has a lot of similiar things with the real photoshop. It’s actually more of a art tool than a photo editor. You can create whole images and use the various brushes and patterns they have available for you. Sumo Paint also has filters covered too. IMO Sumo Paint takes the cake when it comes to being the winner for being an online Photoshop equal. (so far)

This photo editor is one of the easier to get a hang of, if your in need of a simple photoshop-like interface that still come with a good variety of tools to use. Splashup is very well rounded for a basic editor that I usually recommend  to my friends who want to play around with an image. Cropping, Layers, Adding Text, and painting are all covered here. It also boasts the ability to import an image from either your computer, splashup, facebook, flickr, photobucket, picasa, smugmug or any URL. I do experience from time to time a weird error when importing an image to Splashup, I believe it has to do with the size or resoultion of the JPG but I’m not quite sure of the limits when it comes to importing images FYI.

Going down the list, we have Picnik – a very basic online photo editor that pretty much has a very limited amount of tools to use. You got your crop, resize, and exposure stuff. You can also add onto your photos types of effects like B&W, Sepia, and others. The downside to Picnik, although one of the early ones, has become ever more fee-based. Some of the effects that you would like to use, you can’t because you need to pay to become a member. Not to mention the constant ads that are on your screen, as well as not being able to have the option to full-screen your window. (unless your a member)

The final editor Im going over would be Pixlr. A very fast, and competitive option for those wanting a Photoshop interface. Coming in 12 different languages, touting the ability to have multiple layers, and tools like magic wand, and dozens of brushes to choose from Pixlr defintely is one of my top picks. Completely free, no ads and being able to full screen the webpage, Pixlr will feel like a real photo editing application.

There are many other online photo editors that I did not cover and quite frankly, they’re popping up faster and faster now of days. Which is a good thing of course since the more we have the more competition there is to bring out the best in each one. If none of the above photo editors suited your style I complied a list of all the ones I could find below. Try each one out, see which one you like.

I was on my way home listening to KPCC and listened into “On The Media” radio talk show. The topic was on the TOS (Terms of Service) people need to agree to when using online or desktop application media. You know, that pesky thing you pretend to read before you install a program on the computer or when your signing up to a website? Realistically who reads them?

Listen into the show here:

Are you one of those people who just clicks on “Next” until you get to “Install”? Or how about, being a little paranoid that they might detect you really didnt read the TOS so you scroll through to get to the bottom of the text, THEN click on “Next”?

I admit, I’m the kind of person to simply ignore the TOS and skip right on through, oblivious to the fact that I might have just given up my right to privacy or worse. Spyware programs practically depend on the user ignoring the TOS so its always a good idea to read through it. But, isnt there a better way?

I propose there can be.

For any TOS you might run into, there could be some sort of website or database to check that would be completely open to anyone and everyone. A website that caters to people who dont want to sit there and read line for line worrying if they are going to be held accountable for something they ignored to read about beforehand. This website would allow people to login and post “summaries” of any TOS they encounter and are generous enough to create. The result would be a resource someone can go to before clicking agree to “product X’s TOS” and reading a brief itemized list of the important things he/she should know about. Something short and to the point. Each “item” or “line” in that TOS could be voted on by other users to bring it up to the top for other users so that the items of importance will always be the most pressed.

I know this is looking too far ahead but I would like to see a link next to any TOS I come across that takes me to this “Summarized TOS” website that gives me a quick run down of what Im agreeing to. Lazy? Maybe, but also time saving and very helpful. Think about it, its better than not having a service like that and continuing to let people “click on through” without even getting SOME idea of what they just agreed to.

Now I dont know all the details about how this service would/could work but I think its something that its a step in the right direction. At the very least it would get people to become more aware of the contracts they are bound to.