14 DAY TRIAL // More than a year after the latest major update, Picasa 3.9 is here, albeit not for Linux users. Google has always prided itself in the fast and frequent updates for its sites, but that doesn't extend itself to desktop apps, it seems.
Still, if you're one of us dinosaurs that uses Picasa, the latest version has some interesting additions. On top of the list, and completely unsurprising, is Google+ integration.
Considering that Picasa Web Albums powers Google+ Photos and that Google is doing everything it can to bury the Picasa brand, what is surprising is that it's done so little in the desktop client.
Google+ sharing and integration
You can now share a new album directly to Google+, when you upload it to the cloud. You can share it with any of your circles or just some friends and you can add friends that aren't on Google+ as well.
One cool thing about the Google+ integration is that you'll be able to tag the people in your photos from your Google+ friends. Start typing a name and suggestions from your Circles will show up. Once you've tagged someone, you can also share the photo with them.
Unlimited free storage for photos
Finally, thanks to Google+ Photos, you can now upload much larger images to the cloud and store them for free. Unless you opt to upload images at their original size, presuming that it's bigger than 2048 pixels on any side, you can store as many images as you want online with the "Best for web sharing" upload option.
24 new filters and side-by-side editing
The editing tools in Picasa 3.9 have gotten an update as well. There are now 24 new photo effects to alter your images. There is also a side-by-side view when editing to see the changes you've made in context.
Finally, the UI has been updated as well, less-used features and buttons have been removed from the default layout. However, you can bring them back if you want.
