On 20 April 2011 08:28, alan c <[email protected]> wrote:

> I have just learned that Google has discontinued GNU/Linux based support
> for Picasa although old versions are still available.
>
> Why care? I do not use it myself, but I am full time involved in helping
> newcomers move towards Ubuntu, inevitably they are Windows users. Most want
> to change from Windows but are usually suspicious and nervous, and it is a
> reassurance to them to find stuff such as Firefox, Thunderbird, Libre/Open
> Office.
>
> It helps a lot in the initial period  of change. In time, a newcomer will
> begin to see things differently, not just from a 'Windows' viewpoint. But
> that takes time.
>
> What I have come to realise is that in the nature of things, these people
> are really quite likely to be using Picasa!   In 'Windows world',
> downloading one thing is very much like downloading any other. And Picasa
> does useful stuff.
>
> Installing a recent Picasa in (Ubuntu) is a bit of a fiddle now, and the
> message from Google might be interpreted as
> 'Ubuntu is not worth it'
>
> Picasa can, I believe, be installed using Wine, but to get good integration
> into gnome or kde it needs to be installed over an earlier legacy version. I
> think I have got that right. It is a bit of a fiddle, and does not give a
> good message, to a newcomer to Ubuntu, or to anyone.
>
> What to do, to encourage Google to support (Ubuntu)?
>
> They know how many *downloads* of the deb version they get dont they? From
> the Google site?
>
> Please, go figure, as they say.
>

Remember that Picasa was a Windows application that Google inherited, which
is why it only runs under Wine in Linux. I would look at it as endorsement
of Shotwell rather than a rejection of Linux desktops. As a Picasa user I
tried using Picasa with Ubuntu and it's next to useless. Shotwell is rapidly
evolving into one of the best apps for online photo management.

s/

-- 
Twitter: @sfgreenwood
My CV: http://bit.ly/sfg <http://bit.ly/sfgreenwood_cv>_new_cv
"Is this your sanderling?"
-- 
[email protected]
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/

Reply via email to