iPhoto Equivalent for Windows

For a few months now Mac’s and their owners have had the privilege of using iPhoto 09. The next version of Microsoft’s Windows Live Photo Gallery, which is expected to have more features than iPhoto 09, is not due out for another few months; which leaves us Windows users feelling left out.

iPhoto 09

iPhoto 09 has many innovative features like:

• Faces, will automatically tag faces using facial recognition, so you don't have to search through your 1000’s of photos
• Places, allows you to tag where a photo was taken
• Online Sharing, allows you to share your photos online (Windows Live Photo Gallery has this feature)
• Enhanced Photo Editing

Picasa 3

I have combed the internet trying to find an iPhoto 09 equvilent (or close) for free and for Windows.

Picasa 3

Picasa 3 is a free equivalent to iPhoto. I am not too much of a fan of Picasa 3 (I'm a Photoshop guy) but it should suit the average user. It has all of the iPhoto features except facial recognition. Some users may find the interface somewhat difficult to use. You can download Picasa 3 at http://picasa.google.com.

Windows Live Photo Galley / Windows Photo Gallery

Yes, I know that I said that Windows Live Photo Gallery is worse than iPhoto but it comes close.

Windows Live Photo Gallery

I have yet to have any issues with Windows Live Photo Gallery, and yes it is less advanced than Picasa, but I do prefer it. Windows Live Photo Gallery has a much cleaner interface than Picasa, and has basic photo editing features. Windows Live Photo Gallery will satisfy the cravings of most users. Unfortunately you need a Windows Live ID and you need to run Windows. A few months from now Windows Live Photo Gallery will have all the features of iPhoto and Picasa.

Windows Photo Gallery

If your a user of Windows Vista you have Windows Photo Gallery. Windows Photo Gallery is the worse of any of the products I mentioned above. I reccomend if you use Windows Photo Gallery to upgrade to Windows Live Photo Gallery. You cannot download Windows Photo Gallery, only Windows Live Photo Gallery.

Windows Photo Gallery

So there you have it, three iPhoto equivalents for Windows.