picasa 2 was released today, and after having used it for a short while, I’d say that it’s more or less iphoto for windows. which is to say that it makes photo management and sharing a whole lot easier. it’s a free download (picasa is owned by google), and requirements are low, so it’s definitely worth a try for anyone with a digital camera.

sure, the interface isn’t exactly intuitive at first, and it doesn’t have quite the same level of integration and ease of use as iphoto. but there are some pleasant surprises – especially for those using competitors’ products, like acdsee or adobe photoshop album. things like an iphoto-esque thumbnail resize slider, and contact sheet printing. very nice. or the flikr-like photo sharing through hello. the editing features are at the same level as acdsee, and that costs $50.

there are some weird issues, though. like the way the scrollbar works… you can’t click and drag to a specific location; picasa only lets you scroll a certain amount before reorienting itself to the middle. it doesn’t make a lot of sense. you also can’t completely zoom into one picture without going to edit mode or a slideshow. but hey, it’s only on version 2. iphoto is at version 5, not to mention it’s developed by the obsessive user interface specialists at apple. so give it some time.

seems like every other preview of the new mac mini quotes “analysts” calling it overpriced for an entry-level system. I don’t think they get it. this new mac is positioned towards the potential switchers and disgruntled windows users still on the fence: those who already own a computer, and aren’t happy with it. the idea is to entice the curious to switch from using their broke-ass pc to a mac, carrying over their old monitor, keyboard/mouse, etc. it’s not meant to compete with the bottom dwellers like emachines and dell. otherwise, why leave out the keyboard and mouse? these are things that would probably cost apple all of $8 to add.

think of it more as a middle-ground than just starting over from scratch. by leveraging the huge amount of ipod popularity (ipopularity?), apple is hoping that convincing the teens/tweeners and mac-curious to take a bite where cost had been limiting them before. so while some may refer to it as a niche product, it’s definitely a niche that has been unfulfilled.

the mac mini also opens up a lot of options as a small pc for home theater use, among other things. the advantage of its tiny size has already proven to be a hit.

what’s that you say? oh, you hate macs. it’s irritating how many people like to say that when they’ve never even touched one, let alone dealt with os x. a lot of the animosity was due to the old user interface and its lack of intuitiveness and frequent crashes, which have been swept away. hail the new unix-based os x (I know, I know… freeBSD). compared to your run-of-the-mill pc, performance is pretty much the same, stability and security are far better, applications are fairly easy to come by (if not commercially, then through shareware/freeware), and file compatibility these days is a non-issue, leaving only one major strike going against mac users: price. I think the suits at apple realized this, and thus the mac mini was born, hoping to silence the critics.

sure, there are always the mac zealots who worship all things jobs. some of them seem to make it their own personal crusade to defend every decision made by the company, and go out of their way to deride microsoft (and especially bill gates). I’m not sure what the problem is. you should use what you like, and what works best for you. telling someone that their choice in os (be it windows, mac, linux, or whatever) is wrong or stupid is like telling them your religion is better, and you refuse to believe anything else or listen to arguments to the contrary.

ah, saturn. I remember the days when your cars were made of plastic, and looked like butt.

however, the higher ups at GM recently decided to go more upscale, in effect abandoning their entire product line… cars like katey’s sporty saturn. it’s bringer than the brightness.

today, saturn unveiled what will probably be their first big hit, a rebadged opel roadster called the saturn sky. have a look for yourself:

not a bad midlife-crisis mobile, right?

then they went and rebadged a pontiac g6, calling it the aura. based on the rave reviews the g6 has been getting, it should be a solid car, though I think the leather accents look goofy.

it’s not like GM hasn’t done this kind of badge engineering before, but the difference this time around is the quality of the platforms. no more of that pontiac sunfire/chevy cavalier bullshit.

looks as if like saturn’s lineup may actually do well. and with volkswagen going to all sorts of gimmicks to leverage their nonexistent sales, and scion stealing the street from honda, this is a good time as any to make a run for the top.

the days leading up to 2005 were full of news, it seems. in no particular order:

congratulations to harmon and dana, who got engaged while in california (december 30th, I’m told).

congratulations also to dan and brett, engaged on new year’s day.

and last but not least, emma anna webb was born at 4:22pm on new year’s eve. congratulations to halli and brad.