Google Improves Picassa With New Design And More Storage

The Google system blog reports that Google has improved the amount of images you can store on a Picassa account

“We recently made a change whereby any pictures 800 pixels and under don’t count towards used PWA storage. The new GB numbers you’re seeing are the result of quota recalculations that were made,” informs a Google employee.

The new feature encourages users to upload smaller images. If you use Picasa to upload your photos, there’s a setting that lets you pick the dimensions of the photos that are uploaded. The “small” option is recommended “for publishing images on blogs and webpages”. Blogger users who resize their photos before uploading them will no longer have to buy extra storage if they’re prolific.

At the same time Google reports that is has changed the Picassa design:

This new design centers around photos that are interesting to you. We wanted to give you faster access to the newest photos from your family and friends along with some great photos from the talented Picasa community.

When you log in to Picasa Web Albums, you will not only see your own albums, but albums that have been shared with you, the latest public albums from people you follow, and featured photos from the Picasa community right on your home page.