Picnik is the latest on a list of web applications that have been popping up online that allows users to make use of software for free that they’d otherwise have had to pay for. Two other sites, overlay.tv and SmashMash.tv, for example, let users edit videos online, not to mention the ad-supported student photocopying service first offered in Japan. By signing on to Picnik, users can upload photos from their desktop and alter their colour, brightness and other characteristics. When done, they can post them on popular photo-sharing or social-networking sites. The tool is entirely accessible from a user's browser - so there’s no need to download or install software.
The free version of Picnik is ad-supported. But dedicated users can spend around US 25 for a one-year subscription for access to a more feature-rich, ad-free version.
