I can never quite tell if Google considers its free Picasa image organizer/editor to be a Major Google Product–it doesn’t update it all that often, or promote it as energetically as it might. But it’s announcing Picasa 3.5 today, which should be available for Windows and OS X by the time you read this or soon thereafter. Google let me get my hands on it a bit early; Picasa fans should like it, and it gives those of us who haven’t checked out the app in a while new reason to revisit it.

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I’m not even sure if I was aware that there was no official Flickr app for the iPhone–it’s such a natural that you’d kinda think it would have shown up eons ago. But the app didn’t show up until now. It’s good, with all the features you’d expect (including the ability to upload both photos and videos) and a decidedly Flickr-y feel. One unexpected feature: When you launch it, you get an animated slideshow of photos from your contacts and others that’s kind of addictive. (It makes me wish that the iPhone supported screen savers–this would make for a nifty one.)

I tend to take Flickr for granted except when I need to post photos, which is probably a good thing for my schedule, since it’s so easy to lose yourself in the embarrassment of photographic riches it contains. But I’m rediscovering it all over again on the iPhone. A few screens after the jump.

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The stars were in alignment: I needed a small digital camera to stash in my backpack while Judy and I drove 4,000 miles in Utah, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho; meanwhile, the Canon PR rep was on the horn and asking if I’d try their PowerShot G10, a pocket-size camera. I could have played hard to get (PR people love that), but I’m easy.

I took the G10 along for the three weeks Judy and I spent traveling. I took over 500 shots, and dozens of videos, and was pleased with the results. I was happy with lots of the features and I’d almost like to own the G10. (A few problems; more in a second.)

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First they take away our Polaroid film, and now this: Kodak is discontinuing Kodachrome, the legendary film that was introduced in 1935. (Kindly insert your own Paul Simon reference here, please.) The company’s rationale is the obvious one: Pretty much everyone is shooting digital these days.

My impulse when presented with death-of-an-icon news of this sort is moral outrage, even when the product is (like Kodachrome) one I’ve never actually purchased myself. But interest in Kodachrome is so low that a photofinishing company in Kansas is apparently the last one left on the planet that processes the stuff. Photographers have indeed spoken.

With Kodachrome gone, the big bombshells to come will involve news like Kodak discontinuing film production altogether and companies such as Canon and Nikon going all-digital. And it’ll all happen. Wonder how long it’ll be until film is as utterly dead as, say, 8-track is today?

(Photo borrowed from JohnnyGunn)

[A NOTE FROM HARRY: Digital Media Central guest posts continue with a contribution from Ree Drummond, better known as Pioneer Woman.  This digital photography post is republished from her site, and it's part one of a series on apertures. Here are parts two, three, and four over on Ree's site.]

Photography is based on light. Did you know that?

As a matter of fact, “Photos” is the Greek word for “Light.” And I happen to know that only because I’m a homeschooling freak of nature and I teach my children Greek and Latin. When I feel like it.

Anyway, light is everything in photography, and how much (or how little) light enters your camera determines what your ultimate photo will look like.

Are you with me so far?

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[NOTE FROM HARRY: Digital Media Central guest posts continue with a contribution from blogging superstar Heather Armstrong, better known as Dooce. This post--republished from Heather's site--shows off a few photos she took on a 2006 trip to Amsterdam.]

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These little memory cards are the sole reason why when I upgrade my digital camera, I’m going to made sure its SD compatible (My current one’s a Fuji, so it takes XD cards). Eye-Fi has now added video support to these cards, as well as upgrading them to SDHC technology.

Two new cards would join the lineup, the $79 Share Video and the $99 Explore Video. The Share model would upload videos to any of 20 sites automatically, while the Explore version adds geotagging, much like the original two models did.

Eye-Fi will keep its 2GB Eye-Fi Home and Share cars , which would drop to $49 and $59 respectively. These are only capable of transferring pictures, with the Home only to your home computer and not any sharing sites. The Explore version would be discontinued.

I think this is a great move for a company that has a unique product. With online video now becoming so popular, having a way to automatically upload your videos just makes good sense.

All the new cards are available today, and can be purchased from Eye-Fi’s website.

JPG Magazine, the publication consisting entirely of photos submitted by its readers, is folding. The closure includes the print publication, its PDF version, and the Web site, and comes at a time when just about everybody involved in the creation of advertising-supported media properties is having a tough time of it. As Daring Fireball’s John Gruber points out, JPG’s founders were forced out in 2007, and the publication lost much of its energy thereafter.

At the peak of its buzz, JPG was sometimes held up as evidence that a magazine could get by without needless luxuries like paid contributors. I don’t think its death proves that the idea of user-generated publications is a crummy one, any more than the current trials and tribulations of media companies prove that the time of professional journalists is over. If JPG had a problem, it may have been that it was ultimately kind of redundant–thanks to Flickr, Facebook, and a zillion other places where you can share photos, the whole darn Web feels a little like an online magazine of user-created imagery.

Rest in peace, JPG–you were an interesting idea, and like many interesting ideas that die, your influence will likely be felt in more successful enterprises to come.