Filed under: Photo, Windows, Macintosh, Linux
XnView: Multiplatform freeware photo viewer
by Todd Carter Jun 21st 2005 at 8:30PM
Haul me out back and hang me by my kneecaps, but I've never cared for the freeware photo viewer IrfanView. It's free ... and it's free. Those are the good words I have for a program that has what I consider an unintuitive interface (but, I understand, plenty of features). When I first saw it, I wondered what the heck to do with it.
Instead, I use ACDSee 6 (never got around to upgrading to version 7, as there weren't enough new features for me). It shows my photos and I can manage them, bulk rename them and do other similar things. But it does cost $50. So if there's a freeware version of ACDSee, let's hear about it!
Well, now you have. It's called XnView, and it looks a lot like ACDSee, but, of course, being freeware, it's free. It also can view and convert 400 graphics formats. You can use it to crop, resize, adjust brightness and contrast, and modify the number of a file's colors. XnView also can do batch conversions, create thumbnails, capture screens and create contact sheets. If you absolutely must spend some money, a Deluxe version that includes more editing functions, EXIF and IPTC searching and a host of output features is €39.
The program is not just for Windows, either. It also runs on MacOS X (with X11), Linux x86, Linux ppc, FreeBSD x86, OpenBSD x86, NetBSD x86, Solaris sparc, Solaris x86, Irix mips, HP-UX and AIX. Hey, where's BeOS? (Just kidding.)
After plopping down $40-50 for ACDSee, I'm not sure I'll switch to XnView for my primary photo viewing and management chores. But it's nice to have a backup to any favorite program just in case.
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
