Microsoft Codename Max: Photo Sharing Now ... With More to Come? Easy on the Eyes But Not the Mind Adam Stone
Microsoft Codename Max is an early iteration of something that shows you pictures now, but might do something else entirely later on. "What will Max do next? Stay tuned!" the product description declares.
While we wait (for what?) let's take a look at what Max currently offers, starting with the photo viewer.
Unlike many other photo apps that have appeared on the scene of late, this one was built explicitly with photo-sharing in mind. The program lets users build slideshows easily and then share those collections friends and families. Connectivity is the theme.
But what does it take to connect? Before sharing, the user must connect to a Microsoft Passport account. Assuming you make that hurdle, you still are not quite ready to share pics.
First off, your friend also must have Max installed. Okay so far? Now, when you want to share, Max first sends an email message inviting your friend to download your pictures. Should the friend accept, he or she can then connect to your PC through Max and download the photos — assuming you are both signed on at the same time.
What could be simpler (heavy sarcasm intended, of course)?
Some Hefty Demands from Max
All this assumes your friends are even running Max, and that is a pretty big assumption, considering the high bar Microsoft has set in terms of system requirements. Max needs Windows XP Home or Pro with Service Pack 2, along with a 1GHz processor, 256MB of memory and 200MB of hard-drive space. Microsoft recommends a 2.4GHz chip and 512MB of memory for even better viewing.
Despite the high systems threshold and complex sharing procedure, there is much to commend this program, which is meant at least in part to show off WinFX, the application-programming interface that Microsoft will roll out with Windows Vista later this year.
Max is easy enough to use. Selecting images from any folder or sub-folder will add them to a sidebar, from which it is possible to create a list of photos for editing. No fancy editing tools here — nothing compared to Google's Picasa — but one snazzy item is Mantle. This function displays photos in 3-D, tipping them on an angle and arranging them as they might look on your mantle. Images can also be displayed as an album or in thumbnail format.
Once a group of photos has been edited, you can view them as an album with a click of the Play button before sharing. One clever tool, added recently, is the Annotate feature. This editing tool allows a user to write or draw on photos without altering the originals. It's a nice touch.
Overall, the graphics in this program are top-notch. Photos can be manipulated easily and especially resized simply and accurately. The user interface is gorgeous.
Still, there was no shortage of photo management programs on the market before Max came along. So what is Microsoft trying to achieve?
Clearly the House of Gates is out to showcase its newest technology, to whet our appetites for what is to come when the new version of Windows arrives.
A secondary purpose (and we're willing to go out on a limb here) is to give the competition a kick in the pants, starting with Google's Picasa, a popular photo sharing tool with a range of editing tools and a good user interface.
Likewise, Max is likely aimed at services like Flickr, an online publishing tool that allows users to easily index their images and publish them online. And that may be just where Max falls shortest. Clearly the ability to publish online, to share with friends via a Web page, dances merry circles around the rigmarole of sharing via Max.
Let's review. Max demands hefty system capabilities and offers minimal editing tools. It's supposed to be all about sharing, but photos can only be shared with other Max users who are simultaneously logged in.
And that's what they mean by "beta." Max has a lot of promise, especially with its silky-smooth user interface, but it is clearly not ready for prime time. We'll be waiting to see where it goes from here.
