«Protesters stopped an army officer from shooting himself. Cairo, Egypt.»

— farhaaan

but …

twitpic picture caption says:

«احد افراد القوات المسلحة يبكي امام احد المتظاهرين بعد ان هاجمهم بلطجية مبارك لما جاء الشاب وقبل قدميه ليحميهم من البلطجية ولكنه بكى لعدم تمكنه من حمايتهم ونزل على اقدام المتظاهر وقبلها»

via Google translate≈

«A member of the armed forces cry in front of one of the demonstrators after they were attacked by thugs Mubarak came to the young and before his feet to protect them from thugs, but he cried because he was unable to protect them and got onand before the feet of the demonstrator»

— akhbarmsr

but …

comment says:

«false pic cos there was tear gas bombs from unknown source the soldier affected and thats a doctor»

— kabilola

[pointed to the picture by Sebastian Waters & fuck yeah middle east!]

Besides an outdated and incorrect overview at Wikipedia («Comparison of Image Viewers» and «Image Organizer») I recently stumbled, again, about the question for the right tool to organize and tag the wrong numbers (6.000+) of pictures/images. Year by year the same, but to be honest: there is no such software and it’s a pity. Do you hear me Apple/Adobe/Google/Microsoft?

But if you really have to use a DAM (Digital Asset Management) software you have to check some points if they are valid for you:

• high number of images to process and organize
• read/write metadata (EXIF and IPTC/XMP)
• tagging/keywording (IPTC/XMP and/or OpenMeta)
• usability and workflow
• manage «offline» media (external Hard Disks, DVDs, CDs)
• access and read/write images via network
• multiple users access same «catalogue», database or image pool
• «footprint» of management (eg. file size of cache, database or catalogue)
• connectivity and export of files
• system requirements and performance
• price tag

… and after that checklist you can try, or stay away, from these DAM solutions:

Expression Media 2.0.2

• Phase One, € 149,00 / € 99,00¹
• catalogue file based

Test no. 1 : Mac Pro (2009)

• Import 1.000 JPGs (≈ 3 GB, each ≈ 3 MB)
• via LAN (Gigabit), AFP
• server: Mac mini (2006), hard drive: 500 GB (USB2)
• workstation: Mac Pro (2009), 2,66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon, 8 GB RAM
• import time: 03:03
• catalogue size: 10 MB
• cpu load: 10%

Test no. 2 : MacBook (2004)

• Import 1.000 JPGs (≈ 3 GB, each ≈ 3 MB)
• via WLAN (108 Mbps), AFP
• server: Mac mini (2006), hard drive: 500 GB (USB2)
• workstation: MacBook (2004), 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB RAM
• import time: 04:04
• catalogue size: 10 MB
• cpu load: 20%

Pros

• good performance on high number of images to process and organize
• wide file support: JPEG, PSD, PNG, TIF, EPS, RAW, PDF, any QuickTime supported files (MOV, MP4, etc.) etc. – and even font files and Word documents
• metadata support (read EXIF and read/write IPTC/XMP)
• high usability at tagging/keywording
• sync IPTC/XMP metadata
• watch folders
• «offline» media support (external Hard Disks, DVDs, CDs)
• access and read/write images via network
• multiple users can access same catalogue file, not at same time but …
• minimal «footprint» (depends on settings)
• «send» single image or batch to other application (eg. Photoshop, Flickr Uploader, Mail)
• batch process images (rename, file format, etc.)
• AppleScript support
• free reader software for catalogue files (Mac OS and Windows)
• Mac OS X and Windows version on one license/purchase
• no need for high end coumputer
• «adopted» 2010 by high professional photo software company Phase One
• ¹Upgrade Box from any Microsoft Application still available

Cons

• unloved stepchild of Microsoft: no bad bugs get squashed for years after Microsoft purchased iViewMedia Pro from ASH and renamed it to Expression Media
• some bugs could alter your images under rare circumstances
• only manually IPTC/XMP sync/write («Export Annotations»)

AtomicView 1.5.3

• AntZero, € 59,00
• database, cache and file based

Test no. 1 : Mac Pro (2009)

• Import 1.000 JPGs (≈ 3 GB,each ≈ 3 MB)
• via LAN (Gigabit), AFP
• server: Mac mini (2006), hard drive: 500 GB (USB2)
• workstation: Mac Pro (2009), 2,66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon, 8 GB RAM
• import time: 03:20
• cpu load: 60%
• database size: 35 MB

Test no. 2 : MacBook (2004)

• Import 1.000 JPGs (≈ 3 GB, each ≈ 3 MB)
• via WLAN (108 Mbps), AFP
• server: Mac mini (2006), hard drive: 500 GB (USB2)
• workstation: MacBook (2004), 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB RAM
• import time: 25:54
• cpu load: 60%
• database size: 35 MB

Pros

• very good performance on high number of images to process and organize¹
• high speed thumbnail resizing
• wide file support: JPEG, PSD, PNG, TIF, RAW, any QuickTime supported files (MOV, MP4, etc.)
• minimal «footprint» (depends on settings)
• metadata support (read EXIF and read/write IPTC/XMP)
• «offline» media support (external Hard Disks, DVDs, CDs)

Cons

• ¹high performance only on very performant computers
• non-standard Mac OS X GUI; could lock down computer under specific circumstances (bug)
• low/bad usability w/ tagging/keywording
• multiple users can access same database file only w/ workaround
• only manually IPTC/XMP sync/write
• no watch folders
• no AppleScript support

Bridge CS5

• Adobe, part of any CS5 Application like Photoshop and the CS5 Suites
• file system based
• Note: «disqualified», no «offline» media support (external Hard Disks, DVDs, CDs)

Pros

• metadata support (read EXIF and read/write IPTC/XMP)
• batch process images (rename, file format, etc.)

Cons

• no «offline» media support (external Hard Disks, DVDs, CDs)
• low/bad usability at tagging/keywording
• low speed access and read/write images via network
• only manually IPTC/XMP sync/write
• no AppleScript support

FotoStation 7.0 Pro

• FotoWare, € 489 + VAT
• file system and database based
• Note: «disqualified», price-tag, performance & usability

Pros

• metadata support (read EXIF and read/write IPTC/XMP)

Cons

• price-tag
• no «offline» media support (external Hard Disks, DVDs, CDs)
• low/bad usability at tagging/keywording
• low speed access and read/write images via network
• no AppleScript support

Picasa 3.8.1.267

• Google, freeware
• file system based
• Note: «disqualified», no «offline» media support (external Hard Disks, DVDs, CDs)

Pros

• freeware

Cons

• outdated/limited metadata support (read EXIF and read/write IPTC/XMP)
• no «offline» media support (external Hard Disks, DVDs, CDs)
• low/bad usability at tagging/keywording
• overall low speed and performance

ACDSee Pro 1.3 beta

• ACD Systems, Beta version is free
• file system based
• Note: «disqualified», limited to no metadata support

Pros

• free during beta phase

Cons

• limited to no metadata support

Photo Mechanic 4.6.5

• Camera Bits, $ 150.00 (≈ € 117,00)
• file system based
• Note: «disqualified», no «offline» media support (external Hard Disks, DVDs, CDs)

Pros

• high performance viewing images

Cons

• low/bad usability at tagging/keywording

Portfolio 8.5.3

• Extensis, $ 262.08 (≈ € 204,64)
• catalogue based
• Note: «disqualified», overall low speed and performance

Pros

• (none)

Cons

• overall low speed and performance
• price-tag

iPhoto

• Apple, iLife ’09 Package
• database, cache and file/package based
• Note: «disqualified», limited metadata support (need to export images to write metadata)

Pros

• free w/ consumer Macs

Cons

• no «offline» media support (external Hard Disks, DVDs, CDs)
• low/bad usability at tagging/keywording
• massive «footprint»
• low speed access and read/write images via network
• multiple users can access same database file only w/ workaround

Aperture

• Apple, € 154,90
• database, cache and file/package based
• Note: «disqualified», no DAM solution

Pros

• all-in-one digital dark room

Cons

• low/bad usability at tagging/keywording
• massive «footprint»
• multiple users can’t access same database file

Photoshop Lightroom

• Adobe, € 259,90
• database, cache and file based
• Note: «disqualified», no DAM solution

Pros

• all-in-one digital dark room

Cons

• no «offline» media support (external Hard Disks, DVDs, CDs)
• low/bad usability at tagging/keywording
• massive «footprint»
• multiple users can’t access same database file

«In Russia, the buildings photograph you.»

—Ivan

Created with flickrSLiDR.

micro art by Max Mu

photographies and copyright by Carl W. Heindl