New Web-Based Photo Editor Raises Usability Standards for Internet Applications

CreativePro Staff

A small Austrian company today launched www.phixr.com , a free Web-based photo editor with a user interface similar to many desktop applications.
“The site’s user interface is on the forefront of Web application development,” said Thomas Winischhofer, the founder of Phixr.com. “Its interactivity with the user sets new standards, especially by using interface elements, which were so far only common to ordinary desktop applications.”
Winischhofer created Phixr.com to accommodate digital photographers when they don’t have access to their picture editing software. Phixr.com offers users a full palette of interactive tools to easily manipulate photo files without having to download software. In addition to its many operations for resizing, rotating and flipping pictures, it features tools to eliminate the infamous “red-eye” effect and to create personal greeting cards. New interface technologies make it possible to present the user with a preview for every operation.
Phixr.com also provides its members with a Web-based solution for creating e-mail friendly versions of photographs, which was the original inspiration for Winischhofer’s creation.
“I was in an Internet cafe in Sweden and wanted to send digital photos to my friends back home,” Winischhofer said. “Before doing so, though, I needed to shrink them because they were too big for e-mailing — but the computer I worked with had no photo editor application. Now, I would just upload them to Phixr.com, shrink them and e-mail them directly from the site. ”
Phixr.com’s many features perfectly integrate with online photo services, such as Flickr.com, by offering support for downloading and uploading photos. For more information or to sign up for a free account, please visit www.phixr.com.