Painting the Web

Online Editors: Fauxto and Picnik

There are numerous advantages to online photo editors. When you use online tools, you don't have to muck around with installations or upgrading. In addition, you can access the tool from all of your machines, regardless of what operating system the machine is running. Most of the time the tools are free, too, which is a powerful incentive to "go online" for all your photo needs.

Of course, there are always downsides to online photo editors. For instance, the company may go out of business, start charging unexpectedly, or limit access. Unless specifically designed for offline access, you'll only have access to the editor online, and it will be slow to upload images. In my opinion, the most significant downside to online photo editors is that most just don't provide the complete functionality of a desktop tool.

Considering the myriad functionalities that photo editors provide, it's not surprising to find that even the most sophisticated online photo editor is not as comprehensive as the simplest of the desktop tools. However, most people don't really need the sophistication—or the cost—of a tool like Adobe Photoshop. In fact, even Photoshop wizards don't always need all the sophistication of a tool like Photoshop.

Still, there are functionalities we need. A big one right from the start is that I haven't found any online tools that can process RAW formats. If you want to use RAW in an online photo editor, you'll need to convert your image to something ...