Come here and look at that!
Written: Nov 21 '00
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"Come here and check this out!" Those are the words I’m constantly saying as I turn my computer on. To my family, friends, strangers; anyone who happens to be me near me as I look at the photos will be pestered to admire the photos which I’ve gotten from Webshots. Sure, I’ve seen the pictures before when I choose to download them, but the beauty of some of the shots that I pick out never ceases to amaze me.
Okay, so what is this "Webshots" anyway?!
Have you ever been bored stiff with the standard clouds background on your desktop? Did you go through all the preset backgrounds which come with Windows, and find yourself craving something a bit more interesting? Well, Webshots is the program for you.
Webshots (http://www.webshots.com) is a combination website/program. You can upload your own photos, or get other people’s pictures (including some gorgeous ones done by professionals). Then, download them to your own computer, and Webshots Desktop (the program which goes with the website) will set them as the background on your computer desktop! You can also use them to make a slideshow-ish screensaver, send personal e-cards to your friends and family, or order prints of photos which you’ve taken with a digital camera.
Tell me exactly how it works again?
While Webshots is the only one (that I know of) of its kind, it has a pretty basic interface and concept, meaning that it’s harder for there to be any problems with the service. At Webshots, you fill out an extremely easy (and FREE) registration form, which asks for your first name, e-mail address, zip code (if you’re in the U.S.), gender, and birthdate. Takes less than a minute to fill out, and then you’ll be set to download the program and the pictures! The program, called the "Webshots Desktop", is a small file, less than 1.5 MB, which allows you to preview the pictures you’ve downloaded before setting them as your desktop photo.
After registration, you’re ready to download the "breathtaking pictures" which Webshots advertises. Are they breathtaking?? Yes! There are nature shots, pictures of people, animals, space shots, monuments, landmarks, famous artwork… just about anything you could want can be found at Webshots. Navigation is easy, because Webshots uses easy-to-understand categories which gallery photos are grouped into. The gallery photos are mostly taken by professionals, or handpicked from the millions (yes, millions!) of "community" photos (as Webshots calls those taken by amateurs like you and me) which are on the site. To find a community photo which isn’t featured, either do a search, or browse the community section by clicking the "Community" tab at the top of every page. There are also options on the site to see the top downloaded photos and the highest rated photos. Webshots features a daily photo which can also be retrieved easily and automatically using the Webshots Desktop program which you downloaded earlier.
Are they easy to download?? Yes! Just click the picture, and Webshots will download it into the collection folder, place it in the directory which it was found in, and it will show up in your photo manager. The photos take less than 2 seconds to download on my cable connection, and when I had AOL, it took less than a minute per picture (and yes, you can download a bunch at the same time). The pictures are sent to your photo manager, which is the program that you downloaded in order to see all the pictures and choose which one to put on your desktop. Or, you can do like I do, and use the settings on the photo manager to have your desktop automatically change weekly, daily, or even hourly! In the photo manager, you can organize the photos into collections (for example, I have nature, dance, classic art, animals, etc), compress the collections (so they take up less space on your hard drive), and play with a lot of options to cycle the pictures, use them as a screensaver, get the daily photos directly without having to go the website, etc. The photo manager is very easy to use, and it has a great interface which makes it easy for even computer-illiterate people to understand.
All right, so you think I should start using this website?
Yes! I recommend Webshots 10,000% because of their wonderful selection of pictures. Rather than having a boring computer, why not liven it up with some fun pictures? Easy to sign up, download, and use; give it a try!
Okay, okay; so I guess the pictures sound okay. But I’m not into all that fancy-schmancy desktop stuff. I’m out of here!
But wait! Don’t forget about the other options Webshots offers: e-cards (which beat Blue Mountain Arts hands-down because of their beauty and personalization), a place to store your pictures (and a digital album so you can share your shots with others), printing for your digital photos (25 free prints just for filling out the FREE and easy registration I talked about earlier), the transformation of your (or others’) photos into shirts, mugs, watches, and puzzles… the list of features goes on. While I don’t use these features as frequently as I do the Webshots Desktop, I can tell you that all of these things have the same ease of use and many capabilities which are found in the Webshots Desktop.
Really? Well, I guess you sold me."
You guess?! Webshots is a really super website which can add some life to your life! Go to www.webshots.com today. I guarantee you’ll love it! :)
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Laura
Location: NY state
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 25 members
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