7 ms·

As a former active Flickr user all I can say is that I have gone back to the product, big time. I have ditched iPhoto as my archiving software and moved my +15

by antr 13y ago

As a former active Flickr user all I can say is that I have gone back to the product, big time. I have ditched iPhoto as my archiving software and moved my +150GB of photos and videos to Flickr. I couldn't be happier. I'd also like to note that I share zero photos with the public, all my photos are 100% private or shared with family members/close friends. Having said that there is plenty of improvement to go: - iOS app (maybe it is also the case for the Android app) needs to improve (auto upload, better integration with iOS, etc). Recently I went on holiday and only used my iPhone to take pictures (over 5GB), it would be nice for an easier way to tag + create/add to set + upload photos and videos. By the way, where is the tablet app? - Video is really really bad. Apparently Flickr doesn't support long video playback (and by long I mean 10 seconds or more - i think). Now a days (specially with smartphones) video is a big part of albums/experiences. Video needs to be permitted and nicely integrated within photo albums. - Upload via web is nice, but a better Mac/Windows/Linux native app would go a long way for power users. Better upload resume, tagging, etc. - Map view. Something is wrong with the new Flickr, it has a world map view, but it doesn't read/process any geo location from my pictures - unlike iPhoto which does this flawlessly. I need to drop one by one the photos into the map for these to be processed. I also have to say that the Nokia map could be better, I'd love to see Flickr using Google Maps. Has someone experienced this same thing? - Better album sharing, a la Dropbox, would be great (e.g. allow friends and family to download an album as *.zip) These are just a few things I would like to see in the coming updates.

chuhnk 13y ago
Just to address the Video issue. I think Yahoo knows this is a general problem for them and it's probably the next on the list of things to address. I have a feeling it's going to come in the form of a Video service acquisition that will then tie into Flickr and other services rather than trying to improve on Flickr's inadequacy. Although I hear you when you say that videos need to be permitted in albums.
- antr 13y ago
  I thought the same thing as you did: Yahoo needs a video acquisition. Maybe that's where the failed DailyMotion acquisition came in. I think Vimeo is the perfect fit for the new Flickr, but good luck buying that from IAC.
  - chuhnk 13y ago
    Yes! I completely agree about Vimeo. It's a brilliantly simple and clean service for video and would be a fantastic addition for Yahoo. Although I think they want to go much bigger and try for something like Hulu.
    - SystemOut 13y ago
      I don't see how the two are related. Hulu is for consumption of produced video where as Vimeo is for oriented towards user generated video. They don't fulfill the same need.
      - chuhnk 13y ago
        Yes I realise this. User generated video may not be Yahoo's priority right now but on the subject of video, studio produced content is more than likely to be. Everyone's throwing their hat in the ring when it comes to streaming tv online. You can be Yahoo wants in on some of the action. What's going to be a better revenue generator?
Terretta 13y ago
> iOS app... it would be nice for an easier way to tag + create/add to set + upload photos and videos. By the way, where is the tablet app? Use FlickStackr: http://ipont.jubilo.ca/ip/flickstackr/ http://ipont.jubilo.ca/ip/flickstackr/ Can't figure out why Yahoo hasn't acquired this yet.
- div 13y ago
  Apparently, deep integration with Flickr is slated for iOS 7: http://9to5mac.com/2013/05/21/flickr-vimeo-integration-likely-to-bolster-social-ties-in-ios-7/ http://9to5mac.com/2013/05/21/flickr-vimeo-integration-likel... I'm curious to see to which extent it will be.
  - untog 13y ago
    I really wish Apple would let apps create their own type of account rather than arbitrarily picking services for users.
  - wcfields 13y ago
    Makes me curious about how they did it with iOS6 with Twitter/Facebook if there will be a special kind of app that can be called "service" or if Apple will hold it close to the vest only being directly integrated in iOS so 3rd parties like Dropbox, Google+, etc... can't add similar deep integrated features in the os.
dmd 13y ago
Can you explain what you mean about video? Flickr video until the redesign was limited to 90 seconds, and now 180 seconds. Still quite limited, but I don't know where you got 10 seconds from.
- antr 13y ago
  Sure. I've uploaded all the videos I had on iPhoto/iPhone. All of the videos are the same format, but when any given video is 10 seconds or longer (I haven't stopped to measure, but that's roughly the length), I get the following message on the video's Flickr url: Bonk! For some reason we were unable to process this video. There may have been a temporary problem with our servers, or we may not be able to work with this video file i.e. video playback for +10 second videos isn't working for me, and video format between playable and non-playable videos is the same. Any ideas what this might be?
  - dmd 13y ago
    Huh. I've never seen that message, and I upload 5 or 6 videos a day, all generally around 70-80 seconds long, and in the last few days close to 3 minutes long. Almost all of them made with my iPhone 5.
DanTheManPR 13y ago
How are you uploading your pictures? One thing that has always kept me away from Flickr is that it always seemed very clunky to upload things (I wish it monitored folders like Dropbox)
- potatolicious 13y ago
  Most people I know do it via some form of API integration with desktop photo managers. Lightroom/Aperture plugins come to mind (I think it's built-in to Lightroom now?) The trick is also that most photo sharing sites don't actually have a good way to manually upload photos. Most (see: Instagram, Facebook, etc) excel only when you go through their apps.
- antr 13y ago
  I've used the site (drag and drop) and the Mac app. The site works as it should, it even starts uploading files before hitting submit, which speeds up the process. On the other hand the Mac app needs a big update, and by big I mean start from scratch. The app feels slow, packed with restrictions and errors, but I guess it was designed for the previous Flickr version.
matwood 13y ago
RE: Map processing. I had a similar issue uploading from Aperture and it turns out there are 2 privacy settings in Aperture that have to be changed in order to upload geolocation data. I'm not sure if that's your same problem, but privacy settings may be something to check.
jseliger 13y ago
I have ditched iPhoto as my archiving software and moved my +150GB of photos and videos to Flickr Nice! Glad it works for you. I suspect that a lot of people won't be using Flickr for everything because of NSFW photos that shouldn't live off the hard drive. That's certainly a concern for me. I'd definitely emphasize this: "a better Mac/Windows/Linux native app would go a long way for power users" is a huge one. Right now the OS X version doesn't simply default to intelligent settings, which is bothersome: it should start uploading as soon as a photo is selected (along the lines of Instagram).
- coldtea 13y ago
  >Nice! Glad it works for you. I suspect that a lot of people won't be using Flickr for everything because of NSFW photos that shouldn't live off the hard drive. That's certainly a concern for me. This is the most tangential and unnecessary thing I've read on HN all the years that I've been here. I mean, DOH! Your XXX candid shots will stay in your hard drive, how is that a surprise or relevant to the discussion?
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - 286c8cb04bda 13y ago
    > how is that a surprise or relevant to the discussion Lots of people will have _some_ photos that would be a bad idea to post on Flickr. Anyone with children, for example, will certainly have photos that obviously shouldn't appear on a public website. Which means there's a very large set of people who can't save _everything_ on Flickr, and since the original post said 'I have ditched iPhoto as my archiving software', it seems completely relevant.
  - untog 13y ago
    It's a new class of humblebrag.
  - hnriot 13y ago
    Maybe go back and re-read the comment, it's pretty obvious, but I can spell it out for the language challenged. He has photos that since some shouldn't be put on a public photo site, and since sorting them out isn't easy, a local hard drive based solution is still preferable for him. I should think a lot of people are in this place. They don't want their children on the web, or their girlfriend. I realize this country was founded by religious zealots he'll bent on eliminating any fun, but it's a fact of life that a lot of people have naked photos!
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
mherdeg 13y ago
How did you manage to sync 150GB+ of photos into Flickr?
- EA 13y ago
  https://secure.flickr.com/tools/ https://secure.flickr.com/tools/
bgroins 13y ago
In case you don't know about them, there are native Windows and Mac applications for uploading: http://www.flickr.com/tools/ http://www.flickr.com/tools/
- Groxx 13y ago
  I've had lots of problems with the Mac uploader, fwiw. Huge CPU use, using less than 1/4 of my bandwidth, not adding to sets, uploading for a few minutes then simply stopping, uploading and then showing me dozens of errors that said a photo failed to upload (maybe one for each photo? I killed it before it had that chance) when in fact they did and were sitting in my photo stream... The web uploader is way, way better in every way, and far faster, even with the problems I've had with it (if all photos aren't completely uploaded and processed, the 'upload' button tends to fail, but at least it fails atomically so I can just redo everything and not wonder what worked and what didn't).
  - bgroins 13y ago
    I guess it's more of a problem than the Windows client. I've been using it the past few days and haven't had an issue with it.

by antr 13y ago

chuhnk 13y ago

Just to address the Video issue. I think Yahoo knows this is a general problem for them and it's probably the next on the list of things to address. I have a feeling it's going to come in the form of a Video service acquisition that will then tie into Flickr and other services rather than trying to improve on Flickr's inadequacy. Although I hear you when you say that videos need to be permitted in albums.

antr 13y ago
I thought the same thing as you did: Yahoo needs a video acquisition. Maybe that's where the failed DailyMotion acquisition came in. I think Vimeo is the perfect fit for the new Flickr, but good luck buying that from IAC.
- chuhnk 13y ago
  Yes! I completely agree about Vimeo. It's a brilliantly simple and clean service for video and would be a fantastic addition for Yahoo. Although I think they want to go much bigger and try for something like Hulu.
  - SystemOut 13y ago
    I don't see how the two are related. Hulu is for consumption of produced video where as Vimeo is for oriented towards user generated video. They don't fulfill the same need.
    - chuhnk 13y ago
      Yes I realise this. User generated video may not be Yahoo's priority right now but on the subject of video, studio produced content is more than likely to be. Everyone's throwing their hat in the ring when it comes to streaming tv online. You can be Yahoo wants in on some of the action. What's going to be a better revenue generator?

Terretta 13y ago

> iOS app... it would be nice for an easier way to tag + create/add to set + upload photos and videos. By the way, where is the tablet app? Use FlickStackr: http://ipont.jubilo.ca/ip/flickstackr/ http://ipont.jubilo.ca/ip/flickstackr/ Can't figure out why Yahoo hasn't acquired this yet.

div 13y ago
Apparently, deep integration with Flickr is slated for iOS 7: http://9to5mac.com/2013/05/21/flickr-vimeo-integration-likely-to-bolster-social-ties-in-ios-7/ http://9to5mac.com/2013/05/21/flickr-vimeo-integration-likel... I'm curious to see to which extent it will be.
- untog 13y ago
  I really wish Apple would let apps create their own type of account rather than arbitrarily picking services for users.
- wcfields 13y ago
  Makes me curious about how they did it with iOS6 with Twitter/Facebook if there will be a special kind of app that can be called "service" or if Apple will hold it close to the vest only being directly integrated in iOS so 3rd parties like Dropbox, Google+, etc... can't add similar deep integrated features in the os.

dmd 13y ago

Can you explain what you mean about video? Flickr video until the redesign was limited to 90 seconds, and now 180 seconds. Still quite limited, but I don't know where you got 10 seconds from.

antr 13y ago
Sure. I've uploaded all the videos I had on iPhoto/iPhone. All of the videos are the same format, but when any given video is 10 seconds or longer (I haven't stopped to measure, but that's roughly the length), I get the following message on the video's Flickr url: Bonk! For some reason we were unable to process this video. There may have been a temporary problem with our servers, or we may not be able to work with this video file i.e. video playback for +10 second videos isn't working for me, and video format between playable and non-playable videos is the same. Any ideas what this might be?
- dmd 13y ago
  Huh. I've never seen that message, and I upload 5 or 6 videos a day, all generally around 70-80 seconds long, and in the last few days close to 3 minutes long. Almost all of them made with my iPhone 5.

DanTheManPR 13y ago

How are you uploading your pictures? One thing that has always kept me away from Flickr is that it always seemed very clunky to upload things (I wish it monitored folders like Dropbox)

potatolicious 13y ago
Most people I know do it via some form of API integration with desktop photo managers. Lightroom/Aperture plugins come to mind (I think it's built-in to Lightroom now?) The trick is also that most photo sharing sites don't actually have a good way to manually upload photos. Most (see: Instagram, Facebook, etc) excel only when you go through their apps.
antr 13y ago
I've used the site (drag and drop) and the Mac app. The site works as it should, it even starts uploading files before hitting submit, which speeds up the process. On the other hand the Mac app needs a big update, and by big I mean start from scratch. The app feels slow, packed with restrictions and errors, but I guess it was designed for the previous Flickr version.

matwood 13y ago

RE: Map processing. I had a similar issue uploading from Aperture and it turns out there are 2 privacy settings in Aperture that have to be changed in order to upload geolocation data. I'm not sure if that's your same problem, but privacy settings may be something to check.

jseliger 13y ago

I have ditched iPhoto as my archiving software and moved my +150GB of photos and videos to Flickr Nice! Glad it works for you. I suspect that a lot of people won't be using Flickr for everything because of NSFW photos that shouldn't live off the hard drive. That's certainly a concern for me. I'd definitely emphasize this: "a better Mac/Windows/Linux native app would go a long way for power users" is a huge one. Right now the OS X version doesn't simply default to intelligent settings, which is bothersome: it should start uploading as soon as a photo is selected (along the lines of Instagram).

coldtea 13y ago
>Nice! Glad it works for you. I suspect that a lot of people won't be using Flickr for everything because of NSFW photos that shouldn't live off the hard drive. That's certainly a concern for me. This is the most tangential and unnecessary thing I've read on HN all the years that I've been here. I mean, DOH! Your XXX candid shots will stay in your hard drive, how is that a surprise or relevant to the discussion?
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- 286c8cb04bda 13y ago
  > how is that a surprise or relevant to the discussion Lots of people will have _some_ photos that would be a bad idea to post on Flickr. Anyone with children, for example, will certainly have photos that obviously shouldn't appear on a public website. Which means there's a very large set of people who can't save _everything_ on Flickr, and since the original post said 'I have ditched iPhoto as my archiving software', it seems completely relevant.
- untog 13y ago
  It's a new class of humblebrag.
- hnriot 13y ago
  Maybe go back and re-read the comment, it's pretty obvious, but I can spell it out for the language challenged. He has photos that since some shouldn't be put on a public photo site, and since sorting them out isn't easy, a local hard drive based solution is still preferable for him. I should think a lot of people are in this place. They don't want their children on the web, or their girlfriend. I realize this country was founded by religious zealots he'll bent on eliminating any fun, but it's a fact of life that a lot of people have naked photos!

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

mherdeg 13y ago

How did you manage to sync 150GB+ of photos into Flickr?

EA 13y ago
https://secure.flickr.com/tools/ https://secure.flickr.com/tools/

bgroins 13y ago

In case you don't know about them, there are native Windows and Mac applications for uploading: http://www.flickr.com/tools/ http://www.flickr.com/tools/

Groxx 13y ago
I've had lots of problems with the Mac uploader, fwiw. Huge CPU use, using less than 1/4 of my bandwidth, not adding to sets, uploading for a few minutes then simply stopping, uploading and then showing me dozens of errors that said a photo failed to upload (maybe one for each photo? I killed it before it had that chance) when in fact they did and were sitting in my photo stream... The web uploader is way, way better in every way, and far faster, even with the problems I've had with it (if all photos aren't completely uploaded and processed, the 'upload' button tends to fail, but at least it fails atomically so I can just redo everything and not wonder what worked and what didn't).
- bgroins 13y ago
  I guess it's more of a problem than the Windows client. I've been using it the past few days and haven't had an issue with it.