The concept of the slideshow has changed drastically since the Internet has taken the world by storm. Nowadays, most of the so-called "slideshows" we see are on websites enticing us to scroll through a list of celebrity breakups or makeovers gone awry. In the past, as some of us may remember, slideshows meant sitting in a room, usually with family of in a classroom, watching photos go by on a projector screen and hearing the stories behind each shot. This traditional usage may not ring a bell for all, but it did for TopTechPhoto, a Ukrainian startup behind a new service called Live.pics.io.
TopTechPhoto isn't resorting to old-school projectors and hardcover photo albums. Rather, the company is looking to modernize the slideshow experience by bringing it online. The service, which launched on Wednesday, leverages a private chat room. While the term "chat room" is a bit antiquated sounding, hearkening back to the prehistoric days of the Internet, it’s probably the service's most important aspect. The chat room is what sets TopTechPro apart from other photo sharing sites as it allows live group viewing and discussion.
How does this differ from certain screen-sharing services? Quality and versatility. TopTechPhoto supports a range of file types, some of which are trick to get on the web without being converted to JPEG. NEF, CR2, DNG, which normally require native software to decode, are all supported by TopTechPhoto, so a photo's resolution isn't compromised.
"Live collaborative image sharing" is how Konstantin Shtondenko, chief business development officer at TopTechPhoto describes the service. To use it, a user drags a selection of pictures into a browser window, where they then upload. A customized web address is sent to those who are invited to join in the viewing. One detail to note is that all user must be using the same browser (for now either Firefox or Chrome) in order to establish access.
As the tool gains traction in the coming weeks, TopTechPro will also feature a Facebook app. Other products by TopTechPhoti include [t]Space, a plugin that lets users make copies of photographic work onto a network server, and [t]Safe, a plugin that protects the privacy of selected images on Adobe Lightroom.
Edited by
Cassandra Tucker
