DEMO: Digital Pictureframes As Photo-Sharing Social NetworksDEMO: Digital Pictureframes As Photo-Sharing Social Networks

Digital pictureframes are the uncoolest computer technology around. You buy one at Wal-Mart, load photos, and then it collects dust until houseguests pick it up and politely pretend to be interested in the images of your hideous kinfolk.

But two vendors at DEMOfall 08 on Monday actually make digital pictureframes cool.

YouGotPhoto, from UGA Digital, is technology to allow users to wirelessly send images to digital displays anywhere in the world. And Trinity Convergence introduced gloop, a peer-to-peer photo-sharing service for digital displays.

Using YouGotPhoto, proud parents in Pittsburgh can send picture of the kids to grandma and grandpa in Boca Raton. The pictures show up in the frame without any need for the recipient to take any action.

YouGotPhoto is designed to help computer-literate people share photos with relatives and friends who can barely click a mouse. To share photos, users don't have to mess with e-mail attachments, photo-sharing sites, or snailmailing SD cards, USB sticks or CDs. Photos automatically appear in the recipients' digital frames, so long as the frames are connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Users can manage the displays using a browser, mobile phone, or locally installed software.

In addition to digital photo frame management, UGA also plans to license the service for remote management of digital signage and integrated telecom applications.

Users can import photos from their desktop and cameras, or from photo-sharing services, including Facebook, Flickr, and Picasa.

Trinity Convergence's gloop service is designed to be licensed by digital photo frame vendors and embedded in their products. The service is designed to allow users to set up social networks to share photos between family and friends. Photos can be shared from a PC, or directly from the pictureframe itself using a six-button remote control.

The service also permits voice chatting, to allow users to talk to each other through using their pictureframes as VoIP phones, voice annotation of photos, and an information widget to allow the pictureframe to display sports, weather, news, and RSS feeds.