I’ve tweaked iZoomr based on feedback from some of our users. The controls are now larger, easier to use and resemble more expensive solutions now on the market. Arrows do as you would expect. The little circle with a dot restores the image to original size. The square swaps to full screen mode and back. Zooming occurs from the center. The plus, minus signs zoom in and out.
Oh, its now free. If you need to customize the viewer, e.g. to remove “powered by izoomr,” we can do that too. Fees start at $99.
You can learn more about how iZoomr works behind the scenes, along with free source code, here.
Lately I’ve had several inquiries about purchasing iZoomr. These customers are looking for dramatic, innovative ways to improve their web sites. They also want assurance that their servers will be around for a long time, with full control over where images are encoded, stored, and served.
Today we began to offer the iZoomr package for $99. Competitors cost in the thousands.
Why? I believe that good software does one thing well, and it shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. The $99 covers my time for customizing the iZoomr for your site, plus a modest $29 license fee to see how I encode images with PHP source code.
The code I wrote here for iZoomr is now part of a product from Heavy, Inc. called the “Video Guide.” The video guide has a little scroller on the right hand side. You can click & hold, then flick the video list. The list will spin ad infinitum, loading just enough data on the fly. This progressive technology is at the core if iZoomr. We only load bits and pieces of the picture when you need ‘em.
iZoomr’s are fun to create. Ross wondered how people would know to visit iZoomr when they see one on the Web? Even better, what if you allowed people to add links of their own, so that the links would travel with their pictures wherever they went?
A”Powered by iZoomr” link now exists on the bottom right of an image, in a tiny 9-point font.
Hey, its like HDTV for your images!
— A customer at Starbucks looking over my shoulder at iZoomr
By popular demand iZoomr now accepts image URLs in addition to file uploads. Simply click on the little prompt that says “use a URL instead” on the upload page. Then, enter a fully qualified URL.
I also fixed a small bug. The first codes I gave you did not include
allowFullScreen=”true”
This little feature allows you to view your images in their full screen glory. A friend oversaw me playing with an image on my 23” cinema display. “Ooo! Its like HDTV for your images.” Give it a try!
Our first Italian blogger has started to share iZoomr! My wife and I always talk about visiting Italy and taking a vacation for 30 days in Tuscany. Reading about iZoomr in Italian (via Google’s translation services) makes me want to visit even more. :-)
iZoomr is starting to enter the blogosphere. Over Christmas break I wrapped the iZoomr into a widget container at Widgipedia and WidgetBox. Now anyone can add full-screen, HD viewing of their gorgeous images with a few simple clicks.
