AutoCollage.2008.1.0.2008.0716

These days there are so many more things you can do with your photographs than just putting them in albums,
which are then stored in the loft. Software such as Microsoft AutoCollage allows you to get more creative
with your images.
It may look very simple when you first launch the application, but actually, a lot of research and development
has gone into Microsoft AutoCollage. The project is an advanced computer vision and imaging program that
gathers a selection of your photos and knits them together seamlessly to produce eye-catching collages.
The level of automation in Microsoft AutoCollage means that you don't really have to lift a finger. You just
select the folder you want the program to collect the photos from, choose how many images you want i
ncorporated into the collage using the slider, then click 'Create'. You can then save, email or even
set the picture as your background wallpaper, directly from within AutoCollage.
The technology in Microsoft AutoCollage is certainly very impressive, particularly the face detection
element, which automatically picks out peoples heads, allowing you to draw attention to these.
If anything though, I felt AutoCollage was a little too hands-off as there are no real image editing
tools for you to refine your collages yourself, or add text, frames, etc. What's more, there were a
few bugs that cropped up in testing, such as when setting the image as a desktop in XP.
Microsoft AutoCollage is a powerful collage-rendering tool, it's just a shame it doesn't give
you more control over the finished output.

OS requirements for Microsoft AutoCollage:
* OS: Win2000/XP