Google released a web uploader for the Mac tonight. This is not a Mac version of Picasa desktop software, which is still only available only for Windows and Linux machines, but it does allow Web users to upload photos from either iPhoto or from the Desktop to Picasa Web Albums.
For most Mac users this will still not be enough to switch from Flickr or one of the other online photo options, but it is a sign that Google is taking the Mac more seriously and will hopefully release a full version of Picasa for the platform soon.
This was created as a side project by an engineer on the search team named Ted Bonkenburg, with assistance from Greg Robbins and Mike Morton on the Picasa team.
Besides the lack of Mac support, my biggest complaints of Picasa are the fact that there is no syncing between online and desktop photos, and that total online storage is limited to 250 MB. For $25 per year, users can upgrade to 6 GB of total Picasa online storage.
I applaud this release, but creating a full Mac version of Picasa shouldn’t be a side project for a Google engineer – it should be a primary goal of the Picasa team along with photo syncing.