Ever since its inception, Kodak has been synonymous with consumer photography. Kodak revolutionized the way people take pictures, allowing everyday people to capture memories, with the release of the Kodak and Brownie cameras. Even today, with the digital revolution, Kodak continues to stand out in the consumer photography industry. Their EasyShare program, first released in 2001, allows users to edit their photos right on their home computer, share them with an active Internet connection, and print them on a standard printer or a specialized photo printer. In addition, their EasyShare program enables users to manage large databases of photos in excess of 100,000 images.
EasyShare started out as a standard Windows application, relying on the MFC libraries for its GUI design. This allowed Kodak to provide a standard look and feel to their application. As their market share grew, the company increasingly tried to convey a branded and photorealistic look for EasyShare at the user interface level.
In 2003, Kodak approached Skinux to explore developing a skinned user interface for its EasyShare system. One of their primary requirements was the ability to swap out the interface technology without have to rewrite the system. This was easy because Skinux is based on a declarative XML interface technology that seamlessly interoperates with legacy Windows code, such as the Kodak EasyShare product.
In May 2006, Kodak released version 6.0 of the EasyShare product featuring a newly designed interface. It now ships with all Kodak digital cameras worldwide. This interface is fully skinned and uses the Skinux thumbnail control, which provides smooth scrolling and scaling regardless of image data set size.
Kodak's EasyShare software is available for download at their website.
