If you’ve ever had to illustrate an idea, then you’ve likely done gone and searched Google for images that may be useful or could provide a starting point. The problem, of course, is that those images are typically NOT in the public domain and do NOT offer a Creative Commons license. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a search engine that would just display Creative Commons images that are available for use freely or that only contingent on acknowledging the source? That’s exactly what CCFinder does.
CCFinder is a free, desktop-based program that can search Flickr.com and display Creative Commons images that are either (a) free to use commercially without limitations, or (b) free to use with a reference to the author.
Some notes on this one:
- I love the ability to simply type in a keyword or keywords, and know that all of the resulting images can be used without permission
- I like that you can specify, either or both: images usable without limitation, and images useable with reference to the author.
- A handful of effects are also available: sepia, contrast, and greyscale filters.
What this program needs is more image sources. At the time of this review all images come from Flick, and since you could browse/search Creative Commons images directly on that site, adding a handful of other image sources could increase the attractiveness of this software significantly. Additionally, some filtering would be great, especially filtering by image size (although as I understand it, some color filtering is available in a paid version, so it may be withheld on purpose).
I will also mention the nagware ‘please donate’ screen when you close the program, which almost prevented me from writing it up. I decided to post it anyway for the simple reason that I see myself keeping it on my machine and using it on occasion.
Version tested: 1.01 (Build 262. Revision 8057)
Compatibility: WinAll
Go to the program page to download (2.1 megs). You will need to register with a valid email.
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