In the old days when inkjet printers were popular, Canon and Epson loaded their driver CDs with various creative tools to encourage users to print more (and buy more inkjet cartridges). Having migrated over to Linux a long, long time ago, I was actually curious as to what kind of OEM value-add software digital camera manufacturers like Sony provide to their users. PlayMemories Home, designed for Sony NEX cameras, can be downloaded for free from the Sony website. The NEX camera will actually remind users to download the optional software once the Sony camera is plugged into a Windows machine. PlayMemories, like most OEM software these days, is truly optional and isn't even packaged with the NEX camera. Moreover, there are no issues plugging a Sony NEX-3NL to a Windows, Mac, or Linux machine. Windows 7 and Windows 8 actually treats the NEX camera as a mass storage device by default, detecting any memory cards and internal storage the device may have. MacOSX and Linux, of course, will treat the camera and storage as available mounts.
I've already discussed the other Windows-only software Sony provides for converting and editing Sony RAW (.ARW) photos and concluded that the Image Data Converter is actually useful for those without professional photo-editing tools or are new to RAW (like me). PlayMemories software, on the other hand, is just value-add for the Sony NEX series of cameras since Image Data Converter already handles most photography-related tasks.
Verify
Sony has a clever way of preventing non-NEX users from downloading the PlayMemories application. First, you would actually need to have the camera connected and powered on to begin installation. Second, you would need to be online to install the software and verify that you are actually a Sony NEX user. I actually didn't find this intrusive. In fact, I like that Sony is taking care to prevent others from using their software. Of course, some may reason that it's a bit over the top in this day and age of free mobile apps, Android, and online stores. In truth, I actually found myself thinking how backward the whole software installation process is compared to the 1-minute installation of mobile apps. Even as a Linux user, where software package managers are the heart of a Linux distribution, I had a sinking feeling that the future no longer lies in installing software of any sort. I'm pretty old-fashioned, but I'm beginning to understand why kids are beginning to prefer smartphones and tablets over desktops and laptops. I actually felt a chill of impending doom for desktop applications as PlayMemories was downloaded and installed on my Windows 7 Ideapad.
There is nothing remarkable about the PlayMemories installation. I advise users to uncheck the Import with PlayMemories Home when a device is connected at the end of the setup process though. If you leave it unchecked, any storage device, including ereaders and SD cards will trigger a PlayMemories Import Media message. Also, take note that there are two parts to installation - the installation of the software and the initial setup. Finally, PlayMemories will add a Startup item to Windows which really doesn't affect boot up process (some Windows users are pretty diligent about that sort of thing).
Tools and Interface
The Sony software developers wrote a pretty nice-looking desktop application that fits very well in Windows 7 or a touch-screen enabled device running Windows 8. The buttons are big and the steps are straightforward. PlayMemories Home is a great example of an unpretentious desktop utility - a far cry from OEM software back in the day that was too colorful and littered with unnecessary animation. Tasks such as viewing photos and switching to the different calendar views were fast and seamless even on my somewhat aged Lenovo Ideapad.
For longtime users of consumer multimedia applications, there are no distinguishing features in PlayMemories Home. There's the usual options to sort, tag and rotate media files as well as the different time views (year, month, day). For users who regularly record videos using their NEX cameras, they can create a timeline of their videos. Users who focus on photography can order prints, e-mail photos, create backup or multimedia disks, and execute basic photo-editing tasks. There's also a map view for cameras with GPS (my NEX-3NL didn't have that feature). Finally, there's the option to share photos and videos to several online services. I was actually surprised I was able to use the Share tool to upload photos to Picasa Web Albums considering that I'm currently in China where most Google services are blocked.
The tools found in PlayMemories Home are all very easy to use and nicely laid out but most of the tools are already found on a basic Windows 7/Windows 8 machine. There's a reason to install Sony's Image Data Converter to handle the .ARW editing but there's really no compelling feature in PlayMemories Home other than another way to view your imported Sony NEX snaps. I admit that the different calendar views is slick and performed exceptionally well even on my underpowered machine but I also must concede that installing PlayMemories Home just for that feature is a bit overkill.
I don't blame Sony's software developers - the tools in PlayMemories Home are probably appropriate for grandfathers and grandmas who aren't interested in Linux or Adobe software. Like I mentioned early in this article, most software included with consumer electronics is nothing more than value-add and aimed at beginners or lazy users who expect more for what they paid. Most hardware manufacturers are hard-pressed to provide unique and actually useful software for their products considering that in this day and age everyone has a degree of digital literacy. Although it was inevitable, I feel sentimental about the old days when people were new to computers and needed simple programs to execute simple tasks.
Continued in Sony PlayMemories Home and the Sony NEX-3NL Part 2: PlayMemories Online
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