Previously, Hi-res passes (a super-easy way to get unlimited print-ready versions of your BigHugeLabs creations that you can print yourself) were available at $5 for 3 days, $15 for 12 days, and $30 for 30 days. Effective immediately, you can now get a 7-day pass for $5. Everyone who has purchased a 3-day pass within the last week has been upgraded to a 7-day pass.

In addition, all 1-year and Lifetime PRO subscribers now get a Hi-res pass valid for the entire duration of their membership. All existing annual and lifetime subscribers should already have their passes. Have fun!
All PRO memberships include ad-free browsing, priority email support, pro-only features, and an enhanced sense of well-being. Click here for more information about upgrading.

BigHugeLabs fan Through Joanne’s eye noted that the Flickr Toys group on Flickr has just passed the 10,000 member mark. The group is a great place to share the stuff you’ve created with any of the toys.

I’m also proud to report that BigHugeLabs now has: 78,000 registered users, 173,000 linked Flickr accounts, and 913,000 unique visitors in the past 30 days who’ve created millions and millions of thingies!

Thank you all for using the site!

Video support has been added to the Favorite Surfer. More video support is on the way for other toys where appropriate.

Since 2005, BigHugeLabs.com–home of fd’s Flickr Toys–has offered a valuable free service that lets anyone do fun stuff with their digital photographs. BigHugeLabs.com has always been and will continue to be a free service for everyone. But, as you can imagine, running a site of this size isn’t cheap. Not only are there technology costs, there is a very real cost for support and continued improvement of the site. The only way to cover those costs was through the sale of printed products and advertising.

Now you can support BigHugeLabs.com more directly. By upgrading to a PRO account for a small one-time or monthly donation, you will be directly supporting the continued operation and improvement of BigHugeLabs.com for years to come. If you think BigHugeLabs.com is a valuable service, please consider supporting the site by upgrading your account.

Here’s the deal: Pay only what you think it’s worth–literally, name your own price–or continue using BigHugeLabs.com for free. In return for your donation, you’ll get the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with knowing you’ve given your support to a valuable service you use regularly. Oh, and you’ll also get an ad-free version of the site, priority email support, and PRO-only enhancements (coming soon).

Can’t make a donation? No problem. Please continue using the site for free, no strings attached.

Click here to upgrade →

Thank you for your support.

Be careful what you believe today, but have fun! :-)

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour 2008

Update: Thanks for your help, everybody. No more testers needed. You can download it from here: http://flagrantdisregard.com/send-to-flickr/.

Over the weekend I created a photo uploader for Linux, specifically for Gnome desktop users:

I’m looking for some people who can install and try the package out before I release it publicly. Ideally I’d like several people to run the installer (a .deb package) and make sure it does all the right things. I’m targeting Ubuntu but (in theory) the .deb should work on any Debian system and a tarball is also available. A mix of technical and non-technical users would be nice. Please only respond if you are able to spend some time using the app and share feedback with me via email. Contact me if you’re interested.

BigHugeLabs.com, specifically the Palette Generator, was mentioned in an article (Color forms: Playing with color in jewelry design by Ronna Weltman) in the Spring 2008 issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelery Magazine (on bookshelves now, etc.). Thanks, Ronna!

Choose a person to start with (or a random person) and their favorites are displayed. Then click any photo to see it larger and automatically view THEIR favorites. And so on. Forever. You can even add any photo to your favorites right from this page (Flickr members only). Warning: addictive.

Available right here: bighugelabs.com/flickr/surf.php

Color palettes made with the Palette Generator toy can now be downloaded in Adobe Swatch Exchange (.ASE) format. Now you can download palettes and use them in Photoshop or compatible applications without any copy/paste monkeying around. Here’s how:

1. Create a palette with the Palette Generator.
2. Download the ASE file.
3. In Photoshop, click the right arrow in the corner of your swatches window.
4. Choose “Load Swatches…” and select the ASE file you downloaded.