African consumer stands tall amid commodity boom

 

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Soaring commodity prices are boosting African economies and state budgets, but strong growth on the poorest continent is much more deep-seated than just bumper revenues from ores and oil.

In a far cry from the strained budgets of late 2008 and 2009, when oil and minerals prices collapsed, treasuries in major hydrocarbon producers such as Nigeria and Angola and copper exporters such as Zambia are now flush with cash.

Not only do the flows allow more state spending on the infrastructure needed to entrench prosperity, they also facilitate borrowing -- as is the case with Zambia, which is looking for a $500 million loan from world markets in the next six months.

However, another sharp fall in commodity prices does not spell doom for sub-Saharan Africa, which the International Monetary Fund thinks will grow 5.5 percent this year and 5.8 percent next.

"It's not as direct a correlation as people might think," said John Green, head of global business development at Cape Town-based Investec Asset Management, which has $4 billion invested in Africa outside South Africa.

"In most of sub-Saharan Africa, there's a high level of entrepreneurial energy, and basic infrastructure in terms of communications and banking is now in place. It's very difficult to just shut that down," Green said, speaking at the Reuters Africa Investment Summit.

Proving the point is the vigorous economic performance during the 2002-2008 commodity boom by non-resource producers, such as Kenya, which was humming along at 5 percent annual growth or more from 2005 to 2008.

Similarly, the lesson from the 2008/09 economic crisis is that even in countries with a heavy reliance on mineral extraction, the non-mineral sector can run its own course regardless.

For instance, diamonds are more than a third of GDP in Botswana, the world's biggest producer of the gems, meaning the overall economy took a hammering two years ago when mines were forced to close for the first time in the country's history.

But while mining contracted by 20 percent year-on-year in 2009, the financial and business services sector grew 14 percent and transport and communications 12 percent.

CONSUMING MORE

Of course, oil prices sticking above $100 a barrel will impose a large inflationary burden on the continent, where even major exporters such as Nigeria end up importing most of their petrol and diesel because of a lack of domestic refineries.

But Africa, where food and fuel makes up a much larger slice of the inflation basket than in developed markets, managed to endure crude at $120 a barrel in mid-2008.

And should prices fall back, even producers should be able to weather the storm, according to a 2010 McKinsey analysis of Africa's performance that suggested as little as 20 percent of the region's growth in the last decade was attributable to soaring commodity prices.

Reflecting this, the majority of frontier Africa investors tend to target the region's evolving consumer middle class that is expected to increase its spending from $860 billion in 2008 to $1.4 trillion in 2020.

"The African growth story is not being led by commodity prices," said Kofi Bucknor, a partner at private equity firm Kingdom Zephyr, which is in the middle of investing a $429 million fund across the region.

Zephyr's existing investments include a South African electricity transmission company, a tuna-processing plant in Ivory Coast and a Barcelona-based firm specializing in producing low-cost housing for north African markets such as Morocco.

In general, banks and telecommunications firms are key investment picks because of the explosive growth they are expected to register in the world's last major untapped region.

A study by consultancy Bain released this week suggests the continent's financial services will grow by 15 percent a year over the next decade, and account for nearly 20 percent of regional output in 2020, from 11 percent now.

"It's a story about economic and political change. It's a story about opening up markets and attracting capital. And it's a story about a growing consumer class that is seeing the effects of globalization, changing its spending habits and asking for a wider range of goods and services," Bucknor said.

"Commodity prices have just been the icing on the cake."

By Ed Cropley, African Investment Correspondent

Angola Minister:Worried About Oil-Price Impact On World Economy

Houston - The impact that oil prices, currently boosted by unrest in the Middle East, could have on the global economy is concerning, more so as oil markets seem to be well-supplied with crude, Angola's oil minister said Monday.

"We are concerned, we have said that," said Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, adding that high oil prices not only result in more volatility for a recovering economy, but also in higher costs for oil producers. "A situation like this doesn't satisfy anybody."

In an interview with Dow Jones Newswires ahead of the IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates meeting here, the minister said that an ideal price for Brent crude would be $90 a barrel. On Monday, Brent for April delivery settled down 0.8% at $115.04 a barrel.

West Texas Intermediate futures in New York rose 1% to $105.44 a barrel, the highest level since Sept. 26, 2008.

Currently, oil producers see the market as "very well supplied," with high levels of inventories, de Vasconcelos said. Unfortunately, instability in the Middle East has prompted speculation in the markets to drive prices up; changes in the value of the U.S. dollar versus the euro have also contributed to an increase in oil prices.

That is why members of the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries don't see the need to call for an extraordinary meeting, the minister said. "The fundamentals of the market are in a good position," he said.

The minister said Angola, a member of OPEC, is producing about 1.7 million barrels of oil per day. The country has a production capacity of two million barrels of oil per day, he said.

-By Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9214;

Libya: 'Gaddafi will prevail', says Barack Obama's intelligence chief

James Clapper's remarks came as the Dow Jones index fell 228 points

London - James Clapper, the director of US national intelligence, told the Senate armed services committee “the regime will prevail”, forcing the White House into an embarrassing damage control exercise.

“With respect to the rebels in Libya, and whether or not they will succeed or not, I think frankly they’re in for a tough row,” he said, adding the momentum had shifted to Col Gaddafi.

“I don’t think he has any intention of leaving. From all evidence that we have ... he appears to be hunkering down for the duration.”

His remarks came as the Dow Jones index fell 228 points on concerns over the effects of the Libyan conflict on oil supplies, slipping back under the psychological barrier that it passed in late January.

Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, will travel to Egypt and Tunisia next week to press democratic reforms after the recent rebellions and meet members of Libya’s opposition.

Libyan Rebels Gain Diplomatic Advance, but Retreat on Battlefield

Photo: VOA - P. Ittner - Rebel fighters at positions outside Brega, Libya, show their support for the opposition and their

 

Libya’s opposition had success on the international stage Thursday, but setbacks in fighting against forces loyal to the country's leader, Moammar Gadhafi.

The opposition lost territory in both the east and west of the country, though the rebels here in Benghazi were buoyed by the recognition by France of the opposition administration.
Hundreds of supporters took to the streets in the opposition’s stronghold. They carried signs praising and thanking France for recognizing their new interim governing council as the representative of the Libyan people.

For 19-year-old Zarah this puts France in good standing in her heart and her favor. "They are good to us from the start, they stand with us since the beginning… So they good… We like France… We like them more… We like the government France."
For the rebel leadership, it means more than good tidings that France has recognized them. As opposition spokesman Mustaffa Geliani put it, it means some tangible steps forward for what he hopes will be the new government of Libya…
"At least as a legal government of this country we can request to purchase weapons if we have to," said Geliani… "We could address United Nations, formally, as a country, trying to protect ourself, which we couldn’t do that before… Once you have recognition and you are member of world community you can ask for things. Before we were doing it, in a sense, illegally, right? It’s a revolution. But today we have a voice. So we are quite optimistic… Time is on our side."
Time may not be on the side, however, for the fighters on the front lines. Counter-offensives by government troops are using overwhelming force and regaining territory with a bloody cost.
Even the rebel leadership now acknowledges the western town of Zawiya, near Tripoli, is back in the hands of forces loyal to Gadhafi after holding out for days.
In the east, the oil refinery town of Ras Lanuf is under intense pressure from airstrikes, artillery and naval bombardment. Rebel fighters were seen leaving. Reports from the town and refinery are that they were on the verge of falling into the hands of pro-Gadhafi forces.

If that happens, there are only a handful of small towns to slow down a government push across the desert. Just a bit more than 200 kilometers lie between Ras Lanuf and the opposition stronghold of Benghazi.

Voanews.com

Italia/Educazione: La scuola dei copioni; due su tre "sbirciano" il vicino

I furbetti del compito in classe sono perlopiù maschi e asini in matematica. È l'identikit emerso da uno studio sull'arte di "ispirarsi", pratica perdonata dal 77% dei docenti. Un giudizio ben diverso da quello che ha costretto un ministro tedesco a dimettersi. Primato tra i periti agrari: il 45% si fa aiutare dai compagni. Contro l'11% nei classici

di VERA SCHIAVAZZI

Ecco, finalmente, un campo nel quale le buone, vecchie abitudini si intrecciano con le nuove tecnologie, senza elidersi né cannibalizzarsi. Sui banchi di scuola italiani, nelle università, nei concorsi, si copia come prima e più di prima. Lo fanno tutti, i maschi più delle femmine, gli studenti del liceo scientifico più di quelli del classico, chi è scarso in misura maggiore rispetto ai bravi, ma - al netto dei contrappesi statistici - le percentuali sono eloquenti: copiano "spesso" o "qualche volta" il 69,2 dei ragazzi, il 59,8 delle ragazze. Due studenti su tre. E a comporre l'identikit del copione ci sono dati curiosi, come il primato dell'istituto tecnico agrario, dove confessa di copiare spesso il 45,1 per cento degli allievi, contro l'11,1 dei classici. All'artistico, in compenso, non copia mai il 12,8 per cento, ma è facile ritenere che questo dato, il più virtuoso in assoluto, sia legato alla difficoltà di riprodurre un disegno o una tavola. Chi ha la media dell'8, del resto, copia spesso soltanto nel 6,4 per cento dei casi, mentre chi è sotto il 6 lo fa una volta su due.
È da questi dati, messi insieme con lunghe ricerche e incroci, che è partito il sociologo Marcello Dei per il suo "Ragazzi, si copia", che esce domani per il Mulino con una prefazione di Ilvo Diamanti. Lo studioso e altri ricercatori (nel caso dei licei, Rita Chiappini) hanno poi classificato i sentimenti di chi attinge a piene mani, nascondendosi al professore: 6 su 10 risultano indifferenti, uno su quattro è soprattutto soddisfatto per la furbizia dimostrata. La gioia supera di un soffio il senso di colpa: 38,5 per cento contro 37,1. Un atteggiamento mentale lontano, almeno apparentemente, da quello tedesco, che ha da poco spinto alle dimissioni il ministro Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, smascherato come laureando copione, o i regolamenti delle principali università americane che prevedono l'espulsione in caso di plagio.
D'altra parte, in Italia, chi non copia non lo fa per virtù. "Timidezza e superbia. Sono i due difetti che mi hanno impedito di farlo, ma non ci avrei trovato nulla di male - ammette Domenico Starnone, scrittore ed ex prof, autore di Ex Cattedra e Sottobanco  -  Ero, anche, abbastanza arrabbiato con i miei compagni che copiavano ossessivamente mentre io sgobbavo sui libri. Più tardi, da insegnante, ho valutato seriamente la possibilità di consentire ai ragazzi di accedere alle fonti: come si fa, per esempio, a scrivere qualcosa di non banale in un tema letterario se non si ha la possibilità di consultare dei testi? Chi non sa nulla, comunque, non è in grado di fare neppure questo". Stesso problema per gli scienziati: copiare è un'arte e richiede abilità. "Per "rubare" un compito di matematica al compagno bisogna comprendere le formule, altrimenti si sbaglia - spiega il matematico Piergiorgio Odifreddi - Inoltre, ci vuole una grande fiducia nelle capacità dell'altro, che io per esempio spesso non avevo, convinto di essere il migliore... Si copia fin dai tempi di Pitagora, e i geni come lui sono rarissimi: la maggior parte di noi, anche dopo la scuola, non fa altro che rimasticare cose già fatte da altri".
La tolleranza è molto diffusa. "Copiare - avverte Dei nel suo nuovo libro - è come giocare a guardie e ladri. Presuppone l'interazione tra copiatore e guardiano, e magari un terzo complice". Del resto, come rivelano i suoi dati, solo il 24,4 per cento dei professori ritiene il fatto di copiare il compito in classe "molto condannabile", mentre chi suggerisce ai compagni può essere perdonato secondo il 77 per cento. Il campione utilizzato dall'autore tra gli alunni di quinta elementare e quelli delle medie inferiori, del resto, rivela che il vizio si impara da piccoli: già in quelle classi, infatti, copia spesso il 4,7 per cento, e qualche volta un più consistente 28,7, mentre solo il 25 per cento si dichiara del tutto virtuoso. In cima alla classifica c'è la matematica, che offre quasi la metà delle occasioni di frode. Bambini e ragazzi, del resto, non vengono particolarmente repressi: alla domanda "sei stato scoperto?" il 58,3 per cento dei copioni risponde con fierezza "mai", e al quesito "che cosa è capitato quando l'insegnante se ne è accorto?" il 6,2 per cento asserisce che non è successo nulla e il 38,8 spiega con sollievo di aver ricevuto "solo una sgridata", mentre è stato punito il 10,8 per cento. "Rubare" i compiti scolastici, d'altra parte, è un delitto senza vittime, almeno nella percezione degli studenti italiani, e tutt'al più fa male a chi lo commette. Alla domanda su quale sia il danno di questo comportamento, il 66,8 per cento risponde "lo studente che lo fa e ottiene un buon voto inganna se stesso", mentre solo il 6,6 ritiene che la parte lesa sia il compagno dal quale si è copiato, e il 12 per cento si rammarica per chi "invece ha studiato".
Ogni tanto, qualcuno si stanca di dover passare i compiti, come l'astronoma Margherita Hack. "Feci una gran scenata ai miei compagni, ero stanca di essere sfruttata, e del resto non andavo oltre il 6 o il 7", racconta. Lo scrittore Claudio Magris ne fa, invece, una questione di lealtà: "Passare il bigliettino al compagno in difficoltà insegna a essere amici di chi ci sta di fianco". La pensa allo stesso modo Fabrizio Jacobacci, avvocato, titolare di uno degli studi più importanti al mondo specializzati nella tutela dei marchi, e dunque nelle strategie anti-plagio. "Ero bravo in matematica - racconta - e facevo in modo che tutti i miei amici riuscissero a copiare da me. Almeno allora non ci vedevo nulla di male".
E tra i coming out più famosi, come dimenticare quello di un imprenditore di successo, Luca di Montezemolo, che nel maggio del 2007 incoraggiò così gli studenti della Luiss: "A scuola ero campione mondiale di copiatura, facevo sempre in modo di mettermi vicino a qualcuno bravo e generoso...". Altri, come l'attore e regista Moni Ovadia, rivendicano il sottile filo rosso che unisce la tolleranza tra i banchi con arte, musica, teatro. "Copiavo, avrò copiato di certo qualche volta - ricorda Ovadia, che ha frequentato il liceo scientifico alla Scuola ebraica di Milano - Ora lo faccio di continuo, perché il mio lavoro non è altro che trasferire delle idee, possibilmente senza spacciarle per nostre. Un giorno un pianista klezmer di Cracovia suonò una canzone che mi piaceva molto, glielo dissi e mi rispose: "La musica è mia, le parole le ho rubate anche quelle". È stata una lezione di vita". Lontano dai palcoscenici e fuori dalle aule, però, esistono mondi dove il furto del lavoro altrui è considerato una bestemmia: "Cerchiamo di avere idee originali, ma se fossimo tentati di copiare i concorrenti se ne accorgerebbero subito - dice Anna Innamorati, pubblicitaria, presidente di McCann Erikson Italia - Paradossalmente, per noi, l'esistenza della Rete e la possibilità per tutti di spiare il lavoro altrui ha reso più difficile il plagio".
La condanna morale del copiare, invece, è al centro del sistema scolastico americano, dove la parola usata è cheating, imbrogliare. "Per chi studia negli Stati Uniti - dice Daniela Del Boca, economista, docente, studi a cavallo tra i due Paesi - si tratta di una possibilità che non esiste, specialmente una volta arrivati all'università, dove si paga molto e in genere si è molto motivati. Ma copiare viene stigmatizzato fin dal liceo. Copiare significa non credere in se stessi, che si scontra con l'individualismo alla base del loro pensiero, mentre da noi prevale la tendenza a conformarsi ad un gruppo. Personalmente, se scopro uno studente che copia annullo la sua prova, ma perlopiù cerco di responsabilizzarli". La maggior parte dei prof, però, non è così ottimista, e cala le armi di fronte a finti orologi collegati a Internet o alla vecchia "cartucciera" ancora in voga, con le varie traduzioni infilate negli interstizi della cintura. "Che cosa dovremmo fare? - lamenta l'insegnante di liceo Luigi Smimmo, uno dei tanti che hanno scritto a Marcello Dei - Dare da tradurre versioni non d'autore, in modo che siano introvabili? O isolare le nostre aule, creando una zona senza campo telefonico? Impossibile. Non resta che continuare a lavorare. E sperare".

5 Ways To Make Money Online: Marketing, Blogging, etc

Today, making money online has never been easier. New opportunities are literally sprouting out daily. It can get pretty confusing and complicated to try and choose which of the opportunities to grab. The following ways are still the best and most effective ways of making money online.

1. Affiliate marketing - Affiliate marketing is simply selling other people's products and services. If you make a successful sale, you earn a sales commission. If you have experience of offline sales, then affiliate marketing will be a lot easier to learn for you. There are thousands of affiliate companies online from which you can choose from. These include Amazon, ClickBank, eBay, Commission Junction and a whole lot more. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages so it's best that you weigh down all these pros and cons against each other to find the affiliate company suited for you. There are many ways as well of doing affiliate marketing. The best way still is to create a website, your own website where you can then promote and sell your affiliate products and services. You can also buy advertisements from other websites or ad programs and include in your ads your affiliate links.

2. Blogging - It is very common nowadays to hear of bloggers making full-time incomes online. You can as well if you have the right skills and attitude. The key to blogging business is patience and your actual knowledge about what you are blogging about. There are numerous ways on how to monetize a blog. The most used technique is to display advertising on your blog. These could be direct ads purchased from you served by advertising programs like AdSense or Bidvertiser. You can also promote affiliate products and services on your blog. All you have to do is direct your visitors to affiliate companies and if they buy something, you earn a sales commission. Or you can create your own products like an eBook and sell it directly on your blog.

3. Freelance writing - The internet is run and powered by content which can be in the form of images, videos, articles or a combination of the three. Now, it is without a doubt that articles comprise more than 50% of the internet's content. This is great news if you are a freelance writer. Blogs, websites and companies are always in the lookout for freelance writers to hire. All you have to do is find these writing jobs. There are hundreds of job boards online listing these writing jobs. Just find them and apply.

4. Domain flipping - You set up and create websites then offer them up for sale. This can be very lucrative if you are good in finding profitable and in-demand niches.

5. Direct selling - This is the best way to make money online if you have your own product that you yourself created. You can list your product in sale directories or you can setup a website just for the product.

The above-mentioned ways to make money online are the most popular and effective. Start using them first before you try your hands on other ways.

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26 Best Online Photo Editors And Image Tools if you love pics

Imagine that you could conduct quality photos edition or image manipulation without the need of having pricey software or even engage a professional to do it. Forget about high-end desktop image & photo editor or application, what normally seems like the indispensable tools for photographer, designers or even image addicts could be replaced with free or budget web based image & photo editors.

Plenty of online photo editors have surged up steadily in recent years as photo manipulation and modification sets the trend. We could enhance, change, add effects, customize the looks and make interesting photo editing without the familiarity and program like Photoshop or other desktop bound software. With just a web browser and few clicks of the mouse, we could be featured on a magazine cover, change our facial expression or even personalized our own photos.

One notable reason that encourages us to use these free online photo and image tools, other than entertaining ourselves, is that we won’t be draining our processor speed and memory which is heavily required by high-end photo editing software.

These 26 web based photo editors and image tools’ showcases here are some of the most popular, efficient and powerful in term of features available online. Some of them are mainly for entertainment so feel free to try them out and you will agree with us that even free tools could be great too. Enjoy and have fun!

Web Based Image And Photo Editors

Aviary

Aviary is currently a comprehensive suite of 5 tools which includes Image Editor, Image Markup, Effects Editor, Swatch Editor and Vector Editor. A next generation of design tools is under development and will be available soon. The Phoenix is a very powerful image editor that can be said as a true competitor for Photoshop, just that this one runs directly from a browser. There are many videos tutorials on how to use it to produce some stunning photo effects.

Aviary

BeFunky

BeFunky is founded by Tekin Tatar & Kemal Ozisikcilar. BeFunky allow everyday people to easily create photographically rich and artistic results from their digital images without the need for any technical knowledge. These "one-click" photo effect options produce desired results effortlessly and each effect comes with the option to make simple adjustments.

BeFunky

BigHugeLabs

BigHugeLabs boosts a huge based of utilities and photo editor tools. From magazine cover creator to FX, a tool that can transform your photos with fun special effects and filters. Be sure to explore each of the tools slowly and did we mentioned that there are some interesting games and toys available too!

BigHugeLabs

Blingee

Blingee turns traditional photos into cool pictures by simple to use tools to create your own masterpieces that express your own ideas, feelings, and emotions!

Blingee

Condenet

Condenet Wired Cover tool allow you to design your own wired magazine cover for entertainment purposes! You can customize your cover headlines, border, color palette background and even upload a favorite photo. After that, yo ucan print out your creation.

Condenet

Dumpr

Dumpr is where you can create marvelous photos with cool and interesting effects to share with your friends. There is no limit on how many effects you can generate. While Dumpr offer most of their effects for everybody, some of the effects are for PRO users only. This is because some require more computing power than others.

Dumpr

FACEinHOLE

FACEinHOLE allows you to create a totally "new look" for you and your friends in a matter of seconds. You just have to select a scenario, upload and adjust a photo (or use your webcam) and there you have it; a great FACEinHOLE that you can send to your friends, post in your blog or make available to the world. Did we mentioned that it's free too!

FACEinHOLE

flauntR

This cool online photo editor featured fun and easy options such as cool and funky frames for images to other more advanced editing option such as contrast adjustments. This editor also allows integration with popular social sites like Facebook, Blogger and Windows Live Spaces by using the site's ProfilR editing tool.

flauntR

FotoFlexer

FotoFlexer was founded by Arbor Labs and describe as the world's most advanced online digital photo editor. It performs advanced effects previously only available to professionals using expensive software. It like Picasa running in your browser. If you are searching for a feature in online picture editors, then FotoFlexer has it.

FotoFlexer

Funny.Pho.to

Funny.Pho.to is an online Photo Enhancement and Presentation Platform with face detection technology. It allows you to take advantages of the file selection panel which can saves up to 20 latest results and allows you to instantly create beautiful 3D albums and flash-based slide shows with your enhanced photos. You can also upload your image to be vote or create a template for others to use.

Funny.Pho.to

Funphotobox

The FunPhotoBox is a free photo editing online service where you can create funny pictures from your photos and allows you to add special effects to your photos.

Funphotobox

Hairmixer

Hairmixer allows you to select celebrity photo from the net or upload your own photo to mix and match their face or hair. You can choose from hundreds of virtual hairstyle and get a new hairstyle and color in seconds.

Hairmixer

Instyle

InStyle Hollywood Makeover allows you to try on the hottest celebrity hair and makeup looks. Simply upload your own photo try on New Star Styles added every month Or try on tons of lipstick, lip gloss and eye makeup shades. You can even try on Best Beauty Buys from their annual list.

Instyle

MagMyPic

MagMyPic create fake magazine covers and comics with your picture which is perfect for posting on MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, Hi5 and other social networks & blogs.

MagMyPic

Photo505

Photo505 enable you to select from numerous digital photo effects to add into picture for fun. It's digital photo effects is almost updated daily so be sure to check them out.

Photo505

PhotoFunia

PhotoFunia is an online photo editing tool that gives you a fun filled experience. You upload any photo and their proprietary technology automatically identifies the face in the photo and allow you to add cool photo effects and create funny face photo montages. With hundred over effects, PhotoFunia is free, fun and very easy to use.

PhotoFunia

Photoshop

Photoshop.com is the complete solution for managing, editing, storing, and sharing your photos online, with tutorials, inspiration and more. Photoshop.com is available from any web-enabled computer, compatible mobile phones, and directly from within Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 or Adobe Premiere Elements 7 software. Organize, tweak, create, e-mail, display, and store--all with Photoshop.com.

Photoshop

Photovisi

Photovisi let you create collage style wallpapers using your own photos. There are many templates to choose from and very easy to use.

Photovisi

PicArtia

PicArita is a free powerful service to create online photo mosaic (or photo collage) easily. Enjoy the quality, speed and easiness for creating your own photo mosaic online free. Alternatively, you can watch the short tutorial video to get started.

PicArtia

Picnik

Picnik makes your photos fabulous with easy to use yet powerful editing tools. With it's beautiful and responsive interface, it's why Picnik is one of the most pleasant and popular online photo editor to use. On the downside, the free version of the site features only the basic photo editing options like cropping, resizing and adjusting color.

To get more effects, a $25 annual fee is required.You can also photos directly from most photo sharing sites such as Flickr, Picasa Web Albums, Facebook, Photobucket and pretty much provide any image URL to start editing it or email photos to a variety of sites like Wal-Mart Photos, Snapfish and AOL Pictures.

Picnik

Pixlr

Pixlr is the creator of online cloud-based image tools. As of now they have two applications in their suite, one is Pixlr Editor and the other is Pixlr Express. They are built in Flash and you need to have a Flash plug in to get it to work.

The Pixlr services is built for users that have basic editing needs like editing web images to be posted on social networks like Facebook, MySpace and image sites like Flickr, Fotolog, Photobucket etc. Pixlr also being described as Photoshop in a browser, continues to amaze many.

Pixlr

Pizap

Pizap is a free online photo editor featuring fun free photo effects, photo stickers and one click effects for your digital photos. PiZap provides a very easy to use photo editor that lets you add photo effects, custom text or speech bubbles, hundreds of original colorful stickers, a full painting program, and much more.

PiZap also has built in tools for sending e-cards, downloading your image, embedding your image in any website, or sharing the link directly to your image.

Pizap

Poladroid

Poladroid is a easy and fun image maker that create easily high resolution Polaroid-like pictures from your digital photos. Even though still a beta version, it's quickly gaining popularity.

Poladroid

Slaspup

Splashup, formerly Fauxto, is a powerful editing tool and photo manager. With the features professionals use and novices want, it's easy to use, works in real-time and allows you to edit many images at once. Splashup runs in all browsers, integrates seamlessly with top photo-sharing sites, and even has its own file format so you can save your work in progress.

You can open files from your computer or from all popular photo sharing sites. It supports the concept of layers, like Gimp and Photoshop. Splashup also has the ability to import images directly from your webcam.

Slaspup

Sumo Paint

Sump Paint is a free image editing software that gives you the opportunity to create, edit and comment images online with powerful tools and layer support. Sumo Paint also claim to be the easiest, fastest and most creative paint application on the Internet.

Sumo Paint

WriteOnIt

WriteOnIt is a fun image manipulator that can easily create your fake pictures,captions and fake magazines or other funny jokes for you and your friends.

WriteOnIt

Switching To Online Photo Editors?

Having fun with these easy and convenient online photo tools? There are just too many type of photo editors and image manipulator that claims to be the best around today. It's up to the individual to decide which one suit them the most.

Which online photo tools do you use the most? Did we miss one? Let us know, or leave your personal favorites in the comment below.

Mor info: http://www.onextrapixel.com/