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A few days ago Microsoft Research Labs released a small update to Microsoft Image Composite Editor (MS ICE), now available as 1.4.4. The “new features” listed on the website are a little misleading and are the features listed are unchanged from the previous 1.4.3 release.

From the release notes in the forums the follow changes are noted for 1.4.4 :

• Installer checks for minimum version # of C++ runtime
• Fixed issue with videos that contain a crop rectangle
• Color manage the thumbnail image for Upload to Photosynth
• Added “(Windows 7 only)” to video panorama menu item
• Added % done indication in the progress bar

As can be seen nothing major has been changed, mostly cosmetic and install related matters.

Update : It seems a number of users are experiencing problems using the tool after the update, the problems range from it not loading at all to having poor results with the stitching. These have been reported in the forums and are still be worked on. Probably best to hold off on the upgrade until these have been resolved unless you are prepared to uninstall and moved back to 1.4.3 if you experience the problems.

If you haven’t used MS Ice before take a look at my previous posts on the tool.

• Info on release 1.4.3 and some tests of the awesome video panorama feature (click here)
• View from my lounge (click here)
• The Gautrain station in Sandton, taken from a Blackberry Bold (click here)

You can read the new frequently asked questions (FAQ) posted here.

I know I have said it many times before, but this really is an awesome tool, and for the price (FREE) you cannot beat it. It is simple to use and produces stunning results. Give it a go, it is really impressive, especially with used in conjunction with Photosynth.net.

Have fun.