A few weeks ago I got to use a cool web service called Skitch. It’s a screen capturing and image sharing service only available on Mac. I’m a Windows user, and even if I’m currently contemplating switching to Mac, I was annoyed with the fact that I couldn’t find an alternative that supports Windows… until I got my hands on Jing, which is a similar service available on both Windows and Mac. I just couldn’t believe there was nothing similar for Windows!

Whatever you do on your computer, you’re quite likely to find a use to this type of tool. I used to take screenshots the old way and upload them to a server… this is now part of the past! Jing seems to have a few more features than Skitch, such as a video capturing function, but both services are very easy to use. The way these tools  work actually makes it very enjoyable to use. It’s just so simple.

These tools basically allow to capture screens, add visuals and directly upload them onto the web. With Jing you can also capture videos, which is pretty cool (and not only because it’s free). You can select a specific area of your screen that you want to capture. It’s very flexible. The process literally takes seconds, and you don’t need to have your own place to upload the files to. One click will be enough to share your files. They are uploaded on Screencast.com (for Jing) and Skitch.com (for… Skitch, right).

Click to download for Windows and Mac

Click to download for Windows and Mac

Both services are free but Jing has a professional version that you may want to check out if you’re really into this. These tools are gold. This is something you’re going to enjoy using…