Quote from: Chichikov on March 25, 2016, 10:20

Quote from: Hi Cliff(s)! on March 25, 2016, 09:49

wowww indeed -- even a refund for recent buyers!

Sorry, but if that alone doesn't sound too good to be true then what is? Where is the catch here? C'mon people, this still is Google, and they have never ever done anything for free without a hidden agenda (collecting our data, violating our Privacy, forwarding to Big Brother what's actually ours etc)...

Hope no one here is going to be too disappointed when the next whistleblower comes along telling us what really was behind this "change in policy" at Google.

There are still a few people in this world to know the difference between "Free Beer" and "Free Speech". Usually you're given the former so they can make you forget about the latter.

Why some people have to see the evil everywhere?

easy: that's because some of us are more awake than others. More boys-with-toys around here than journalists or ordinary grown-ups with at least some kind of a memory here, it seems.

You do know how long exactly it takes from a Google search to an unsuspicious-looking FBI van pulling up in your driveway on Long Island, NY when you're an outdoors enthusiast and want to buy backpacks and hot water bottles -- don't you?

So, sure you're totally free to dream on your innocent little life like a kid out there, but the above is a fact -- and it shows the kind of "friends" you have in Google

Also, as a photographer, you are aware of what metadata is? And you listen to the news every now and then, yes? And you are able to figure out what's 2+2?

(Or maybe you always have to wait for an Edward Snowden to risk his life and "do the math" for you...)

Personally I always thought that people were scared depending on how they behave themselves in life ...
A crook will fear being defrauded, a thief will be afraid of being robbed, a killer will be afraid being killed�
(Well, some psychoanalyst thinks this too�)

Not you of course, apparently you are so much superior to common people like me�

Quote from: bunhill on March 26, 2016, 08:27

Quote from: YadaYadaYada on March 25, 2016, 21:30

Chrome is free, Firefox is free, Flock, Omni, Internet Explorer is free. Do you pay for your browser?

None of those products is really free. They all have a competitive business model. You use Chrome and Firefox, for example, in exchange for your use being monetized. It's a become a clich� - but you are the product and they sell you to the advertisers.

Nik being free undermines all similar paid-for packages. In the same way as free stock photos undermine the business models of those who still try to sell stock photos. Perhaps that is an inevitable outcome. Perhaps it is crazy to still try to charge for software or content.

Always look a gift horse in the mouth, especially if it's from Google.

I looked, NIK's teeth are fine. I will use it to make better products and more money.

People who don't feel right about that don't need to download NIK and they can sit in their dark gloomy world without worry that the FBI will follow them. There are 318 million people in the US. I don't think the FBI cares about me. More like I'm insignificant.

The FBI would need a really huge fleet of vans to monitor just the people who imagine they are being watched. Maybe all those UPS, USPS and FedEx trucks are really secret government spys.

easy: that's because some of us are more awake than others. More boys-with-toys around here than journalists or ordinary grown-ups with at least some kind of a memory here, it seems.

You do know how long exactly it takes from a Google search to an unsuspicious-looking FBI van pulling up in your driveway on Long Island, NY when you're an outdoors enthusiast and want to buy backpacks and hot water bottles -- don't you?

So, sure you're totally free to dream on your innocent little life like a kid out there, but the above is a fact -- and it shows the kind of "friends" you have in Google

Also, as a photographer, you are aware of what metadata is? And you listen to the news every now and then, yes? And you are able to figure out what's 2+2?

...

ad hominem attacks usually mean there's no there there

your alleged 'facts' don't check out -
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/01/new-york-police-terrorism-pressure-cooker  (and several other sites)

the story is more than 2 years old and you left out, changed, or ignored these FACTS

-- search was reported by the employee's company ,not google
-- search was for 'pressure cooker' and 'backpack'
-- date was shortly after the boston marathon bombing which used pressure cookers carried in backpacks

 ----------------------------------
not that it matters, I bought the Nik package 2 years ago and have been using it constantly since then;  images made using it have repaid purchase price many times over.  shift happens.  now google's made it free (AND is refunding those who bought it recently).  doesn't bother me

Many of us will benefit now from this offer. Bad expectation is that less and less developers will think to digg into plugins/filters development, because they don't expect a compensation for the time and efforts.

You might want to think again. Nik invented these when there are 1000s of free plugins and other people making filters or packs. He charged $100 each and Google thought they were good enough to buy him out.

Somebody else can develope a better filter or plugin and sell them. Unless you believe everything has been invented and nothing new is possible or nedded? We'll never need a new computer or camera anymore. Cars, phones, photoshop software are all going to be the same, no new inventions.

I've been watching quite a lot of tutorials and playing a bit with the software.
What I'm noticing is that the enthusiastic tutorials are from three or more years ago.
A lot of the things which seemed special about Nik software then can be done as well or better directly in ACR or Photoshop (and, for all I know, in LR) nowadays.
As far as I can see the free download is not standalone, therefore it isn't a product which owners of newer ACR versions would pay for, IMO. There are always the presets which are fun, but probably not worth over $100.

There are still areas which software designers can be unique, so no issue that innovative designers are being undercut.

I don't think it's devastating to give it away, it wasn't that expensive. Knowing how to use it is more important. I purchased it last year and use it a lot, doing various things like blended noise reduction, HDR, Silver fx etc.  It's a sweet package for sure.

I do wonder why they are giving it away free now though.  Google is a corporation and won't do anything unless they can somehow make money from it.

I wouldn't be surprised if they are getting ready to roll out something similar but better.  Maybe they know that whenever CC 2016 comes out it will break the current Nik tools and they want to get everyone hooked on it so they have to pay for a similar but better plugin for the new Photoshop.

or the sales of the plugin are no longer offsetting the cost of maintenance support and development, so they cut it loose. nothing suspicious about that

I think they were buying the team not the product. I doubt they care about the product.

I wouldn't be surprised if they are getting ready to roll out something similar but better.  Maybe they know that whenever CC 2016 comes out it will break the current Nik tools and they want to get everyone hooked on it so they have to pay for a similar but better plugin for the new Photoshop.

Seems unlikely to me. Google is about selling advertising. Surely Nik talent was about improving Android - which is an advertising platform. No?

I'm with you - high pass in soft light, 5-7px @ 75-90% opacity. Anything more seems to get over-sharpening rejections. The Nik sharpening looks pretty brutal, although they reckon it looks fine when printed. I've never tested that...

I'm with you - high pass in soft light, 5-7px @ 75-90% opacity. Anything more seems to get over-sharpening rejections. The Nik sharpening looks pretty brutal, although they reckon it looks fine when printed. I've never tested that...

I haven't  used the Nik sharpener, but when I started stock I got over sharpening rejections because  I  was  used to sharpening for ink jet printing. Now I see that the settings I used for that were "pretty brutal".
I've since read that different sharpening settings are used for different sorts of printing.

I have a question - may we use Nik software plugin for commercial use - it's free now but is it free for commercial -stocks etc. I can't find any licensing for using this plugin.

I've been using it commercially for several years and Viveza for at least a decade.   I paid for it, but I doubt the terms have changed.