Summary – This week marks the first anniversary of Google’s acquisition of Nik Software. So – after a year, what’s new? And – how do you find out if you’re running the latest versions?
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Woodland Reflections
At the edge of a stream
A Snapseed imitation of Instagram, square crop and all
This is what Google+ wanted
The ability to compete with Facebook/Instagram
“Real” photographers hope there’s more, but
The concerns of a year ago seem to be coming true 😦
The Nik Collection is withering away with no updates after a year
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So – what’s new with the Nik Software
After one full year of Google ownership?
NOTHING in terms of functions & features nor bug fixes
Each of the six Nik plug-ins are essentially identical
To what they were in the summer of 2012
Eons in computer time
There have been changes but not to the software proper –
1. The six plug-ins have been repackaged into
A single collection (individual plug-ins no longer sold)
Installed all at once vice 6 separate times
Re-branded as the Google Nik Collection
Automatic updates (out of the user’s control)
There has been only one update
That was mainly to test the update feature 😦
2. The price was dropped significantly
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The above all took place about 6 months AG (after-Google)
Since then nothing! (as far as the original Nik Software)
NOTE – the current software, for all intents & purposes,
Has NOT CHANGED in over a year
Irrespective of 1 & 2 above
It’s still great software, but the trend is troubling
Competitors continue to improve their offerings
If Google/Nik doesn’t then eventually
The Nik Collection will be obsolete
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The concern when Google acquired Nik was
Their sole purpose was to improve Google+’s photo presence
Driven by Facebook’s Instagram purchase/challenge
In spite of Google’s comments to the contrary
The past 12 months seem to support the concerns
Further evidence is Google’s recent announcements for
Google+ photo editing tools
It’s basically Nik’s Snapseed in a cloud
This is what the acquisition was really about
This is where the engineering resources have gone
NOT to the original desktop software
That brought the rest of us to Nik back in the day
The timing of “Snapseed in a cloud” was ironic
Coming on the 1st anniversary of Google-Nik
A coincidence?
I see no end in sight; fine if you’re a Google+ fan
Over the next several months I plan to look at
Nik Collection alternatives – just in case
Topaz & OnOne come to mind. Anything else?
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PLEASE SAY IT ISN’T SO, GOOGLE
There’s more to photography than social media
Are you going to help the rest of us?
Or – should we make plans to move on
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I’m not ready to abandon ship anytime soon, but
It’s prudent to know where the lifeboats are located 😉
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Are you running the latest versions of the plug-ins?
Each plug-in of the collection has its own version number
That never changed when they were repackaged by Google
To check version numbers –
Open a plug-in & click the Nik Collection logo at upper right
A window will open showing that plug-in’s version number
Here are the current versions –
- Color Efex Pro 4.2
- Dfine 2.2
- HDR Efex Pro 2.1
- Silver Efex Pro 2.1
- Sharpener Pro 3.1
- Viveza 2.1
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