Have to offer Kudos to Google NIK

[rpcrowe]

After so much hassle over the years with Adobe's Updating and Help Desk, it was extremely refreshing to contact Google about uploading NIK Software to my wife's computer (I am allowed to have copies on two computers).

I didn't realize how much I rely on NIK these days and how much the plug-ins speed up my workflow.

It was a pleasure to work with the Google technician. First of all, I got a call back from Google moments after I entered my phone number for the return call. I was hesitant to do this since I once had Adobe return my call. When I did that, my phone rang but, there way no one on the line. I hung up and the phone rang again - still no one. I kept hanging up and receiving the phone call. I couldn't reach adobe on the Internet. The only way I got it to quit was to call a sales rep in San Francisco (Friday late afternoon - no on at any other Adobe number).

She emailed India and the phone stopped ringing. Of course, my original problem wasn't solved.

The NIK Google help desk technician lead me through the entire procedure and he spoke English as his native language!

He was efficient and competent.

They even had my application from 2013 on file. Adobe lost my Photoshop CS5 one time and could not find my original application.

Anyway, NIK is running flawlessly on my wife's computer.

I WISH THAT GOOGLE HAD PURCHASED PHOTOSHOP ALONG WITH NIK

[tao2]

Ah'm glad yev had such good customer service but then yer only a few miles down the road from them...ye know where they live.

On the other hand ah've been patiently waiting for some questions tae be answered by Google+ for around 14 months now. It's all very couthy. Ah send them an email (the same email with the others attached) once a month. They ignore them for 3 months, then send me 5 emails (with a "no reply" automated message) apologising profusely over their incapability tae pat their head and rub their tum at the same time.

Ah'm loathe tae end this rather soulless symbiosis, wouldn't want tae cost some Googleista his/her unpaid internship...what was it Google used tae say...do no evil?.......

[davidedric]

I've had a good response on the couple of times I have needed to contact them, and I'm only a couple of hundred miles south of thee.

Boab, you didn't email in dialect, by any chance

I suspect that if I spoke Lancashire and you spoke Scots we wouldn't communicate too well! And neither would work in California.

Dave

[tao2]

Hi Dave,

Lived with a Lancashire lass for several years. She came from near Pendle, so pure accent. Our arguments were great fun, as one of us would always burst out laughing as we both lapsed intae our own broad dialects.

Ask Donald, many Scots don't understand Dundonians when there's half a dozen of us conversing. Was in Italy once and a German guy came over and asked ( in German) what part of Bavaria we came from as he couldn't quite catch the accent...My mate said to him (in excellent German - he teaches it). that we weren't Bavarian but Volga ethnic Germans. Cue one bemused guy. We let him in on the secret though but he's now convinced that the Dundee dialect comes from German / Flemish merchants during the Hanseatic period of trade in the 12th.-15th. century.

[rachel]

I hadn't heard of google NIK but I like the look of it. Sadly at the moment it's only for Mac and Windows but if I'm not wrong google owns Andoid now so maybe some time soon there'll be a version that would work on the tablet.

ETA Ah on closer reading it seems I might need all the adobe stuff as well?

[rpcrowe]

Boab.

There is a book that was made into a BBC series. The story of English. Not the story of the English People but, the sory of the English Language and how it originated and developed.

[IzzieK]

Richard, most of the time, my work flow includes any of the Nik software suite...I am very pleased with them too. I've dumped On One Suite for the time being as I had not been using it as much.

So far I have not the need to contact Google for help...I have both here on my desktop and laptop...

[Donald]

Ask Donald, many Scots don't understand Dundonians when there's half a dozen of us conversing.

"Twa pehs, twa plehn bridies an' an inyin'in'an'a."

Our speaker has entered a pie shop (possibly the world-famous Wallaces {Land o' Cakes}) and proceeds to order two pies, two plain bridies, plus an onion bridie. (From 'Dundonian fir beginners')

[bnnrcn]

I'm very happy with NIK's customer service too. They have always replied my e-mails promptly and always been very helpful . I also love the NIK suit a lot

[IzzieK]

....ETA Ah on closer reading it seems I might need all the adobe stuff as well?

I do not know if you are exactly right here but I'd like to think so. I've been using Photoshop for so long since Version 4, so I really cannot live without it as the first workflow when I access the images I've shot. Nik is very good but I consider it only as an add-on, not really the start and end of my workflow. There are good shortcuts to things I might have do otherwise but since I like fiddling with Photoshop, sometimes I do not need to use other add-ons.

Maybe some other members who hasn't used Photoshop at all will want to pitch in? I believe some of them uses GIMP and as they say, it is much closer to Photoshop's functions too...some uses Paint Shop Pro??? There are other alternatives than Photoshop...

[Donald]

ETA Ah on closer reading it seems I might need all the adobe stuff as well?

The Nik suite of software was designed as a plug-in for Adobe products. So, you are sort of right, but ...............!

You can make them work as standalone bits of software, but then using them is not so simple as just hitting a button in Elements or Photoshop.

I bought a older version of Elements solely for the purpose of acting as a mule to carry the Nik programmes as plug-ins. I don't do any other processing whatsoever with Elements. I do that in other packages; e.g. the GIMP. I think I paid about £20 for it. It does make life easier. So, for me, it was £20 well spent.