Luminous Landscape Forum

Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Digital Image Processing => Topic started by: Schewe on January 02, 2018, 11:57:39 pm

Title: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Schewe on January 02, 2018, 11:57:39 pm
Folks,

Just a quick note that as of 1/2/2018, PixelGenius will no longer sell our PhotoKit™ line of Photoshop plug-ins including PhotoKit, PhotoKit Sharpener and PhotoKit Color. We will be turning off our serial number activation but we are releasing freeware licensed versions of our plug-ins for customer and non-customer to use without charge. We retain all rights and ownership of our intellectual property and trademarks but we wanted to remove the activation so our customers could be assured of continued use even after we turned off the activation servers. This is similar to what Adobe had to do for Photoshop CS2 when they turned off their activation servers.

The zipped downloads for Mac and Windows (32bit and 64bit) include a ReadMe file with instructions for installing the plug-ins as well as the PG Freeware License agreement.

Customers who are currently running their products can continue doing so. We're not real sure what will happen to already installed products once the servers are shut down. But if anything funky happens, I suggest you download the freeware versions of the plug-ins. Note, all three plug-ins are bundled together in the freeware versions so if you only have 1 plug-in currently and are curious about the others, here's your chance to use them free of charge.

As we say on the PG home page, the nature of the industry has changed and making plug-ins for Photoshop is no longer an attractive endeavor. All the members of PG join me when I say it's been a real pleasure and honor to have contributed, at least in a small way, to the advancement of the industry.

Regards,
Jeff Schewe
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Peter M. Macdonald on January 03, 2018, 06:29:21 am
Gosh Jeff, this really does seem like the end of an era. Thanks to the PG team for all that it has done to improve the sharpening experience for so many of us over the years. I still remember the first time that I read the first edition of Bruce Fraser's book, cover to cover, in a day. One of the best page turners I have ever read. Then I got lazy and bought the first version of PK Sharpener. Just seemed to work without me having to think much about sharpening.

Glad that so much of the technology lived on under the radar of LightRoom and ACR.

Best wishes,

Peter
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Rhossydd on January 03, 2018, 06:40:58 am
Thanks to the PG team for making this continue to be available.
It's never nice to see a product that's still relevant and useful discontinued, but it's terrible when it's then cremated by loosing the ability to activate it.
Well done chaps.
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Dave Rosser on January 03, 2018, 09:16:16 am
Is the date 1st Feb 2018 as we read it here in Europe or 2nd Jan 2018 ?  :-\
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Mark D Segal on January 03, 2018, 09:19:11 am
Still the best sharpener on the market and I hope the freeware version continues to be workable with new versions of Lr, Ps and computer operating systems as they occur. This application remains a major and important contribution to digital imaging. Thanks to the late Bruce Fraser and the PG team for having developed it and maintained it all these years. When the time comes that the software is no longer usable, fortunately, thanks to Jeff's book on Image Sharpening, we still have access to the basic techniques for good sharpening practice, and of course to the extent Adobe continues to carry this technical basis into LR, we can still rely on Lr for very good sharpening, only with fewer options and less granular user control.
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: hokuahi on January 03, 2018, 09:20:36 am
Thank you Jeff.
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Rand47 on January 03, 2018, 09:47:39 am
Still the best sharpener on the market and I hope the freeware version continues to be workable with new versions of Lr, Ps and computer operating systems as they occur. This application remains a major and important contribution to digital imaging. Thanks to the late Bruce Fraser and the PG team for having developed it and maintained it all these years. When the time comes that the software is no longer usable, fortunately, thanks to Jeff's book on Image Sharpening, we still have access to the basic techniques for good sharpening practice, and of course to the extent Adobe continues to carry this technical basis into LR, we can still rely on Lr for very good sharpening, only with fewer options and less granular user control.

+1
Many thanks...

Rand
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: pearlstreet on January 03, 2018, 09:59:15 am
Oh no!! I still use them. Thanks for the freeware versions. You guys not only made a great product, your support was fabulous. Thanks to all.
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: E.J. Peiker on January 03, 2018, 10:03:28 am
Jeff, there is an error in the Windows 64 bit installation instructions.  The files do not go in the Program Files (x86) folder but rather in the Program Files folder.  The (X86) is for 32 bit versions not 64 bit versions.
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on January 03, 2018, 11:00:53 am
Oh no!! I still use them. Thanks for the freeware versions. You guys not only made a great product, your support was fabulous. Thanks to all.
+1!
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Schewe on January 03, 2018, 11:27:18 am
Is the date 1st Feb 2018 as we read it here in Europe or 2nd Jan 2018 ?  :-\

Jan 2, 2018
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Schewe on January 03, 2018, 11:29:10 am
Jeff, there is an error in the Windows 64 bit installation instructions.  The files do not go in the Program Files (x86) folder but rather in the Program Files folder.  The (X86) is for 32 bit versions not 64 bit versions.

Ooops...I don’t do windows (well). Sorry I’ll fix that soon!
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: TonyW on January 04, 2018, 11:46:14 am
Thanks to the PG team for making this continue to be available.
It's never nice to see a product that's still relevant and useful discontinued, but it's terrible when it's then cremated by loosing the ability to activate it.
Well done chaps.
Well said.
And let me add my thanks to the PG team for releasing this software into the wilds of Freeware  8) :)
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: rdonson on January 04, 2018, 01:18:58 pm
Still the best sharpener on the market and I hope the freeware version continues to be workable with new versions of Lr, Ps and computer operating systems as they occur. This application remains a major and important contribution to digital imaging. Thanks to the late Bruce Fraser and the PG team for having developed it and maintained it all these years. When the time comes that the software is no longer usable, fortunately, thanks to Jeff's book on Image Sharpening, we still have access to the basic techniques for good sharpening practice, and of course to the extent Adobe continues to carry this technical basis into LR, we can still rely on Lr for very good sharpening, only with fewer options and less granular user control.

+1 to PG for having developed the package and for working with Adobe to bake the knowledge of sharpening into Lr and PS.  I still marvel at how well the sharpening works in the Lr Print Module.

Kudos to the PG team for advancing the art of digital photography.
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: deanwork on January 04, 2018, 06:33:53 pm
It certainly is and thank you Jeff for making this final availability possible. And thank you Bruce Fraser for all your contributions to us while you were here on this earth.

John



Still the best sharpener on the market and I hope the freeware version continues to be workable with new versions of Lr, Ps and computer operating systems as they occur. This application remains a major and important contribution to digital imaging. Thanks to the late Bruce Fraser and the PG team for having developed it and maintained it all these years. When the time comes that the software is no longer usable, fortunately, thanks to Jeff's book on Image Sharpening, we still have access to the basic techniques for good sharpening practice, and of course to the extent Adobe continues to carry this technical basis into LR, we can still rely on Lr for very good sharpening, only with fewer options and less granular user control.
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: kers on January 05, 2018, 03:37:32 am
Thank you Jeff and the photokit team for this contribution.
I am one of the few here that has not used it, or maybe as part of the ACR sharpening,  so for me it is a way to get familiar.
( have my own routines, but will certainly learn something form using PKS)
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: JimGoshorn on January 05, 2018, 10:39:55 am
Thanks to all of you at PG for your contributions through the years.

Jim
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: pearlstreet on January 05, 2018, 01:37:42 pm
If the servers have been turned off, I can report that the software still works without uninstalling and using the new.
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Schewe on January 05, 2018, 02:16:26 pm
If the servers have been turned off...

The activation servers have not yet been shut down...we wanted to make sure the freeware versions we out in the wild b fore doing so. Also the activation being g turned off would most likely be a problem for new installs not installs that hve already been successfully accurate but vated.
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Rand47 on January 05, 2018, 02:32:08 pm
The activation servers have not yet been shut down...we wanted to make sure the freeware versions we out in the wild b fore doing so. Also the activation being g turned off would most likely be a problem for new installs not installs that hve already been successfully accurate but vated.

Jeff,

Thanks for the update.  This kind of "thinking ahead" re ramifications for end users is one of the things that makes you guys great.  Best of luck to the "Geniuses" in wherever your endeavors lead.

Rand
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: MarkH2 on January 07, 2018, 10:55:58 pm
Thank you, Jeff, and your fellow geniuses.  Great ride!
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Box Brownie on January 09, 2018, 12:53:16 pm
Thanks for the heads up about PG and Photokit.  Something I look forward to trying out :)

All the info and instructions talk of plugin for PS but out of interest are these utilisable in LR as well, if so how to go about that? 

TIA for any insights :)
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Schewe on January 09, 2018, 06:30:34 pm
The PhotoKit brand of plugins only work in Photoshop.
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Lee Gordon on January 09, 2018, 11:15:54 pm
Thanks Jeff, et al – for your genius and generosity!
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Lundberg02 on January 11, 2018, 11:01:37 pm
Thank you Jeff, your history of generosity and community support is exemplary, and I will always remember your generosity to me personally. Wishing you every success in the future. Wish you would expand upon your decision, although it is clear that many alternatives to Photoshop have appeared in the last couple of years, and the raw revolution has altered the landscape permanently for the better.
Title: Re: PixelGenius Ends-Of-Life it's PhotoKit brand of plug-ins
Post by: Rich-J on August 07, 2018, 09:43:15 pm
Folks,

Just a quick note that as of 1/2/2018, PixelGenius will no longer sell our PhotoKit™ line of Photoshop plug-ins including PhotoKit, PhotoKit Sharpener and PhotoKit Color.

Regards,
Jeff Schewe

I just became aware of this (It works...)

Many thanks to the team for an excellent product and book on the background.

Can anyone here recommend an alternative that deals with "Offset type" sharpening, and produces separate PS layer(s) for the sharpening which is essential for me.

Thanks
Richard