Listening to the Voices in My Head

Hey Skype; I didn't ask for, request your Bing chat bot, or Skype chat bot to be attached to my Skype account/window. It's bad enough you turned the desktop program into a mobile phone look-a-like.

Once again, I tried Topaz Labs. They have come out with "New and improved" versions of their AI software. I coughed up the money, and 'renewed' my yearly plan (not going to renew it again, for reasons that will follow.) But I was willing to give it another shot.

I loaded an Olympus ORF file into Topaz DeNoise. It did ok, but left the image kind of dull and flat. So, I closed that, and opened Topaz Sharpen AI, opened the same ORF file. It does have a rudimentary denoise function. But the finished results again were lacking.

To use the Topaz software, you need to open them in another program, adjust exposure, then use one Topaz plugin after another. And although you can get good results, the Sharpen AI takes a long time (6 minutes).

On1 NoNoise 23: opened the same Olympus ORF file in NoNoise. Not only was I able to remove the noise, but I could also sharpen the image at the same time. And it was finished in about 30 seconds. If I want to have even more editing, I could open file in On1PhotoRaw, get it all done in about a minute.

On1 for the win, again.

Setting up the MyGov, the MyGovID, and SafeWA apps on my phone. After 8 different codes, and multiple attempts to import my COVID vax proof... ARGH!

I would fully understand, that although the information is important, why some people would just say "Screw it!".

It seems that after all these years of buying TopazLabs/Topaz software for photoediting, paying a premium price for "Lifetime updates", the owners of the company have decided to go the subscription model. They sent out a smarmy email, with a link to a lackluster blog post from "Eric" as to why they were doing this. I don't care. Every one of my purchases came with the "Lifetime updates" in the contract.

This isn't a case like with Slysoft, who just changed their name, and invalidated everyone's current lifetime updates (IMO, it was like if Ford changed their name to Cord, and then told everyone who just bought their extended warranties they were no longer valid, because Ford didn't exist anymore). Topaz and Topaz Labs are still being owned and operated by the same people. Also, the claim of a better product? Seriously, for what I paid, I could use On1 PhotoRaw and Photoshop and get the same results without using Topaz.

So, why do I use Topaz products? The LIFE TIME UPDATES is why. That is what they contracted with me for, and that is what they're trying to reneg on.

Can anyone say "Class Action Lawsuit"?

Close to 2 months, I used Windows 10 boot drive.   Stability; good.  Updates; too many, too annoying. Updates have a horrible habit of overwriting/removing anything you might have done.
 
Nannyware/nagware; I so wish Microsoft would understand that people want to control their OS and computers, not have Microsoft do it for them. 

Customizations are more than just a wee bit difficult to do (some impossible), and I can't say how much I dislike..no, loathe that desktop tile layout. It is sloppy.  I installed StartMenuX and got it back to a configurable, cleaner layout. 

Biggest Bugbear for me (and for my husband, too) was not only the total removal of Windows Media Center, but making it so you couldn't even install it even if you had the ability to do so.

I am currently back on my Windows 7 Boot drive.  It took a while to get all the programs and Windows updated after such a long time of not using it.  After that was finished, I can't say how much better Windows 7 is from Windows 10.

It's not just using legacy software that can no longer be installed due to software maker using different authentication service, or legacy hardware (the hardware works in Win 10, but the software for it doesn't. Go figure.

But I find Windows 7 also stable, the updates have only broken one software makers programs (Yes, I really liked ArcSoft MediaCenter. It was better than anything else that has so far followed, but they rather stupidly didn't pay Dolby licensing fees so no updates after v6x, and Microsoft closed off the program's ability to use the kernel for better performance, thereby it no longer would work).

It's not even the desktop layout, because by use of StartMenuX, both Win 7 and Win 10 look the same.

Overall, I find Windows 7 the winner over Windows 10.  So, as long as I can install software on Windows 7 boot drive, I will.  I know that sooner or later I will be forced to move over to Win 10 only as software makers will be painted into a corner of "Make it work with only our latest OS".