Clean install, uses the Microsoft Installer (yea!) which provides numerous advantages, like a restore point, proper installation and tracking of components (that's one of the big differences of MSI vs. other installers), repair option, etc.

Simply Good Pictures is very easy-to-use, with almost no options, which is limiting. This is definitely a 1.0 version with obvious limitations. To those wanting to batch process photos, it doesn't make sense to batch-process optimizations, so that's not a defect. You only have a single optimization slider, and a checkbox for applying color optimization. You get a side-by-side before and after view, the preview updates when you stop moving the slider. The left and right keyboard arrows can be used for single-percent increments. The main window can be resized or maximized. You can output BMP or PNG with no options, or JPEG with only a quality slider.

There are a lot of problems. First, it says it uses a number of algorithms, but since you can't select which or individually by how much, you may or may not get a good result. A huge problem with many digital photographs, especially those taken in low light, is noise, and Simply Good Pictures doesn't handle noise well at all, often emphasizing it in the result. If you're using different input and output paths, you have to re-select each, each time you open or save. Lack of drag-and-drop is also an issue.

There are coding issues. Many of my output options disappeared on second-run: Play audio signal after conversion, Keep original file date, Extend filename numeric, Extend filename with, and Keep filename and overwrite existing files. If this was intentional, it's a poor choice.

This is certainly worth installing, but by trying to make the program super-simple with no options, the developer has also limited its usefulness. A simple solution is an "Easy" and "Advanced" user interface selection.

Fubar  –  14 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+128)

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A number of users have posted comments that the activation/website isn't working.

This is just to confirm that there does in fact appear to be a problem.

It appears that the Engelmann & Simply Good Pictures websites are unavailable. (therefore their product activation will also fail).

BuBBy  –  14 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+63)

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@ Developer:

First of all, thanks (also to GAOTD) for this nice program!

TIPS:

- Give the option to save output to source location (program now forces at every start to save in "My Pictures")
- Enable (source/target) paths memory
- Enable batch processing
- Enable Drag & Drop

BUG: The lower part of the "Settings" window (the "Convert" section) disappears after savings the settings the first time (and closing/restarting the program): This is VERY INCONVENIENT because the user might want to reconfigure these specific settings at a later stage and the only way to do so is to edit some registry values... And not everybody knows how to do that!

@ Annonymous (post 12): Optimisation = UK / Optimization = US... BOTH are English words! Learn how to spell "Anonymous" ;)

Mark  –  14 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+51)

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Thanks, installs great, kind of a hassle to register though...enter in your e-mail, wait for a return email with a reg confirmation, click on that and then wait for ANOTHER email with the serial...seems a bit much for a free program....seems to work pretty well though, nothing special, but nothing that makes me want to uninstall it right away either.

Mykul  –  14 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+46)

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Dear users,

we are sorry for incorrect information in today's post-installation window.

To register the software please follow the instructions in the readme.txt enclosed (activation is on-line).

The download will be updated to avoid any misunderstanding for the rest of the giveaway day. There are no updates in the program itself, so if you have the full version, no need to re-download. :)

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Have a nice day!
GOTD team

Giveaway of the Day project team  –  14 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+42)

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