Image Restore AI

[ishwanu]

A discussion of this new product recently turned up in another thread, but it really should have its own thread. Current info from the developer:

https://www.neuralmoon.ai/image-restore-ai

One aspect that interests me is that the system requirements for local processing sound less demanding than those for Topaz Photo AI:

https://docs.topazlabs.com/photo-ai/system-requirements

Any here who have installed and used IRAI, can you determine how much disk space the program files and AI models require?

Also, the comment under the video about a malware warning is a little concerning.

 

[Digital Nigel]

A discussion of this new product recently turned up in another thread, but it really should have its own thread. Current info from the developer:

https://www.neuralmoon.ai/image-restore-ai

One aspect that interests me is that the system requirements for local processing sound less demanding than those for Topaz Photo AI:

https://docs.topazlabs.com/photo-ai/system-requirements

Any here who have installed and used IRAI, can you determine how much disk space the program files and AI models require?

Also, the comment under the video about a malware warning is a little concerning.

Repeating and updating my comments from the other thread:

First reactions:

• It downloads and installs quickly and easily. No need to provide any personal information before buying. No malware or virus warnings.
• The space occupied is 370MB for the program files and 2.55GB in the AppData folder (of which 2.46GB are models). This will no doubt grow as more models are added.
• However, I can't find it in the Window 10 Programs list, whether under the Image Restore or Neural Moon names. So far, I'm only able to start it by clicking on the irai.exe file.
• Opening images is a bit clunky. You can’t just drag and drop images on the open program window, and it always defaults to the desktop as the input file location. I’m sure that’ll soon be fixed.
• Raw processing is better than Topaz, but well short of DxO standards. It produces CA and softer, less detailed images.
• NR is very good, in the same league as DxO, and available on JPEGs as well.
• Upscaling is good. It doesn’t introduce artefacts, or mangle text or faces. The results are smooth and natural, but softer than Topaz. I think I prefer Gigapixel for large enhancements. However, there’s no obvious signs of AI having been used with IRAI, which I'm sire will benefit some images.
• Runs quite quickly (though I can’t test export speeds with the trial version).
• It’s currently feature-light, as might be expected of such a young product.
• No AI sharpening (yet).

I don’t have much use for it, so probably won’t be buying. But if someone needs to upsize small, noisy JPEGs, it could be a good choice.

 

[Digital Nigel]

Here's a comparison with Gigapixel. This is a very old (almost 25 years), small, low quality JPEG image of mine:


OOC JPEG

Let's start with a simple non-AI uprez using Lanczos resampling:




Non-AI Lanczos upscaling, available in most photo editors



Now the Gigapixel version, with 4x upscaling:


Gigapixel AI

I can't export from IRAI, so here's a screenshot of the upscaled, de-noised image:


Image Restore AI editing window

 

[George Zampoukis]

Hi! I am the developer behind Image Restore AI and Founder of Neuralmoon.

First, of all, thank you so much for showing interest in IRAI, I highly appreciate it!

Regarding the space question, IRAI will currently take about 3GB of total disk space.

As for the malicious reports situation, this is a false-positive case. BitDefender and some browsers currently flag the installer as suspicious, as it comes form a new startup that is not yet established, and therefore not fully trusted. I contacted BitDefender about this, and they also verified that the installer is safe and clean.

This is unfortunately a common issue on new software, even though it is properly signed by a valid Certificate. There are some reputation based systems that consider a file "trusted", once it has been safely downloaded in large amounts. Hopefully now that IRAI is getting decent traffic, such issues will soon be resolved. I am so sorry for any inconvenience that is caused by this. I can fully assure you that the installer is safe and clean.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them!

 

[George Zampoukis]

A discussion of this new product recently turned up in another thread, but it really should have its own thread. Current info from the developer:

https://www.neuralmoon.ai/image-restore-ai

One aspect that interests me is that the system requirements for local processing sound less demanding than those for Topaz Photo AI:

https://docs.topazlabs.com/photo-ai/system-requirements

Any here who have installed and used IRAI, can you determine how much disk space the program files and AI models require?

Also, the comment under the video about a malware warning is a little concerning.

Repeating and updating my comments from the other thread:

First reactions:

• It downloads and installs quickly and easily. No need to provide any personal information before buying. No malware or virus warnings.
• The space occupied is 370MB for the program files and 2.55GB in the AppData folder (of which 2.46GB are models). This will no doubt grow as more models are added.
• However, I can't find it in the Window 10 Programs list, whether under the Image Restore or Neural Moon names. So far, I'm only able to start it by clicking on the irai.exe file.
• Opening images is a bit clunky. You can’t just drag and drop images on the open program window, and it always defaults to the desktop as the input file location. I’m sure that’ll soon be fixed.
• Raw processing is better than Topaz, but well short of DxO standards. It produces CA and softer, less detailed images.
• NR is very good, in the same league as DxO, and available on JPEGs as well.
• Upscaling is good. It doesn’t introduce artefacts, or mangle text or faces. The results are smooth and natural, but softer than Topaz. I think I prefer Gigapixel for large enhancements. However, there’s no obvious signs of AI having been used with IRAI, which I'm sire will benefit some images.
• Runs quite quickly (though I can’t test export speeds with the trial version).
• It’s currently feature-light, as might be expected of such a young product.
• No AI sharpening (yet).

I don’t have much use for it, so probably won’t be buying. But if someone needs to upsize small, noisy JPEGs, it could be a good choice.

Excellent points, this aligns perfectly with how I expect the application to work.

It generally prioritizes natural outputs, rather that spotless, smooth outcomes, both to differentiate itself for similar software and to provide people with an alternative approach, so that they can use the right tool for the right job.

The installation process does certainly need some improvements, I got it right for macOS, but Windows is a bit trickier to get right, especially 10. I've closely followed all the official Microsoft documentation regarding installers, though there may be some things that I might have missed and need to refine.

I receiving great feedback from users, there will be an update soon to resolve some minor issues that people have reported, including the ability to remember your preferences for image loading and saving.

You can drag &drop images on the application interface, just make sure you are not running the application as an administrator, as that disabled the drag &drop behavior on Windows.

Thank you for trying Image Restore AI and for such amazing feedback! I am a single developer behind this and there are many areas for improvement, but the responses I get are amazing and I hope to quickly scale up and make the application the best it can be!

 

[Digital Nigel]

A discussion of this new product recently turned up in another thread, but it really should have its own thread. Current info from the developer:

https://www.neuralmoon.ai/image-restore-ai

One aspect that interests me is that the system requirements for local processing sound less demanding than those for Topaz Photo AI:

https://docs.topazlabs.com/photo-ai/system-requirements

Any here who have installed and used IRAI, can you determine how much disk space the program files and AI models require?

Also, the comment under the video about a malware warning is a little concerning.

Repeating and updating my comments from the other thread:

First reactions:

• It downloads and installs quickly and easily. No need to provide any personal information before buying. No malware or virus warnings.
• The space occupied is 370MB for the program files and 2.55GB in the AppData folder (of which 2.46GB are models). This will no doubt grow as more models are added.
• However, I can't find it in the Window 10 Programs list, whether under the Image Restore or Neural Moon names. So far, I'm only able to start it by clicking on the irai.exe file.
• Opening images is a bit clunky. You can’t just drag and drop images on the open program window, and it always defaults to the desktop as the input file location. I’m sure that’ll soon be fixed.
• Raw processing is better than Topaz, but well short of DxO standards. It produces CA and softer, less detailed images.
• NR is very good, in the same league as DxO, and available on JPEGs as well.
• Upscaling is good. It doesn’t introduce artefacts, or mangle text or faces. The results are smooth and natural, but softer than Topaz. I think I prefer Gigapixel for large enhancements. However, there’s no obvious signs of AI having been used with IRAI, which I'm sire will benefit some images.
• Runs quite quickly (though I can’t test export speeds with the trial version).
• It’s currently feature-light, as might be expected of such a young product.
• No AI sharpening (yet).

I don’t have much use for it, so probably won’t be buying. But if someone needs to upsize small, noisy JPEGs, it could be a good choice.

Excellent points, this aligns perfectly with how I expect the application to work.

It generally prioritizes natural outputs, rather that spotless, smooth outcomes, both to differentiate itself for similar software and to provide people with an alternative approach, so that they can use the right tool for the right job.

The installation process does certainly need some improvements, I got it right for macOS, but Windows is a bit trickier to get right, especially 10. I've closely followed all the official Microsoft documentation regarding installers, though there may be some things that I might have missed and need to refine.

You certainly need to ensure it shows up in the programs list, or users won't even be able to open it. That's the most basic test!

I receiving great feedback from users, there will be an update soon to resolve some minor issues that people have reported, including the ability to remember your preferences for image loading and saving.
You can drag &drop images on the application interface, just make sure you are not running the application as an administrator, as that disabled the drag &drop behavior on Windows.

It works fine with the Topaz, Affinity and other apps.

Thank you for trying Image Restore AI and for such amazing feedback! I am a single developer behind this and there are many areas for improvement, but the responses I get are amazing and I hope to quickly scale up and make the application the best it can be!

 

[George Zampoukis]

Hi!

I have updated the installer for windows and it now properly adds the application on the start menu apps as well, thank you for your feedback!

 

[ishwanu]

Here's a comparison with Gigapixel. This is a very old (almost 25 years), small, low quality JPEG image of mine:

.

Now the Gigapixel version, with 4x upscaling:


Gigapixel AI

I can't export from IRAI, so here's a screenshot of the upscaled, de-noised image:


Image Restore AI editing window

Thanks for the comparison. One difference I see is that Gigapixel has applied some kind of face recovery similar to Photo AI. It can easily be overdone to the point where it looks bizarre like that. Otherwise, the Gigapixel version is much better in the other areas. Do you think you used the best IRAI settings for the job?

 

[ishwanu]

Hi! I am the developer behind Image Restore AI and Founder of Neuralmoon.

Glad to see you here, and thanks for the additional information.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them!

I'm sure we'll be seeing some soon.

 

[Digital Nigel]

Here's a comparison with Gigapixel. This is a very old (almost 25 years), small, low quality JPEG image of mine:

.

Now the Gigapixel version, with 4x upscaling:


Gigapixel AI

I can't export from IRAI, so here's a screenshot of the upscaled, de-noised image:


Image Restore AI editing window

Thanks for the comparison. One difference I see is that Gigapixel has applied some kind of face recovery similar to Photo AI. It can easily be overdone to the point where it looks bizarre like that.

Yes, I used facial recovery, and it does result in much higher quality faces than other parts. It almost looks like real faces are peering through cutouts in a backdrop. That’s optional, of course. I think you can turn it down if wanted.

Otherwise, the Gigapixel version is much better in the other areas. Do you think you used the best IRAI settings for the job?

It’s hard for me to be sure. I used the Autopilot to select the models, and I don’t think playing with the sliders would make much difference. The main weakness is that it has no AI sharpening, just a post-processing Details sharpening slider.

I’ve included the original file, and George is welcome to show what he can do with it.

 

[Digital Nigel]

Here's a comparison with Gigapixel. This is a very old (almost 25 years), small, low quality JPEG image of mine:

.

Now the Gigapixel version, with 4x upscaling:


Gigapixel AI

Thanks for the comparison. One difference I see is that Gigapixel has applied some kind of face recovery similar to Photo AI. It can easily be overdone to the point where it looks bizarre like that. Otherwise, the Gigapixel version is much better in the other areas. Do you think you used the best IRAI settings for the job?

This is another Gigapixel version, with Face recovery turned down from 80 to 50. I think this looks about right, but if you think this is still too much, it's easy to turn it down more.


Gigapixel 8.4.2, with Face Recovery turned down to 50, less sharpening and more NR.

 

[ishwanu]

Here's a comparison with Gigapixel. This is a very old (almost 25 years), small, low quality JPEG image of mine:

.

Now the Gigapixel version, with 4x upscaling:


Gigapixel AI

Thanks for the comparison. One difference I see is that Gigapixel has applied some kind of face recovery similar to Photo AI. It can easily be overdone to the point where it looks bizarre like that. Otherwise, the Gigapixel version is much better in the other areas. Do you think you used the best IRAI settings for the job?

This is another Gigapixel version, with Face recovery turned down from 80 to 50. I think this looks about right, but if you think this is still too much, it's easy to turn it down more.


Gigapixel 8.4.2, with Face Recovery turned down to 50, less sharpening and more NR.

I do appreciate and use Photo AI's face recovery, though I try to keep it on the subtle side. It will sometimes recover background faces that shouldn't be recovered at all, but I can manually exclude those from the process.

 

[Digital Nigel]

Here's a comparison with Gigapixel. This is a very old (almost 25 years), small, low quality JPEG image of mine:

.

Now the Gigapixel version, with 4x upscaling:


Gigapixel AI

Thanks for the comparison. One difference I see is that Gigapixel has applied some kind of face recovery similar to Photo AI. It can easily be overdone to the point where it looks bizarre like that. Otherwise, the Gigapixel version is much better in the other areas. Do you think you used the best IRAI settings for the job?

This is another Gigapixel version, with Face recovery turned down from 80 to 50. I think this looks about right, but if you think this is still too much, it's easy to turn it down more.


Gigapixel 8.4.2, with Face Recovery turned down to 50, less sharpening and more NR.

I do appreciate and use Photo AI's face recovery, though I try to keep it on the subtle side. It will sometimes recover background faces that shouldn't be recovered at all, but I can manually exclude those from the process.

I find it only includes by default a subset of the faces it thinks are faces. You can include more if you choose. But it’s remarkably good at finding even partial or partly covered faces.

 

[dharma108]

I am currently conducting a comparison test with three photo AI apps, all on trial mode.

Image Restore AI (IRAI)-- $99 USD

Aiarty Image Enhancer (AIE) -- $99 USD

Topaz Photo AI (TPAI) -- $199 USD

I am still using Windows 10, but had no problems installing IRAI and AIE, but TPAI took a very long time.

So far, I'm very impressed with AIE in terms of upscaling, denoising, and sharpening. I haven't fully tested IRAI, however, it upscaled and denoised well but I felt it really is in need of a good sharpening tool. It terms of processing time, both were pretty much the same.

Interestingly, so far, I'm disappointed with TPAI. I've found the processing time to be on the slow side, and I haven't been able to receive the results regarding denoise and sharpening as I have with their specific sharpen and denoise apps.

 

[yanisha]

Hi! I am the developer behind Image Restore AI and Founder of Neuralmoon.

First, of all, thank you so much for showing interest in IRAI, I highly appreciate it!

Regarding the space question, IRAI will currently take about 3GB of total disk space.

As for the malicious reports situation, this is a false-positive case. BitDefender and some browsers currently flag the installer as suspicious, as it comes form a new startup that is not yet established, and therefore not fully trusted. I contacted BitDefender about this, and they also verified that the installer is safe and clean.
This is unfortunately a common issue on new software, even though it is properly signed by a valid Certificate. There are some reputation based systems that consider a file "trusted", once it has been safely downloaded in large amounts. Hopefully now that IRAI is getting decent traffic, such issues will soon be resolved. I am so sorry for any inconvenience that is caused by this. I can fully assure you that the installer is safe and clean.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them!

Just for completeness, there was an earlier thread where there was quite a lot of discussion of your new app also:

Topaz Photo AI 4 review

To cut Topaz a bit of slack, there are so many different Windows systems and different GPUs, I can't imagine how they could do a comprehensive test on even a fraction of the systems the program might encounter. Worse, every system is in a different state of update and driver level. I suspect...

www.dpreview.com

 

[George Zampoukis]

Hi! I am the developer behind Image Restore AI and Founder of Neuralmoon.

First, of all, thank you so much for showing interest in IRAI, I highly appreciate it!

Regarding the space question, IRAI will currently take about 3GB of total disk space.

As for the malicious reports situation, this is a false-positive case. BitDefender and some browsers currently flag the installer as suspicious, as it comes form a new startup that is not yet established, and therefore not fully trusted. I contacted BitDefender about this, and they also verified that the installer is safe and clean.
This is unfortunately a common issue on new software, even though it is properly signed by a valid Certificate. There are some reputation based systems that consider a file "trusted", once it has been safely downloaded in large amounts. Hopefully now that IRAI is getting decent traffic, such issues will soon be resolved. I am so sorry for any inconvenience that is caused by this. I can fully assure you that the installer is safe and clean.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them!

Just for completeness, there was an earlier thread where there was quite a lot of discussion of your new app also:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68374431

Thank you, I'll take a look!

To answer some of the common questions I get:


1. All updates to IRAI will be free of charge. For transparency, when/if a new product version comes out (e.g. IRAI 2) then that will be considered a new product, and thus, a separate purchase, with a generous discount for existing users of course, though this is not something that is planned for the near future. Currently, all my resources are dedicated into developing and perfecting IRAI. The first update, coming very soon, will address some issues that users had, and then slowly after that I will start focusing on new features.

2. IRAI has been designed to prioritize natural, realistic results. Many of the existing solutions tend to prioritize spotless, smooth results, that look very impressive but often a bit overprocessed and plastic. My goal was not to replace existing solutions, but to compliment them and offer an alternative approach so that people have more choice over the enhancement outcome they're going for and be able to use the right tool for the right job. This is also why I haven't included any face processing, as such models often alienate original features and "invent" a completely different person, which defeats the purpose of the natural approach that I'm going for. That said, If people are interested in smooth, detailed outcomes, I will consider adding a new model family to provide users with more choices.

3. Plugins for LrC and PS are in the works and will happen in a future update. I am also looking at ways to incorporate DNG exports, this is a bit trickier to do and this is not a promise, but if I manage to get the implementation right, I will also include this in a future update.

4. I have many plans for new models and functionality, the next models I'll be focusing on will be for Sharpening.

IRAI is still very new, and while capable, it still needs a lot of work to become a proper pro tool. I rely on your feedback to constantly refine and improve it, if you would like to share feedback, suggestions, ideas, all will be very welcome!


I have many plans and ideas, but I want this to mainly be a community oriented project, so 90% of the time, I will prioritize your requests over my ideas. Thank you for all the support!

 

[Digital Nigel]

Hi!
I have updated the installer for windows and it now properly adds the application on the start menu apps as well, thank you for your feedback!

Unfortunately, the application also doesn't uninstall cleanly, whether using its own application manager, or the Windows uninstaller. It leaves behind 69 files and folders, including a non-functional IRAI.exe program file.

I could just delete the remaining files, but it's usually not a good idea to delete DLLs from Windows machines. Please could you provide a utility to cleanly and safely remove all the files?

Update:

Repeatedly running the Uninstall option in the Application Manager (installer.exe) seems to get rid of most of the files.

I think you really need to do much more testing of the Windows version. I would say it's not yet of alpha quality, let alone a commercial release.

 

[George Zampoukis]

Hi!
I have updated the installer for windows and it now properly adds the application on the start menu apps as well, thank you for your feedback!

Unfortunately, the application also doesn't uninstall cleanly, whether using its own application manager, or the Windows uninstaller. It leaves behind 69 files and folders, including a non-functional IRAI.exe program file.

I could just delete the remaining files, but it's usually not a good idea to delete DLLs from Windows machines. Please could you provide a utility to cleanly and safely remove all the files?

Update:

Repeatedly running the Uninstall option in the Application Manager (installer.exe) seems to get rid of most of the files.

I think you really need to do much more testing of the Windows version. I would say it's not yet of alpha quality, let alone a commercial release.

Hi,

The installer has been updated to gracefully handle both the install and uninstall process, and has been properly tested on multiple systems and windows versions, without any issues. That said, testing is an ongoing process, I constantly check and verify that everything works as expected, and if any issue arises or is reported, I resolve it immediately.

I'd also kindly like to point out, that this is the work of a single developer, working with very limited resources and budget. IRAI has been in development for more that 3 years now, during this time I have tested, and retested it countless times, to ensure a smooth operation on all systems. That said, it is a first launch of a new product, and some minor issues and glitches can be expected, as everyone's system and configuration is different.

As of right now, and judging by the feedback I'm receiving, only a very minor percentage of users (~4%) has experienced issues. Such issues will be fully resolved in time, as I continue to receive quality feedback from my users.

I am sure that your intentions are pure and you're trying to help, and I truly, deeply appreciate that. But I've seen, and I think many will agree, much worse issues from large corporations on many software domains - IRAI is not perfect yet and far from mature, but I don't believe the term 'alpha' is justified here.

Once again, I am truly thankful to anyone that provides feedback. For anyone that is interested in the app, I highly encourage to try it first, the trial version has no time limits, take your time, evaluate the results you are getting, and only then, proceed to buy, there is no need to rush a purchase.


Thank you!

 

[Digital Nigel]

Hi!
I have updated the installer for windows and it now properly adds the application on the start menu apps as well, thank you for your feedback!

Unfortunately, the application also doesn't uninstall cleanly, whether using its own application manager, or the Windows uninstaller. It leaves behind 69 files and folders, including a non-functional IRAI.exe program file.

I could just delete the remaining files, but it's usually not a good idea to delete DLLs from Windows machines. Please could you provide a utility to cleanly and safely remove all the files?

Update:

Repeatedly running the Uninstall option in the Application Manager (installer.exe) seems to get rid of most of the files.

I think you really need to do much more testing of the Windows version. I would say it's not yet of alpha quality, let alone a commercial release.

Hi,

The installer has been updated to gracefully handle both the install and uninstall process, and has been properly tested on multiple systems and windows versions, without any issues. That said, testing is an ongoing process, I constantly check and verify that everything works as expected, and if any issue arises or is reported, I resolve it immediately.

I don’t doubt that you fix reported bugs immediately, but I also suspect you mainly test the Mac, not the Windows version.

And, btw, software developers should not test their own products. They should use professional software testers.

I'd also kindly like to point out, that this is the work of a single developer, working with very limited resources and budget. IRAI has been in development for more that 3 years now, during this time I have tested, and retested it countless times, to ensure a smooth operation on all systems. That said, it is a first launch of a new product, and some minor issues and glitches can be expected, as everyone's system and configuration is different.

That’s why professionals perform formal alpha and beta testing before commercial releases.

As of right now, and judging by the feedback I'm receiving, only a very minor percentage of users (~4%) has experienced issues.

Are they mainly Mac users? Surely Windows users would complain when a newly installed product doesn’t show up in the Start menu?

Such issues will be fully resolved in time, as I continue to receive quality feedback from my users.

I am sure that your intentions are pure and you're trying to help, and I truly, deeply appreciate that. But I've seen, and I think many will agree, much worse issues from large corporations on many software domains

Yes, indeed. Topaz, in particular, does too many releases, too frequently, and doesn’t test them properly. That doesn’t make it OK for others.

- IRAI is not perfect yet and far from mature, but I don't believe the term 'alpha' is justified here.

I’ve been a one-man software developer a long time ago, and a product manager for some years after that. So I do know the difference between alpha, beta and commercial software. And a product that won’t install or uninstall properly on the world’s most popular operating system is of alpha quality.

If I had known how immature the product was I wouldn’t have installed it, and now regret doing so. I don’t like the message I got from the Application Manager that it had encountered an error when updating the registry.

Once again, I am truly thankful to anyone that provides feedback. For anyone that is interested in the app, I highly encourage to try it first, the trial version has no time limits, take your time, evaluate the results you are getting, and only then, proceed to buy, there is no need to rush a purchase.

Thank you!

 

[George Zampoukis]

Hi!
I have updated the installer for windows and it now properly adds the application on the start menu apps as well, thank you for your feedback!

Unfortunately, the application also doesn't uninstall cleanly, whether using its own application manager, or the Windows uninstaller. It leaves behind 69 files and folders, including a non-functional IRAI.exe program file.

I could just delete the remaining files, but it's usually not a good idea to delete DLLs from Windows machines. Please could you provide a utility to cleanly and safely remove all the files?

Update:

Repeatedly running the Uninstall option in the Application Manager (installer.exe) seems to get rid of most of the files.

I think you really need to do much more testing of the Windows version. I would say it's not yet of alpha quality, let alone a commercial release.

Hi,

The installer has been updated to gracefully handle both the install and uninstall process, and has been properly tested on multiple systems and windows versions, without any issues. That said, testing is an ongoing process, I constantly check and verify that everything works as expected, and if any issue arises or is reported, I resolve it immediately.

I don’t doubt that you fix reported bugs immediately, but I also suspect you mainly test the Mac, not the Windows version.

And, btw, software developers should not test their own products. They should use professional software testers.

I'd also kindly like to point out, that this is the work of a single developer, working with very limited resources and budget. IRAI has been in development for more that 3 years now, during this time I have tested, and retested it countless times, to ensure a smooth operation on all systems. That said, it is a first launch of a new product, and some minor issues and glitches can be expected, as everyone's system and configuration is different.

That’s why professionals perform formal alpha and beta testing before commercial releases.

As of right now, and judging by the feedback I'm receiving, only a very minor percentage of users (~4%) has experienced issues.

Are they mainly Mac users? Surely Windows users would complain when a newly installed product doesn’t show up in the Start menu?

Such issues will be fully resolved in time, as I continue to receive quality feedback from my users.

I am sure that your intentions are pure and you're trying to help, and I truly, deeply appreciate that. But I've seen, and I think many will agree, much worse issues from large corporations on many software domains

Yes, indeed. Topaz, in particular, does too many releases, too frequently, and doesn’t test them properly. That doesn’t make it OK for others.

- IRAI is not perfect yet and far from mature, but I don't believe the term 'alpha' is justified here.

I’ve been a one-man software developer a long time ago, and a product manager for some years after that. So I do know the difference between alpha, beta and commercial software. And a product that won’t install or uninstall properly on the world’s most popular operating system is of alpha quality.

If I had known how immature the product was I wouldn’t have installed it, and now regret doing so. I don’t like the message I got from the Application Manager that it had encountered an error when updating the registry.

Once again, I am truly thankful to anyone that provides feedback. For anyone that is interested in the app, I highly encourage to try it first, the trial version has no time limits, take your time, evaluate the results you are getting, and only then, proceed to buy, there is no need to rush a purchase.

Thank you!

As I mentioned earlier, The Start Menu Entry has been resolved now on new installs, and will also be fixed in existing installations in the upcoming update.


I understand that that you don't like the app and this of course, is perfectly ok. What I don't understand is your full-on attack on an independent developer who is trying to do the right thing - To provide a single-purchase app, with no subscriptions, local and offline execution of models for data security and strict ethical policies regarding image sourcing.


I fully respect your thoughts and opinions, and I am still thankful for the excellent feedback you provided in an earlier post. That said, people can judge for themselves whether the app works for them, or not. I am not, in any case, pressuring/forcing anyone into purchasing my app, I am just a passionate developer and photographer sharing my work to the world.


In the meantime, if you actually wish to help me improve the application, please send me an email with your suggestions, I'd be truly happy to incorporate any suggestions that will make the application better.


All the best,
George