complaint about XXPro 4

I have been working in the new beta of XXP4 for a few days now and have one major complaint.

The program is addictive. The NEED for a fix, thoughts about the program when it is not available, craving for more time with it, and even when you have had more, a feeling of uphoria is experienced short term but it is not enough...you need more.

There should be a warning label when you open the program that use of this program will lead to addictive type behavior. Expected side effects are uncontrollable creative bursts, the need to try new techniques and loss of sleep. For some, feelings of inadequacy will be the response to the pre-loaded clip art examples. Note that these side effects can be experienced by professional graphic artists and novices alike.

In my experience, Xara Xtreme (and its variants) is the only program that should carry such a notice!

Hi Samantha,

I have been addicted for 8 years. Each new release leads to greater addiction.

worse - because of changes made along the way - I am addicted to at least three different versions all at the same time - there no hope for some of us :eek::D

Hahahaha. I couldn't agree more. I posted something about this terrible addiction last Fall and yet the situation remains...

excellent they should do the trick - I shall draw some right away.. [thinks.. hang on a minute......:D]

Take two tablets and connect to Talkgraphics and XaraXone as often as possible. :D

Tablets are shown larger than actual size ;)

Careful Bill & Bob, people have been banned from forums for advertising pills :D

Sorry, you did not prescribe enough for me. Needed a higher dose.

The more I work with XXP4, the more I WANT to work with it.
I also realize just how MUCH I don't know! Of course that makes me want to learn...Nasty vicious cycle.

One more symptom to be added: Loss of time

Many years ago, I had a CD that came with some computer magazine that someone gave me, and on that CD were two longish videos (on my YouTube profile) showing some program called CorelXARA. I immediately wanted the software because it looked so fun to use and play around with, which is really strange because it wasn't a game. But it was back at a time when having a home computer was just taking off, and I was young(er) and didn't know how to buy software.

Shortly after, after succeeding compulsory education I was given 50 pounds as a reward, and I spent it on the full version of CorelXARA (yes, it cost just 50 quid). I never bought CorelXARA 2 as I didn't have the internet for a few more years. When I finally went to university in 1999 and got internet access, I saw it had become Xara X and bought it (the upgrade), using a friend's credit card, as I didn't even have one my own of those at that time. Of course, there was a significant gap in time before Xara released Xara X1, due to apparent dire internal problems at Xara with profits, or lack of. X1 was the newly rebranded Xara 1.0 which I bought in 2004. Shortly after that in 2005--10 years after I originally bought CorelXARA--I discovered TalkGraphics and began posting. Other interesting Xara-related things happened which I won't go into here, but in 2005 Xara 2 was released (Xtreme). 2006 produced Xara 3 (Xtreme Pro) and it was about this time I noticed Xara 3D (from another entertaining video) which, once I'd seen, I immediately wanted and bought, and wondered why I hadn't seen it before. In 2007 came Xara/Pro 3.2, and 2008: Xara 4. Over time, I've found increasing use for the software over it's 'fun' properties in the early days. I have almost all versions installed now (so 6 versions, except Xara 3 which was directly replaced by 3.2).

I'm guessing mid-late 2009 we'll see Xara 5.

Though I have Adobe's suite of programs, I have always found Paint Shop Pro more user friendly. Though that program can do some vector drawing, it is limited. I turned to my Adobe suite. :(

I had already used Xara's webstyle to get some nav buttons, so gave X1 a try. During my trial of X1, Xtreme came out and I bought it right away. The UI is simple and clean. Some people complain that it is not elegant enough for the serious nature of the program. I disagree. It is less intimidating, but not less elegant.

Why do I like this program?
Simply put, it's a thrill to the child in me. Every time I open the program and start a new project, I feel like a kid that has just been given a wonderfully huge box of brand new crayons. All the tips are perfect...all the colors you can dream of... and the possibilities are endless. Crayons were pure fun, pure joy to use. So is XXP.

Of course my OWN skills limit the end design but I have hope that my mind's eye and the screen will some day converge. At least when you use a program that is fun to use, you are not wasting effort on frustration.