Xara on Mac?

[Steve Newport]

Can the new XaraX CD be installed on Macs, if not, is there any future plans on this. This question is because most all graphics & design agencies use Macs for there work, and I'm sure XaraX would be more popular if we extended it to all the platforms necessary, thanks for your help

Steve Newport

[gwpriester]

I suscribe to Macworld and have owned Macs in the past. I say this because in spite of what people tell you about Macs and how stable they are, they crash just as often and even more disasterously than Wintel computers.

In the early 90s there was not comparrison between the Mac and the PC. This is when most designers and design professionals began using computers. Apple had the smarts to give Macs to schools so when the kids got out of school what kind of computer did they want to work on?

Basically there is no difference between platforms anymore. The major applications are written for both platforms and the files can be inerexchanged betweeen platforms more or less seamlessly.

The main difference between platforms these days is perceptual. Most Mac users still think we on the Windows side type in commands at the C:/
prompt.

Finally, and Thomas will probably jump in and post this before I finish this long-winded rant, Xara X can run on a Mac using a Windows emulator and Windows 98. It would run better if there was a native version, but the last I heard, and this was years ago, the effort to convert Xara to the Mac would require a lot more manpower than Xara currently has so I don't think we will see a Mac version soon.

On the other hand, the Mac has almost become extinct, compared to the number of people using Windows-based computers.

And finally, to paraphrase an old saw in Playboy, circa 1960, it is not the size of the wand that puts the rabbit into the hat but the skill of the performer (whatever that means ;-)

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

Be It Sever So Humble...

[a4hire]

Maybe someone can enlighten me. In my few years experience of computers and graphics I have always heard about Macs being better for rendering graphics. Is this true? What is this based on? I have always had a PC, that is a windows based computer. I have no exposure to using a Mac or apple computer so I do not understand the differences. There are some good programs for UNIX/ Linux too. Does the operating system really make a difference ?

[qmr]

OS does matter..

When crashed, if I see a smiley face onscreen (or some cute disclaimer) I'm likely to hurl..
<font size="1">(.. computer, OS, EVERYTHING.. out the window)</font>

macs can be injurious to your health, equipment, career.

Q.

[james_frost]

I seem to remember seeing a thread similar to this one a long time ago.

From what I remember, the Xara guys pointed out that much of Xara 2 is written using very Windows specific graphics routines highly optimised for using Windows and PC device drivers (which gives it its high performance) and that an attempt to create in the Mac would effectively mean a complete ground up rewrite.

Presumably this is the same situation with XaraX.

In my opinion we'd end up with two average products rather than one superb one if it was decided to create a mac version too.

James Frost

[Thomas.Sorrill]

Gary's right. Xara X will run under a Windows emulator for the Mac (and although not as fast as when in a native PC environ, it's still damn quick). As for creating a native Mac version, the main difficulty is that the basic engine of Xara X is written in Assembler (very mac unfriendly). This is what keeps X compact and fast..and easy to use.

To do a native Mac version would literally call for a redesign from the ground up, engine and all. And once we get to that level, we would be talking about two fundamentally different programs, and the Mac version would prbably be slower due to the engine redesign...and cross platform compatibility between X pc and X Mac would be very difficult due to the different prgram architecture. In other words, passing files back and forth may be impossible to do without any errors/bugs.

The development team would literally have to double just to focus on a Mac version and they may never catch up to the PC version in terms of features since the lead time to completion would be stretched passed the horizon (verbal gibberish that means it would take a lot longer to build a new Mac product than it will to add more features to the current version of X, so the two products may never reach parity in terms of feature compliments).

Unless of course, you want us to stop future development of Xara X for the PC and focus on the Mac only product???

T

[qmr]

I use macs and pcs here at the university where I work. I've spread the xara word around through work I've done thats seen, so we're getting education bundles of the program, and other faculties are waking up too. The devout scotsmen in my midst do look rather glum when I say that a mac version of xara is nigh impossible, and become incensed when I suggest they sully their eclesiastical hard drives with windows emulation software. Sigh. Computers are tools, not religious icons.. but I've spent some time warring with service bureaus (all mac) trying to get a fair suck of the sav (antique antipodean expression) when dealing with them. I'd get comments like "oh, we leave all the ibm pc (read=corel) files until the end of the week because they are done by amateurs and usually need extra time. Get Freehand, its the industry standard".

Hallelujiah web.. no need for service bureaus and their snobby imagesetters. Freudhand?? get a life!!

Q.
http://www.Qdesign.co.nz

[Klaus Nordby]

Thomas: "Unless of course, you want us to stop future development of Xara X for the PC and focus on the Mac only product???"

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I wish the Mac would die. It's a good OS and machine, but the existence of that platform is largely only a source of trouble - as anyone knows who has ever dealt with a service bureau. Just imagine all the duplicitous man-hours Adobe, Macromedia and Corel must spend just to make dual platform software. So I'm mighty glad that Xara is not wasting its resources on a Mac version.


K

[Eric]

good question Steve,

if XARA X was ported to Linux maybe it would be goodbye to crashes?......erm ok maybe not.

Are Macs as prolific as they once were in the graphics industry or are the PC's taking over the share? I am led to believe that $ for $ PC's are superior to macs...yes? no?

cheers
Eric

[qmr]

nice to see comments from you sensible chaps to balance my rant.. actually vid editing on a mac is sweet, and I first started with photoshop 2.5 on a powermac. But like Gary says, macs crash spectacularly, you learn all sorts of new words.. and as for Freehand which I use for offset and some flash, (and I've done some very good work in it) - freehand vs xara is like stereo compared to a tinny little tranistor radio... you have the scenario of an expensive monitor, fast computer etc and the screen displays in freehand are antique.. crinkly, fuzzy, erratic zoom views.. you have to have faith that the design you see onscreen will actually look sharp, smooth, print beautifully.. and thats the problem. I dont have the faith. I dont think Steve Jobs is a god and I dont care about Bill Gates business deals. For a groucho marxist, OS devotion is one step away from flat earth enthusiasms for me.. Freehand, Illustrator, even draw, drive me nuts compared to xara. Freehand is more correctly called Freudhand.. Xara has this remarkable characteristic where you can seem to find your own way to do just about anything your design needs in the program. Just using the core toolset.
And as Ross says, its you the idea generator that matters not the computer you use. OS doesnt matter but often your choice of software does.
My first animation, me destroying the computer with a sledgehammer.. I did it in windows paint. I still think thats a cool program too. (not really but you get the point..)

Q.