Xara opensource

[stubbsuk]

At the risk of being flamed, am I right in thinking that Xara seem to be spending considerable programming effort on porting XaraX over to Linux, when in fact as a paying Windows customer I'd much prefer them to be improving the Windows version instead of working on giving away what we've paid for?

OK, I think XaraX is great and I also have two other Xara products, and I think they are all brilliant.

However, I am getting increasingly concerned about XaraX (including Xtreme). There are huge lists floating around with suggestions on advancing the XaraX feature set. Wouldn't Xara's time be better spent improving XaraX's EPS and PDF import/export abilities and it's colour management (CYMK simulation) plus anything from the endless lists of suggestions? As opposed to porting it to give away.

This is either going to flop completely (meaning it was a waste of time porting) or it's going to kill the product as a commercial product. It's pretty obvious that if Linux coders drastically improve the free version (essentially the current commercial version) then all that is required is a port back to Windows and who in their right mind would then pay Xara for the same thing?

All well and good, but then what about things that are needed for pro or serious use that Linux coders might not have the resources or inclination to develop, such as better colour management and import/export, areas in which XaraX is lacking and, contrary to the usual lists of requests, are pretty basic, essential features of a modern graphics program.

I'd love to hear an alternative view with sound reasoning, as I am quite concerned at the moment and seriously wondering whether XaraX has a future or whether I should be saving to switch to Illustrator or DRAW.

[jens g.r. benthien]

If you develop software with BSD, you still can sell it. That means basically there could be a commercial Linux version as well (the Apple model: OS-X had been developed with BSD and based on BSD).

My guess is: if a coder will develop a feature for a Linux version which is worth to be ported to the Windows version as well, chances are high that he will be compensated - this will lure more coders to jump onto the Xara train.

Xara's recources are limited to a certain extent. So I think if the Linux coders will join, there will be a hughe input for new features, or the integration of features on one of the numerous wish lists.

I could imagine that there will be a free Linux version, which the user must compile himself. As an alternative there might be a commercial RPM - if it's not under the GNU licence it'll be legal to charge for it.

More and more programs are ported to Linux, but this doesn't mean they are free! Example: Cinema 4D production suite costs somewhere around 5.000 Euros.

I'd definitely prefer a Linux version, because the new Windows Vista will be a nightmare on current systems, that means I plan to switch completely to Linux until end of 2007. And I know there will be many more users who will switch as well.

[gwpriester]

Michael

It is a matter of simple economics. Xara is an excellent program, but they are very small compared to the industry leaders.

Expanding the base of users is one way a small comany can grow.

There is a market for Xara in the Unix community. If Xara can get a toehold in this market, and get a small share of the Macintosh market, they can increase revenue, hire more programmers, and in the end, produce better products all around.

I do not work for Xara. This is only my take on this.

Gary

[wW]

Mike, I've shared my concerns & dis-appointment regarding feature set updating (or lack of it) many times. If what Jens says it true then Linux development will be the wild card of the Xtreme development equation. I agree with Gary & think the bottom line to all this has to be exposure. The growth of the Xara should be like the proverbial "snowball rolling down hill". Linux people are a dedicated lot, much like Xara users who are "die hard" about the program. Xara should pick up a fair amount of forward thinking momentum once it's released or ported there. Jens brought up some really good ideas with his post.

Once some of the new programmers/coders get hold Xara on the other platforms, the development curve of Xara should turn exponential. In the mean time we have to remain patient & try to grab hold of hope. Xara will be around for along time, perhaps it will spark a new trend in software creation. Where eurgonomics, features, tools & efficency are practical & commonplace. ?

I know this is not my place. But, If Xtreme is Xara Ltd's mother ship. Shouldn't it have at least one dedicated person working on new features, tool sets & improvements, Independent of Bugs & or Ported versions?

In the end, Xara's direction may have more to do with Charles Moir's vision. If he keeps one finger on the pulse of the Xara community & another with an eye towards the future, things will go well. Which BTW, OpenSource was a major step forward! Even though were not seeing much from it yet, we will. Like the making of a movie, it takes a team of people several years before the movie makes it's debut. We will start to see trickles of OpenSource advantages soon, be patient. I think Dmetry is one of the first to have tapped in to this area.

Which way is Xtreme going? One things for sure, however slowly it seems, development is moving forward. Unfortunately, It never seems fast enough.

Keep pluggin' away Xara Group Ltd.

Fragments....

[stubbsuk]

I have to admit, a full Linux version would be most welcome (or a MacOS version). I would dearly like to switch to Linux, but I need XaraX, Sibelius, Photoshop, Nikon Capture... some companies, whose products are well-suited to the stable and secure Linux environment, refuse to port.

wW: you mention your feeling that Xara should have a dedicated programmer for XaraX as it's the flagship product. I couldn't agree more. The painfully slow pace of development and the lack of regular new releases is a funny way to treat your flagship software and is a pretty obvious reason for failing to sell shedloads. There is a dedicated user base already in existence... if a new version was released every 12/18 months, like Adobe does with their stuff, then that would be a steady income for Xara. As more features were added, then so the gap would narrow with Illustrator and DRAW. After all, DRAW is not quite up there with Illustrator, but is still used by a LOT of people because it is not far behind and is apparently easier to use (and of course cheaper).

gwpriester: agreed!! However, in my view adding more features and making improvements to areas of the software that are crushed by Illustrator would be a good way of attracting and retaining customers.

Anyway, thanks for the responses!! I hope this will turn into a positive thing and maybe one day soon I will be using XaraX on Linux, along with my other favourite applications

[Doug]

I would dearly like to switch to Linux, but I need XaraX, Sibelius, Photoshop, Nikon Capture... some companies, whose products are well-suited to the stable and secure Linux environment, refuse to port.

Why not use a dual boot system with XP/Linux? Works for me. I have a vfat partition that linux recognizes. When I have a file to transfer I can either use the vfat partition, a cd/dvd, or my external usb hd.

I fully see your point, as much as I would like to use Linux for everything, there are some programs that cannot yet be fully replaced. For example Cubase and other digital recording apps, Xara, OCR software etc. And before anybody mentions any Linux alternatives such as Rosegarden or Ardour to replace Cubase SX, well-I have tried them and they are not quite ready for prime time.

[stubbsuk]

Why not use a dual boot system with XP/Linux? Works for me. I have a vfat partition that linux recognizes. When I have a file to transfer I can either use the vfat partition, a cd/dvd, or my external usb hd.

I fully see your point, as much as I would like to use Linux for everything, there are some programs that cannot yet be fully replaced. For example Cubase and other digital recording apps, Xara, OCR software etc. And before anybody mentions any Linux alternatives such as Rosegarden or Ardour to replace Cubase SX, well-I have tried them and they are not quite ready for prime time.

I had dual-boot before, but to be honest, I ended up not using it at all because all my creative applications are on Windows (not to mention M$ Office). Linux is a nice system with lots of good (and free) apps, but that's a moot point if all the essential apps are on Windows/Mac.

So looks like it's Mac or Windows for me. Therefore, I'll settle for Xara pulling their socks up and cracking on with (that is adding features to and improving) XaraXtreme paid-for Windows version.

[eobet]

I applaud the open source and porting efforts of Xara. Once the application is up and running on all three major OS's, I hope that many talented people will come together and improve on the feature set.

However, I think Xara will have competition from Inkscape from now on. Bad timing, I guess.

[jens g.r. benthien]

I think Xara will have competition from Inkscape from now on

AFAIK Xara is cooperating with the developers of inkscape...

[eobet]

AFAIK Xara is cooperating with the developers of inkscape...

Hot damn! In what way and where can I read about it?

EDIT: Found one link...