Xara WebStyle 2 Just Released

[gwpriester]

I was about to nominate Jay for the Klaus Nordby Premature Exit Award [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

<a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~garypriester">
he tub mob relieves</a>

[roman]

I suppose that the rest of the proces is made with a logical (thus simple) scritping language. Shouldn't be hard to use it for someone who know basics of programming.

[Ross Macintosh]

Kate - I had no doubt that Xara Ltd. already understood the potential of facilitating template creation. Nice to see Jens also seeing potential in it. His 'skins' analogy is a good one. Another is the successful community that has grown up around Maxis software's "The Sims" game and its unique sharing concepts (now copied by other games companies).

(An aside: Jens did you ever see Xara's zy.com system - it is like webstyle but uses an online engine. Seems to me it has great potential for partnering with other ISP's - there's a hint-hint in there for you and your partners).

I think creating custom templates could be useful for professional web developers to use for their own sites. Likewise they'd be great for people contributing to office intranets. Everyone contributing to the intranet using the same official template to maintain corporate identity.

Anyways - I'm glad to read that Xara Ltd. hasn't abandoned the idea.

Regards, Ross

PS - Klaus - you have lots of friends and admirers here. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[Soquili]

... your favorite graphics software developement company. I bought WebStyle 2 today after receiving an email from XaraClub. I only tinkered with WebStyle 1, and will probably only tinker with WebStyle 2. However, I see any source of income for Xara is beneficial in the long run. At $69US for full product or $29US for upgrade, it's a bargain.

Soquili [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[traceyp]

I have stated in other messages I have posted that I am NOT a graphic designer, never will be - but I do my best. For me, XaraX is the best and easiest tool I have for what I do and it has got me out of a spot or two as well.

Whilst Jens is free to express his opinion, I really do feel he is out on a limb here. The only one he is thinking about is Jens. He's not thinking about the likes of myself and others like me who are NOT graphic designers. We need help our graphics and any tool which is going to help me produce graphics which are at least acceptable will be welcome.

As others have already said, Webstyle won't interfere with his work if he is half the artist he believes himself to be. Jens appears to have a fair belief in his ability and good on him and I envy anyone with that ability - Jens and people like him should consider themselves extremely fortunate. But please Jens, don't come down on the many more of us who are not blessed with your skill and ability. I wish I were a graphic designer, but I'm not. I have to do the best I can with what little ability the good Lord has bessed me with. If that means purchasing a copy of Webstyle, then so be it. I can't afford to employ someone such as Jens otherwise nothing would get done - I can't afford to purchase his services, so I have to do it myself as have many in my position.

I'm certainly not ashamed to say I shall have a look at Webstyle - but whether I purchase a copy is another matter as I'm not exactly flush with money and probably never will be. Nevertheless if it looks worth it I shall get a copy.

Tracey

[smorg]

The product on the PC Pro cover disc is the full version, unrestricted, for free (except for the cost of magazine).

[Ross Macintosh]

Smorg - Are you sure? I wonder if it was a mistake.

Regards, Ross

<a href=http://www.designstop.com/>DesignStop.Com</a>

[eky]

not Webstyle 2

[Erik Heyninck]

What made Jens angry (in my opinion) is how he, after years of hard work and study, interpreted the false promises made in the publicity:
"...means that anyone can now create professional-quality custom graphics in seconds. No skill required!" Seen from a minimal distance, one has to be extremely naive to even consider the thought that some program could replace years of experience.

But:
It is never what one reads or hears, nor what is written or said, but how one interprets that causes reaction. (Plain English can be so charmingly impersonal...)

Like climbing a mountain, only to discover that there was also a train going up to the platform you arrived at... If, at that moment, you did not do the climbing for personal developement but for arriving up there, you'll certainly have to cope with a certain disappointment.. BUT: you learned how to climb and you can go where there are no trains or "cheat ways" (sorry for this expression.)

There will always be occasions when a particular skill is needed that no machine or automatic process can compete with.

If you don't work against time, time often works for you.

[Ross Macintosh]

If Jens is still upset it would be my opinion that the reason is that people seem to think he's worried about loosing work to webstyle users. I don't think that was ever his concern yet almost everyone in response to him has focused on that.

I think what Jens was saying is the association between Xara X and WebStyle weakens the credibility of Xara X as a professional tool. Continuing on with how I think Jens was thinking, if Xara Ltd. wants to position Xara as at least an equal to the professional tools market leaders then products like WebStyle work against that. One message in the WebStyle marketing copy is that Xara Ltd. doesn't repect the work of pros.

In my opinion it *is* important for Xara to watch that it doesn't shoot itsef in the foot. As stated above, allowing creation of custom templates in Xara X that work in Webstyle could bring the two products together. WebStyle would then become a useful tool for professional. Indeed if Xara Ltd. teamed up with SWiSH and bundled a template-creating Xara X with WebStyle and SWiSH - into a suite IMHO they could really get noticed. (I'm not talking about one bloated application with all those functions - just a marketing suite).

Regards, Ross

<a href=http://www.designstop.com/>DesignStop.Com</a>