Freebie

[handrawn]

good

[Rik]

Seems to be a version of Xtreme 5.
Whist I find PhotoShop difficult to use and have not really produced anything in PhotoShop, can this Photo & Graphic Designer 5 really be called a PhotoShop Killer?

I'm not an Xpert on Xara or PhotoShop, but, I'm sure many TG members use both products.

Yup. It's free and that's great.

[The Alien]

Seems to be a version of Xtreme 5.
can this Photo & Graphic Designer 5 really be called a PhotoShop Killer?

I myself don't use PS. But calling something an X-killer is a buzzword in the advertising industry to draw attention (negative and positive) to your product. And it's often, if not always, used in vain. Everytime I see it I roll my eyes. Not that I'm suggesting that P&GD is a bad product though.

[mg.architect]

Well in my case it is a "PhotoShop Killer".
After using both for a while in my work, and quickly learning the capabilities of Xtreme, I removed PhotoShop completely and now only use Xara Pro 4 (now supplemented with Xtreme 5 :-)
I can do everything I need without PhotoShop.
On the negative side I have an extensive library, that's no longer used, of 'how-to' PhotoShop books. They are now out of date though.
m

[Rik]

Well in my case it is a "PhotoShop Killer".
After using both for a while in my work, and quickly learning the capabilities of Xtreme, I removed PhotoShop completely and now only use Xara Pro 4 (now supplemented with Xtreme 5 :-)
I can do everything I need without PhotoShop.
On the negative side I have an extensive library, that's no longer used, of 'how-to' PhotoShop books. They are now out of date though.
m

I can see you love Xara.
Guess what? I love it too.
So, my comments were not about whether you or someone loves Xara or PhotoShop.
I believe that the two are very different products so a comparison is not really possible.

I am simply questioning whether a statement like 'Photoshop Killer?' is an apt one?

I am simply questioning whether an $89 programme (that probably does not have all the photo tools you might need) can really be a Photoshop Killer?

Signed: Rik - The Biggest Xara fan in the world.

[MarcT]

I also felt that the "photoshop killer" appellation was unfocused and somewhat misleading.
I guess it's some quote out of a review.

Heck of a bargain though.

Marc

[handrawn]

'photoshop killiller' is a bit of magix I think - and it shows where their target market is ....

[Rod]

PC World named it that after finding it was the fastest rendering engine on the planet.
ohhh about 1000 times faster than Photo Shops rendering engine.

I would say in that aspect, Xara spanks Adobe.

[The Alien]

Quick heads-up:
In addition to what mg.architect said about unwanted programs like the toolbar, the installer also installs a service called FABS.exe, which is described in the services list as FABS - file change and backup server.
To remove this service, go to Start > Run, type services.msc
Find FABS in the list. Right click > Properties. In this screen, copy paste the Path to executable to a text file (or just use your memory) so you know where FABS.exe is located on the harddrive. Then click Stop to stop the service.
And then just google how to remove a service in your OS. I'm using XP so I had to start up Registry Editor, go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es
Find the FABS folder in there, select it and delete it. It will still show up in the services list, but will disappear after a reboot.
Reboot. Go to the path of FABS.exe which you copied earlier. For me it was under
C:\Program Files\Common Files\MAGIX Services\Database\bin\
You can delete this. I decided to move (instead of delete) the entire MAGIX Services folder to elsewhere to be on the safe side. P&GD still works fine here so I think I'm safe.

Oh, if you have other MAGIX programs you should reconsider before doing all of this. I don't know if it will cause conflicts with other MAGIX programs

[mg.architect]

I didn't have FABS in mine.
But after installation I did go to Start->Control Panel->Add Remove Programs and removed "Magix Online Print Services" and "Magix Screen Share".
Maybe doing that removed the FABS?
I use XP also.
m