Thanks Bruce and thanks, Larry—

I really don't know how to reply to someone when they ask me, "So you run the Xara Xone. Why didn't you do that piece in Xara?"

I use Xara Designer every day, it's the hub of all the tools I use, but I don't make work hard for myself when I have an idea that's best expressed using specific tools. That's not being a "loyalist"; that's just masochistic. Funny: for decades, I did what people considered to be pretty accomplished pen and inks, and pencil sketches, and not once did someone ask me whether I used a Ticonderoga, or a Castell-Faber pencil. Now there's so much branding with software, one gets labeled a "Photoshoppist", or a "Xaraist" or whatever!

My agent and I pitched the Xara Official Guide for years, and I think when version 4 was out, I did this as a cover illustration, using both Xara and a modeling program.

Click image for larger version.  Name: Xara-book-cover.jpg  Views: 206  Size: 97.7 KB  ID: 92040

I guess the publisher who finally bought the title felt that the "Swiss Army knife" wasn't a good metaphor for the program. I guess you could run with Xara and hurt yourself if you fell.

My Best,

Gary