Should I Still Upgrade Xara Photo & Graphic Designer?

I have been a delighted user of Xara since shortly after Xara Xtreme was new (and I still lament the silly name change...Xara Xtreme was a great name).

I upgraded last year when required to do so for the new annual approach but I am wondering if it is necessary any longer. It seems that new features are pretty skimpy. I have no need for the online catalog or the Free Photo Manager, and I would trust the free PC checkup about as far you would trust your auto mechanic with heart surgery. But I do want to keep current on Xara Xtreme. ;-)

The upgrade cost is not a problem. I just don't want to waste money on bloatware if the base product is not being improved.

If I am missing something, please set me straight and I'll pony up the forty bucks in a New York minute.

Thanks!
tom

p.s. I noticed on other posts that the upgrade offer expired on June 28. I saw that last week too. Today it is giving me until July 5. I suspect the update deadline is refreshed regularly as a call to action. t

Sounds like you have already thought this through and made your decision. :)

If money is not an object, and if you don't need the online catalog, then hold off and wait to see if one of the future updates includes any features you cannot live without.

OTOH, upgrading funds product development.

No, I had not made that decision yet but you may have just helped. I have always upgraded whenever new features were added -- whether I needed them or not. So, "cannot live without" is not the issue...I just want all the features available for the time when I might need them.

Good point about funding future development.

Buying before I find out that July 5 is the real, hard deadline! ;-)

Thanks!
tom

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gwpriester

OTOH, upgrading funds product development.

---

Then the question arises, funding the development of which product? The desktop line or the new Cloud thing?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Boy

Then the question arises, funding the development of which product? The desktop line or the new Cloud thing?

---

Both and ...

Desktop development will/is returning.

While I bark, pi$$ and moan, I do have some faith left in the actual developers. I gotta think the team is small. The organization is likely top-heavy, resources stretched thin and all that. But the people doing the actual work? All I can think of in a word is they are dedicated people who have neither control nor empowerment.

While management may be betting on the next "Canva" or "Lucidpress," they too need to pay bills and if desktop is funding the next best thing, they have to develop them until their "best thing" sinks or swims.

But I do have some faith left for the developers.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mwenz

Both and ...

Desktop development will/is returning.

While I bark, pi$$ and moan, I do have some faith left in the actual developers. I gotta think the team is small. The organization is likely top-heavy, resources stretched thin and all that. But the people doing the actual work? All I can think of in a word is they are dedicated people who have neither control nor empowerment.

While management may be betting on the next "Canva" or "Lucidpress," they too need to pay bills and if desktop is funding the next best thing, they have to develop them until their "best thing" sinks or swims.

But I do have some faith left for the developers.

---

I totally agree with you that there are some great developers at Xara who are capable of doing great work -- just look at the programs they crafted -- but they, of course, don't determine what projects they work on. That's decided by management or, more likely in this case, by the owners, i.e., Magix.

Xara is not so small and the company is growing. They have a total of 48 team members (http://www.xara.com/about-us). Look also at the job openings (http://www.xara.com/jobs), they're for the development of the Cloud, not the desktop programs.

Sure, I can understand when a company diverts some of its resources to the development of new products and/or markets but when they increase XDP's yearly update-service price by some 45% (!) and at the same time decrease the number and quality of the actual updates by a similar percentage, I look elsewhere to spend my money. With great regret, I should add, and with some faint hope they will still come to their senses.

For now, I have come to accept that I and many others at TG are no longer considered part of their target clientele, except as buyers of a dying cash cow. This will be the first year that I will pass on the yearly upgrades/update service. Sadly.

Hi Boy,
You are not allone. For the "shame" they deliver with the V15 I'm not willng to pay for renew.

In my totally personal and subjective opinion, you should not upgrade.
From what I read you will get exactly what you do NOT want: Bloatware without any new functions to speak of.

When I finally upgraded from v4 to v11 because of a great sale, about the only "good" thing I got out of it were smart guides.

I am Xaran since day one by the way, actually since it was called "Art Studio" and I used to love it.
Recently I have acquired a competitor starting with "A" (but not ending in "dobe"). Cheap as chips, no subscription, new functions and possibilities that will blow your mind, honestly!

I am not saying that everything is perfect, namely the workflow and coloring I like much better in Xara.
But they are right now, where Xara should have been 5 years ago and with a clear statement.

Since Xara sold out to Magix and is concentrating on the cloudy stuff only, I am not holding my breath for the next version worth paying for.