Xara on Mac?

[gwpriester]

Steve

The problem with most design professionals is they are not computer and software enthusiasts. The use a computer to get their job done and what their software cannot do, they don't do.

I think in terms of keeping up with the state of the art, FreeHand (including FH 10 which I reviewed for Communication Arts Magazine--next issue) is light years behind. DRAW, Illustrator 10 and of course Xara X have much more evolved features. On the other hand, for someone in advertising, FreeHand is probably a good choice. It's text tools are very good, although maybe not as thorough as DRAW and Illustrator.

But more to the point, these guys don't spend time in conferences like this. They don't read computer magazines and most of all, they don't want to (god forbid) learn any thing new!

If the art director was creating web graphics, you probably would have had a better time getting his attention.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

Be It Sever So Humble...

[Ross Macintosh]

Question for Thomas: Sir, I read a while back that Xara was the result of 45 person years of programming. Do you know (or can you find out) what the current count is? I presume you folks put in a few hours creating the X version - hours probably not included in that old 45 person year number.

I have one more thing to add to my earlier post. When I used my powermac 6100/66 I had a 486mhz dos compatibility card in it running windows95 (I think). I used to run the first corelxara with the application residing on a scsi zip drive disc. Remarkably it performed reasonably well - all the problems I had related to the poor compatibility (ie weak printing) between the mac and the dos card. Because I couldn't print any of my xara creations it got me interested in web graphic development bacck in 1995.

Regards, Ross

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

[gwpriester]

I might point out that the Mac version of CorelDRAW 10, which was supposed to be released some time ago, has not been released, nor do I have any idea when it will be released.

Maybe it's time for the Mac users to see the light and come over to where the action is :-)

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

Be It Sever So Humble...

[Steve Newport]

Great responses guys! Some very good points. The whole reason I asked this is because I was at my Moms work the other day, she works at an advertising industry, and I was observing one of the artists for the day (Great job, isn't even work!!).
After seeing him work for a while I asked what vector program they used... He said freehand. So I was trying to sell him to Xara: I brought him to xara.com and showed him the works of Vladimir Konstantinovich then brought him here and showed him all you guys's stuff. After seeing him work in Freehand, it seemed sooo... unorganized and weak, and just knew Xara could do better, but this opinion was completely biased. So I wanted to let him try X out for a while to see if he liked it better and eventually get the company to start using that. Problem is, the whole company uses Macs [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img] ! Oh well, guess he'll have to waite. Thanks for the great discussion

Steve Newport

[Steve Newport]

I believe PC's are cheaper, but I guess it's an unwritten rule for the graphics industry that Macs are the way to go!? However, 3D applications are almost entirely PC spawned and used.

Steve Newport

[roman]

I think the most important is the perfect and skilled user, not the perfect system.

I know that it's my mistake that I can't get used to pshop and "industry standard" illustrator. But since I've got Xara everything looks so dumb and inefficient to me. Where is the problem? Please is there any serious article comparing possibilities and efficiency of Xara X and "Industry standard software" ?
[img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]

[Ross Macintosh]

I guess I *have* to reply to this thread seeing that I am a Macintosh! My first computer was a 8mhz MacSE - I still have it along with the first powermac (a 6100/66). These days the macs don't get turned on much. Sometimes my three year old turns on the MacSE and uses the clunky one-button mouse to locate and open the games he likes. The 6100 gets even less use.

At one time I was a Mac-addict. I was in love with a vector illustration program called 'Dream' which was a pumped up variation of the original MacDraw. (Little known fact: the guy who wrote MacDraw is the same guy who created EBay). I was probably one of just hundreds of users worldwide who used 'Dream'. It was a good intro for me to vector object-based illustration software.

I still like Macs but am happy using a pc. I find the biases of both camps too extreme. I have no doubt that the skills someone like Steve is developing using a pc will serve him well no matter which platform he ends up working with in the future. Sure, get enough exposure to macs now (before the job interviews) to see for yourself that they aren't that different. To me the platforms themselves aren't important, its the ability to use your brain to develop a illustration. Of course, the software you use can make things easier or harder. IMHO the operating system is even less important. A good designer like Gary could probably develop quite a nice illustration with a program as crude and limited as Microsoft Paint.

Although there are still many die-hard mac-based graphic design firms out there, I believe pc users aren't completely shut out. If it seems like the whole graphics world uses macs - open your eyes wider and expand your perspective. Thinking that macs dominate graphics is falling into a stereotype that doesn't reflect reality. There are so many different opportunities. The world is your oyster - go out and find some pearls.

Ultimately what matters most is not what school you went to, the style of clothes you wear, or the computer you use - it is how good you are. How good you are depends on *you*. Push yourself, absorb knowledge, seek out mentors, and, open your eyes wide and see the wonder of life itself.

Regards, Ross

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

[This message was edited by Ross Macintosh on July 04, 2001 at 20:02.]

[Steve Newport]

Can the new XaraX CD be installed on Macs, if not, is there any future plans on this. This question is because most all graphics & design agencies use Macs for there work, and I'm sure XaraX would be more popular if we extended it to all the platforms necessary, thanks for your help

Steve Newport

[Big Frank]

Ooooooooooooooooooooh, wonder how long before this post is deleted FFS

Just lock the damn thread if you dont want anybody to reply

[steve.ledger]

Take it easy please Frank..

You just got caught up in thread merging.
The other post was moved to the current 'Please Give to Mac Xara products' thread.

Your post then became irrelevant.

Moderation goes on all the time at TG, sometimes you notice it, mostly you don't