Xara X discounts

[Sheff]

I just got an email saying I could buy Xara X for $34US until May 21.

Are they even reading this forum? By now they should realize that their users are still waiting for an update patch or a new verion. Xara is already over 3 years old!

The email also contained a link to their reviews page. When you click on the first three reviews to read the whole article it takes you to a dead end. I think this is just another example of Xara's lack of paying attention. When you send out an email with a link, make sure the link is working. Otherwise you look like a damn fool.

Xara's problem has NEVER been it's price, but rather their lack of support for their products. They release software that ALMOST gets the job done, but you still need to buy some other software to complete the task.

Now they've seemed to have focused on renting existing java applets to people on a subscription basis. I really hope this is bringing in money for them.

I wish they would focus their efforts and pay attention to their loyal user base. I really think they should follow Adobe's example with Photoshop. Take a good product and continually make it better.

The ONLY reason I would consider buying Xara again at this price would be to give it to Print bureaus so I won't have to constantly go through the ungodly hassle of converting Xara files into a more useful format.

Xara, please, please, please go back to this link and read what your customers want.

Sheffield Abella
sheff@sheff.com
www.sheff.com

[Sheff]

I just got an email saying I could buy Xara X for $34US until May 21.

Are they even reading this forum? By now they should realize that their users are still waiting for an update patch or a new verion. Xara is already over 3 years old!

The email also contained a link to their reviews page. When you click on the first three reviews to read the whole article it takes you to a dead end. I think this is just another example of Xara's lack of paying attention. When you send out an email with a link, make sure the link is working. Otherwise you look like a damn fool.

Xara's problem has NEVER been it's price, but rather their lack of support for their products. They release software that ALMOST gets the job done, but you still need to buy some other software to complete the task.

Now they've seemed to have focused on renting existing java applets to people on a subscription basis. I really hope this is bringing in money for them.

I wish they would focus their efforts and pay attention to their loyal user base. I really think they should follow Adobe's example with Photoshop. Take a good product and continually make it better.

The ONLY reason I would consider buying Xara again at this price would be to give it to Print bureaus so I won't have to constantly go through the ungodly hassle of converting Xara files into a more useful format.

Xara, please, please, please go back to this link and read what your customers want.

Sheffield Abella
sheff@sheff.com
www.sheff.com

[gnurf]

...and I replied and said I would gladly pay for an UPGRADE. And i also pointed out that should read this forum about those other issues. Lets see if they bother to answer (but I guess I already know the answer to that).

-Paul

[Phillip]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sheffield Abella:
I just got an email saying I could buy Xara X for $34US until May 21.

Are they even reading this forum? By now they should realize that their users are still waiting for an update patch or a new verion. Xara is already over 3 years old!

The email also contained a link to their reviews page. When you click on the first three reviews to read the whole article it takes you to a dead end. I think this is just another example of Xara's lack of paying attention. When you send out an email with a link, make sure the link is working. Otherwise you look like a damn fool.

Xara's problem has NEVER been it's price, but rather their lack of support for their products. They release software that ALMOST gets the job done, but you still need to buy some other software to complete the task.

Now they've seemed to have focused on renting existing java applets to people on a subscription basis. I really hope this is bringing in money for them.

I wish they would focus their efforts and pay attention to their loyal user base. I really think they should follow Adobe's example with Photoshop. Take a good product and continually make it better.

The ONLY reason I would consider buying Xara again at this price would be to give it to Print bureaus so I won't have to constantly go through the ungodly hassle of converting Xara files into a more useful format.

Xara, please, please, please go back to this http://talkgraphics.infopop.net/1/Op...8&m=6621958395 and read what your customers want.

Sheffield Abella
sheff@sheff.com
www.sheff.com<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>



It doesn’t really matter if they read this forum or not. In the big picture, we are dealing with owners who are not competent to run this particular program. They have no conception of marketing, and what it will take to continue to keep Xara alive. We are not talking about advancement or even update roll-outs. Incompetent leadership has no bounds and one only has to merely look at Corel’s big mess. Plenty of ideas have been constructively advanced toward a strong and selective direction for Xara. It will have no effect. You are not going to survive by selling $50 programs. Xara is dying. It will only survive if new ownership takes over. This is a big gamble. Metacreations was broken up and some parts survived because of outstanding leadership (Carrara’s Antoine Clappier). A far superior product level from Micrografx over the years was systematically destroyed and then finished off by Corel (look at Micrografx’s old Simply 3D program to see how far ahead of everyone they were). Any survivability must have a loyal user base and this could, by itself, make for Xara’s survival. Get over the fact, that the current owners might take it somewhere…they will not! Enough clamoring from the mass of concerned users might steer them toward a receptive new owner. Anyway you look at it, be prepared to roll-the-dice. Better programs then Xara have met similar fates.

Phillip

[Sheff]

I agree that it seems like Xara will only survive and continue if someone else takes over it's production and distribution.

I really only care about Xara X. That was their most practical product. Everything else was a nice try.

However, I really don't think anyone else will likely approach them to take Xara and code off their hands. With Illustrator entrenched as industry standard, what company would want to take on that juggernaut? I really think that there is too much missing and too much that needs to be added to Xara X for an outside company to catch up with other apps.

I just keep hoping for the outside possibility that the Xara team will get their act together.

Sheffield Abella
sheff@sheff.com
www.sheff.com

[DeepX]

Cutting your prices by that much suggests their desperate to raise some money especially as they keep have these discounts offers. Like to hear from Xara why they keep having offers ever few weeks.

[Phillip]

An internal option of ownership always has possibilities and the right influence level has to be present. Usually a lead programmer with strong charismatic is brought to the forefront. The strongest position for the latter is too have been extremely visible from within the company and acknowledged by the user community (again a strong example of this is Carrara’s Antoine Clappier). It also helps to have secondary and positives forces working for you. Some of these even take the form of nationalistic influences. Xara’s ownership is closed and only in a few instances have former company workers made their presence known in newsgroup communications. If you could come up with an ownership symbol, what would it be for Xara? For me (and which the company takes great pride in exposing) is the company castle. Furthermore I ask: from the highest observation tower, what do you see scattered around the out lying grounds? Could it be so many sheep?

Phillip

[DeepX]

Xara is a family firm but largely run by one personwho makes the important decisions. Fine when he makes the right decisions but bad - real bad - when he doesn't. That seems to be the case right now. No new products little development of existing products. Marketings crap because no one at Xara seems to realise you have to invest in marketing for it to work. Looks like the current marketing strategy is if in doubt, run a limited run discount.
Sad to see a product with so much potential going down tthe pan.

[Jonathan Payne]

DeepX: I was wondering if you could email me at jpaynejm@dsl.pipex.com. I just wanted to ask you something outside of the forum.

Jonathan

[jens g.r. benthien]

I certainly don't want to contribute to rumors about the company Xara, but what I read really scares me.

Anyway, for me there is one single point to focus on: the software Xara X. You **own** it, it's on your CD, the 2.2 patch is on your hard drive. So be realistic: what **can** happen? Nothing. You can use your tool as long as you want to. It will not terminate, destroy itself or render unusable after a certain time span.

Look, I'm still using a fantastic software that had been developed 1996. That means it's 7 years 'old' by now. No update, no upgrade, nothing. The company is drop dead for 3 years now. But what the heck, the features in this great software are still far ahead of any of today's 'competitors'. The only drawback are the filenames, which are limited to the old DOS 8.3 convention.

In short words: even though I paid a lot more for Xara X than the 'on sale' prices today, I work with it, churning out great results. And I can imagine to use it even in 4 years, on a true 64 bit monster machine with 10 GHz and 20 megs RAM. Why? Because it's intuitive, extremely fast and precise. And best of all: it features a very small footprint on the hard drive - perfect for my 'old' (three years, 30 MHz, 192 megs RAM, 6 GB hard drive) laptop, to run stunning presentations at clients locations.

Xara X is the most creative tool you can find now **and** in the future. Look at the results some of our Russian friends have done with it - remember the lady on the stage, Conan and all the other images?

Before you complain there isn't any new version, please do yourself a favor and check what's really in the package, what the current version can do for you. Then, if you should ever reach a creative limit with this great tool, you might consider to scream for a new version. Unless you come up with anything better than the top range of artists, designers, illustrators etc in this forum, keep on learning and discovering the power instead of complaining.

I compare the situation to that of photography: I still own and use my 20 year young Nikon single lens reflex camera, a Linhof 6x7 of the sixties. For me there is no reason to 'upgrade' to a new digi cam, because with 35 mm film I have a whopping 20 million pixel resolution compared to the crappy 5 megabit of the digicams. With one set of batteries I can operate the Nikon for at least 2 years - in the jungle in a humid environment, in the desert, in ice and snow. I am independent from hi-tech and unreliable lithium batteries. Best of all: I know my cameras inside out.

However, there are millions of people who purchase a new camera every two or four years, just because they think it will result in better pictures. Wrong! If they don't know how to 'compose' a picture, the result will always be the same dull stuff.

Don't make Xara a victim, make it a winner in your toolbox.

A last word: in my humble opinion this superb tool could be marketed much better. The trick is not to lower the price, but to raise it: give it a new catching name, establish a new company to market it, and add a price tag of US$ 349. This is the **true** value of the tool. Chances are high it will receive rave reviews from the 'industry standard' users. In today's marketing scam world, the people want to be cheated all day long. Too much hot air around...

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

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If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
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