[RAMWolff44]

and if Linux desktop keeps getting better and more popular a Linux version as well??

All the best

[ivan louette]

WOW !!!

ivan

[jens g.r. benthien]

It's not a trivial amount of work by any means, to create Linux or Mac versions. There is quite a lot of user interface code that is Windows specific, but it does mean it's a more realistic possibility that a Mac version of Xara X could now be created.

What I don't understand is: why do you want to port Xara for an OS with the smallest market share? Linux does have a much larger market share than Apple, and it's like a desert regarding to graphics. Xara could be the first one to offer a professional graphics package for Linux and be a market leader in that area. OK, there is one app out for Linux, but that's kind of outdated and way too expensive for what it does.

I don't think that a price tage would scare off the Linux users, because you can get the OS for free (download versions) or 3 Euros in a magazine (c't computer magazine Germany, SuSE 9.3 on a double sided DVD). That means a Linux user does have more funds to invest in good software

just my 2 cents

[Charles Moir]

But you have to admit that even if the Mac desktop market share is smaller than Linux (I thought they were on a par) that way more Mac users are graphics users (amateur and professional), and there isn't any decent, low cost, drawing package on the Mac either.

But basically, you're right and I agree it would be great to have it on both platforms. How we do this is another, and much more difficult question.

[AntonM]

Hmm... RISC OS is a development of Xara's original platform, and it's a RISC (obviously) processor (XScale, which is a development of the ARM, and now owned by Intel). Yes, Acorn died, but RISC OS persists, stubbornly refusing to go.

Of course, I can understand that Xara may not want to put any resources into porting for what must be a mere sliver of the potential market, but would they be willing to allow others within the RISC OS community to do it?

[jens g.r. benthien]

that way more Mac users are graphics users

The reason is obvious: they don't have a functioning software for graphics jobs. All they have is a finger cracking Gimp for bitmaps and two vector packages which are still at beta 0.4 stages (fast and buggy Sodipodi and Inkscape, which prefers to crash instead to zoom in or out . The higher the version numbers, the more bugs they produce.

Most of the art for Linux is made with Windows and Adobe products - there is a hughe gap for something like Xara...

[RAMWolff44]

I totally agree with Jens!!

Linux will keep getting stronger, we hope, and why not have Xara X and Xara Ltd. in the fore front of the vector corner?? I know it's harder than it sounds, I'm no code expert but if Charles says it can be done then I'm behind it as much as I can be (says in the very meek voice of an end user)

All the best

[Rocko]

I agree with the Linux idea!

Does any one have tried Xara under Wine? (http://www.winehq.com)
I really consider a waste of time and money porting to Apple because Apple/Adobe is a religion, a truly dogma for many graphic designers. It is really hard to offer a solution to fanatics that do not see a tool in a pragmatic way or people without the skills to learn more than one software. Many design students and professionals are mostly Apple/Adobe's technicians and at the end are the companies hiring people to work with the common hardware/software solution.

By other hand, in the Linux arena are companies looking for truly better solutions and they agree to use products apart of the main stream. The perfect place for Xara.

Sincerely,

Rocko

[jens g.r. benthien]

Does any one have tried Xara under Wine?

Yes, the previous version did run under Wine, but not Xara X1 because some code had been modified to enable a better icon display.

I've stopped using Wine a year ago - too much hassle, bringing back crashes and problems to a stable OS.

[John Rayner]

Xara under Linux? Bye-bye Microsoft...