Hi NielB,

Your issue with a Linux version of Xara is understandable but sadly, has been argued to death. The experience between Xara and the OpenSource world were fairly undesirable, and I would think not something Xara would eagerly jump into again.. and justly so.
I think a better approach, would be to put together an official poll, to see what percentage of Linux users would be willing to purchase a ported version at the fair market price, as well as to purchase the upgrades, then send those results to Magiks (I always get their name wrong apologies) which is the company which now owns Xara.
If they felt there is sufficient evidence that there is a market to be had there and profit from... we might be closer to the dream. But then... after that, comes the real and often ugly work of finding Linux devs interested in working on the project. Not to mention the various based distros... I would think Ubuntu would be one of the first to benefit from such a project... (they always are)
I am one who fully agrees that I would gladly pay the full cost of Xara, ported to the Linux platform... but, there is just so much more to the idea than meets the eye, and honestly, I could not tell you if the desired results would be obtainable.

No matter how well it might go.. at one point or another... those "open-source" GNU fanatics will rear their ugly heads.. and growl out their hypocritical cries about "freedom" and what-not, and spoil the whole thing.
I know that more and more, Linux users are beginning to feel the same way about being able to benefit from like 3rd party software companies... but, until a large enough group can join together, and keep the crusaders at bay, so as not to scare off any potential takers.... nothing like this will ever happen.

I dream of the day I can purchase XaraPro to run on my Linux machine.. with all the same features and abilities as the Windows version... and so do many others... but we need to have something more than just a dream/desire to back it all up... we need hard facts, figures, and numbers to present to the manufacturer, to prove to them that they stand to make a decent profit from such a venture... This is, afterall.. what business is all about.

I am fully available to open discussions elsewhere, to try to get something going on this... just say the word.. and we can get to work. I cannot make promises to the success of such a project... but only that we will never know, if we don't make the effort.