How about a new Mac version of Corel DRAW?

**rocket** · 15 March 2009, 04:55 AM

I doubt Corel will "die" as a direct result of not immediately porting over to Mac, but given Mac's ever rising market share, it wouldn't be a bad idea either. Just having a Mac version of CorelDRAW would show Corel's competition, namely Adobe, that they're here to play serious hard ball.

Corel's past bad marketing decisions are just that: in the past. And while Corel should be grateful to Microsoft for helping them out in tough times, I don't believe Corel should feel obligated now to limit it's marketing to only Windows-based PC's.

As for Painter, it shouldn't matter whether that program was originally designed for Mac or not. What's more important is to recognize that today's designers work on both Macs, and Windows. For a graphics software developer to not cater to both camps is simply bad marketing, in my opinion.

Likewise with CorelDRAW, so what if it was originally designed to work on Windows only? Times sure have changed since then. A successful, forward-thinking graphics software company must be willing to change with the times, and accommodate their existing and potential customers' choice of operating systems.

**steve.ledger** · 15 March 2009, 04:58 AM

Have you contacted Corel directly with your thoughts?

**rocket** · 15 March 2009, 02:56 PM

Why was my last reply not posted?

Oops! Sorry, I see now that it was.

No, I have not contacted Corel directly, yet anyway. Sounds like a good idea though. Thanks, Sledger.

**RedWombat** · 20 March 2009, 01:24 PM

I'm a long time Corel user, sincer ver 2. I also use AI and Xteme Pro.

Corel has good product. I've always liked how it worked particularly against AI. However, I don't think porting to the Mac would be a good idea for them right now.

They need to make their product better, especially if they're going to entice Mac users. They need to get more intuitive with the tool set they already have, like Xtreme, and stop adding new features continually. But most of all, they need to seriously ramp up Draw's engine.

It has become seriously bloated and extremely slooow. I need a graphics app that will keep up with me, not slow my workflow down. Xtreme rocks in this respect, and AI isn't so bad, but Corel, I rarely use it now because of it's performance.

You're not going to convert Mac users without some serious performance enhancements. Draw has got to impress not only with its tool set, but it also has to create that WOW, or COOL factor. That's what Mac users like. You have to blow them away to get their attention. Draw doesn't have that. That's why their last attempt failed.

Corel would get spanked if they ported their existing product to Mac.

As for Painter, it already had a loyal Mac following before Corel aquired it. They didn't need to do anything to maintain market share except not to screw up what they had. They've done well with that. The old Corel of a few years back would have tried to bundle Painter into the Draw suite. They've matured since the days of Copeland's leadership.

I think it could be a good idea under the right circumstances, just not now.

That's my 2 cents.

**steve.ledger** · 21 March 2009, 02:44 AM

Actually that was at least 5 cents, but well said http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/icons/icon14.gif

**rocket** · 22 March 2009, 04:50 AM

I think CorelDRAW, version X4 at least, contains a whole lot of WOW factor, that any Mac user would love. As for performance, I think it runs very fast. I'm running version X4 natively on a Mac with 12 GBs of RAM and a 512 MB Nvidia video card. Even running X4 under a virtual machine (via VMWare Fusion with 6 GBs dedicated RAM), X4 runs quite well.

Running CorelDRAW on a Mac is obviously not the issue here. Running CorelDRAW on a Mac without the need for purchasing a separate copy of Windows is.

**handrawn** · 22 March 2009, 07:11 AM

Originally Posted by rocket

I'm running version X4 natively on a Mac with 12 GBs of RAM and a 512 MB Nvidia video card.

now I'm confused - I thought the point was you couldn't do this.....

EDIT - ah, you mean installing windows on an intel-mac - right fair enough......

**rocket** · 23 March 2009, 03:24 PM

I must admit it probably won't affect me if CorelDRAW is never again ported over to the Mac. I love, and need, CorelDRAW enough that I don't see myself giving up on it anytime soon.

And unlike my many fellow Mac users, I also do love Windows. One of the main reasons I bought a Mac was so I could run both OS X and Windows (Vista) together on the same machine. It's like having the best of both worlds.

But there are those Mac users who, mostly out of ignorance, hate Windows and will never use it. It's those people who would benefit most out of having a version of CorelDRAW made just for them.

Were Mac users' numbers shrinking, Corel would not necessarily be wrong in passing them off. But the fact remains that Mac users are ever on the increase. Corel must realize this too. If they don't, then they're just as guilty of being ignorant.

**ChiefLee** · 05 May 2009, 12:45 PM

It's a business and positioning decision as much as anything. When Mac users love their Illustrator. And the colleges pretty much push Mac and Adobe products, why would Corel want to take them on when they can carve out their own niche?