Can we get this software ported to MAC?

[rsallen]

PLEASE - PLEASE port this program to a MAC version!!!!!!!! Even a UNIX version would work for me if I could run it in an X11 shell! Just stop playing the Windows only game!!!

[Albacore]

Do you not think that Adobe has the Mac neatly sown up for the last12 to 15 years and it would be hard for a small company like Xara to break into?

[Soquili]

The Mac is still only 9.93% of the computer market world wide. Not a very large community to target even if every Mac owner bought Xara Xtreme.

Not enough return on the time and money investment to create a native Mac version.

Linux is only 0.83% of the world wide computer market.

The figures were taken from TUAW an unofficial Apple weblog http://www.tuaw.com/2009/02/02/apple...windows-drops/

[revshredd]

Gee, Apple sold 2,524,000 macs in the first quarter of 2009. don't forget that those numbers you stated include business users as well. It is much closer if you compare the number of HOME pc users with the number of HOME mac users. And the gap is closing all the time. Besides, you consider 10 million new macs sold in addition to the ones already out there not worth persuing? If just the 2,524,000 people that just bought macs bought the software, that would be a nice chunk of change. I for one would buy it today!

[Soquili]

Yes I do consider the relatively low number of Macs sold in the first quarter of 2009 insignificant.

During that same first quarter of 2009 PCs sold 67.2 Million units and that is a 23% drop from the same quarter in 2008.

How Xara Group Ltd feels about it is entirely up to them.

[bcire68]

I don't have an opinion one way or another on this topic as I am a PC user anyway. However, it seems to me that there are a fair number of Mac users that recognize the quality of the program. So much so, that they are willing to use the program on PC even though they are dedicated Mac users. And, I'm sure that a Mac version would bring new converts, but you have to subtract all of the current users that are Mac supporters, as they would not be "new" users of the software. I'm sure that these folks would be great standard bearers for Xara into the Mac community. I am also sure that if Xara thought it could capture 25% of the new computers sold in any market, they would jump at the chance. However that is not a realistic number for a program like Xara. It just isn't a "Must have" or even a "Nice to have" for 25% of the population. None of this is intended as an argument either for or against porting Xara to Mac. I am sure that the question all comes down to return on investment (ROI) the way that any sound business decision is made.

Just my $.02

Eric

[gnurf]

The Mac is still only 9.93% of the computer market world wide. Not a very large community to target even if every Mac owner bought Xara Xtreme.

Not enough return on the time and money investment to create a native Mac version.

Linux is only 0.83% of the world wide computer market.

The figures were taken from TUAW an unofficial Apple weblog http://www.tuaw.com/2009/02/02/apple...windows-drops/

That's just statistics and numbers! How many percent of PC users vs. Mac users are using graphics software? A great amount of the PC market is for office type use (word processing etc) while the Mac market is primarily in the creative niche like music, video and graphics. If it wasn't for Xara Xtreme I would probably be a Mac user by now, because Windows Vista was the last nail in the PC coffin.

[Soquili]

Eric has hit the nail on the head. There wouldn't be enough return on investment to expend the resources to create a Mac version.

First a number of Mac developers would need to be hired. Not many of them out there that are not already working for Adobe.

Second would be about 100 man years of development to create a Mac version of the core software (no interface or other features). This would be time paying those Mac developers without any return on your investment. So if you could hire 100 Mac developers and pay them for a year at a conservative $50,000 USD each. You would be out at least $5,000,000 USD and still not have a working Mac version ready for release.

How many small companies in these economic hard times can afford that?

[Bob Hahn]

Well I guess that settles that. Guess I'll stop my dreaming and seriously start looking at Adobe Illustrator for future projects on my Mac.

So why doesn't Xara try and make a deal with Apple then? All Mac's come with bundled software, but nothing for creating graphics. All Mac users have to purchase a copy of Adobe Illustrator if they want it. If the Mac market is so small, why does Adobe bother having Mac versions? Why not just stick with PC's?

Anyway, have Apple the rights to sell Xtreme for the Mac and Xara keeps the PC rights. Not designed to replace Adobe Illustrator, but definitely a cheaper alternative. Every Mac sale of Xtreme could lead to multiple PC Xtreme sales. Here I go... dreaming again. Gee, that didn't last long.

Oh well.

[Soquili]

So you would have Xara expend a possible $5,000,000 USD for development just to give it to Apple?

What is it about economics that people do not get about software development? It costs time and money to develop software.