Hello illusionz,

Re: "Can Xara or Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended do more? Which is all around better? In your opinion."

They have a different approach. There IS a large overlap. Function for function, Photoshop probably has more... but in terms of taking what you want to do and helping you make it reality, I would vote for Xara almost every time. Additionally, Xara is just plain more fun to use and that means, even if it is WORK that you are doing, it will feel like PLAY. That "feature" has tremendous VALUE!!!

I agree with James A... try Xara and take your time with each of the tools (there are many tutorials available) and see what each does. Before you know it, you'll load it up and approach things with confidence that you have the right tool for the job.

Peace and good luck

James