if, like you and me bob, all you use the program for is to create graphics then what you say is true enough; i don't use the OCC, hardly ever design templates, but there are creators who do, who need this asset downloaded at the very least

Xara have nailed their colours very firmly to the online/cloud mast - it is indicative of who they see their core market/customers as: websites and print

one of these days, i see it comming, i will migrate my xara work entirely over to affinity; as it is, all my DTP is there, and most of my xara work now is legacy - and once again, the affinity version upgrade from ver 7 to ver 8 is completely free and unrestricted for existing customers

it is clear who the xara/magix model benefits [most] and that is them; they as good as said that their cash-flow would improve as a result and the commercial side of me hopes for their sake that it did - just as it hopes online/cloud never becomes a millstone round their [or anyone elses] neck in a crisis, international or otherwise.... but using it day to day [other than for secondary/offsite backup] is not the way I like to work.. call it prudence... call it experience borne of a pre-millennium world that got used to not taking such things for granted