Hi:
Would enoy some feedback on this one.
I've been reflecting on what I actually like about the program, especially versus other graphics apps that I've tried, and would like to hear what other people think.
Let's discount that this is open source, at least for now. It seems as though most are trying to copy Photoshop and Illustrator. I've got to admit, I like Adobe interfaces, at least versus the old (and ex) Macromedia interfaces. And they are feature-rich apps, you betcha'. The downside, from the beginning of my acquaintance with Adobe almost five years ago, was that it did not work the way I thought it should. This is supposed to be faster and more responsive, it's a computer!! I was in Photoshop last night, CS, and decide to lay out a simple illustration. Could not even change the color of a rectangle without deleting (or undoing). And this crazed thing costs $600 plus, U.S. ???!!! I'll grant you, Photoshop is not an illustration app, and does a good job of processing photos. But wow, for all the changes in it, all the bells and whistles, it still has no immediacy, everything takes a minute to process, even on a faster computer. And looking at the filters, I sometimes have to look at the effects I want to apply through a small, thumbnail size image. missing details and often having to redo effects with adjustments, multiple times. Okay, on to Illustrator, better, but still not quite there. Again, not as much immediacy, still some issues with thumbnail-size previews, ugghhh! Enough negatives!
Xara LX, crashes and lockups on occasion, is still faster! Immediacy, feathering, beveling and contouring, these ARE a few of my favorite things! I have been more productive with this program, than any other. And muuchhh better quality! Been good for my creativity. We all like filters and plugins, but I'm finding they can be distracting, and slower for real work and finishing a project.
And finally, I realize that things are fun in any graphics app, but are a real joy in this one, given the responsiveness and abilities of it.
Would be interested in hearing other opinions.
Happy 2007!
Scott