Any compelling reason to keep renewing Pro X annual licence??

[Acorn]

its petty
but it helps their cash flow
go figure

I try to. My "ensure" was a typo for "enthuse". Chasing new customers and no looking towards retention is folly.

Acorn

[handrawn]

i think i understood that

i am lucky i have no golden handcuffs

[ernie-f]

I have bought a new license every year so far.
In Xara's belief, one day we will really revolutionize the way we create new drawing tools.
So far unfortunately only warm wind.

The other way round, I see it this way, since using Xara and seriously using it for my graphic work, I have always recovered the cost of renewal several times.

Xara Designer has become a tool that I use every day. It is flexible and performs tasks quickly and reliably. Perfect for me.
Whether it's images, web or complex vector graphics - with Xara I can do it all.

Everything positive so far, but what happened in the last 2 years is not good for me either. I will continue to pursue Xara and support it if necessary.
But all just to the point where the competition has caught up and Xara brings nothing new to distinguish herself from the competition.

All a happy new year!

[gpholman]

Tech support came back. The answer is 'no' - I must have an ongoing support arrangement to get updates I'VE ALREADY PAID FOR. Well that's my the last of my money Magix will be getting.

[handrawn]

if you want the legal position: you pay for the right to use only, not to own

this has always been the case even before the subscription model, what you got then was the right to use the program without a time limt, but you never got to own the program/updates themselves [ie the code]

same now, except that with the subscription model some parts of the access are time limited

this is all stated in the 'terms and conditions' [EULA] - it catches out a lot of people who don't read and understand them

this is not to defend Xara/magix, personally I think it is a rip off, it's just to say that cavet emptor applies and everyone shouild read them and understand what it is they are actually buying

[Acorn]

if you want the legal position: you pay for the right to use only, not to own
this has always been the case even before the subscription model, what you got then was the right to use the program without a time limt, but you never got to own the program/updates themselves [ie the code]
same now, except that with the subscription model some parts of the access are time limited
this is all stated in the 'terms and conditions' [EULA] - it catches out a lot of people who don't read and understand them
this is not to defend Xara/magix, personally I think it is a rip off, it's just to say that cavet emptor applies and everyone shouild read them and understand what it is they are actually buying

Towards finding the EULA, how many know where it is?

Read https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...?82634-Licence #1 & #10 to ge a readble (not necessarily understandable) RTF version working.
Xara has not exactly rushed to fix this defect.

Happy reading.

Acorn

[browj2]

John, don't you find it petty of Xara not to offer a total local download of assets from the OCC as opposed to vaguely mentioning it in a obscure section of the Support site? I do. The application is then deprived of access to quite basic components when the Update Service expires. Any consequential roll-back to a version that may no long support your published sites is madness. Again, this all comes without very explicit advice.

Those who follow TG may be lucky if they are sufficiently technically savvy. Xara claims it has a very large customer base; there must be a lot of confused and frustrated (ex-)customers out there.

I no longer ensure over any Xara releases.
Acorn

@Acorn

I've been sick for the last week, great start to a new year. Happy New everyone!

I don't know if I would use the word "petty," but Xara/Magix could do a slightly better job of explaining things to people who don't bother to look at the details behind the asterisks.

The Magix.com website under Xara DPX states, "Worth a million: The Online Content Catalog Discover the Online Content Catalog* with over 1 million freely available stock photos, graphics, illustrations and SmartShapes that you can easily access and use at any time." I find this misleading because: 1) you cannot use at any time after the 1 year period unless you renew; 2) you have to look at the reference to see, "1 full year of access to the Online Content Catalog." This could and should be mentioned right up front, not as an asterisk. It's only 10 words!

Update Service is described near the bottom of the page. "Includes the Update Service for one full year. Every day. Today, tomorrow and for the next 365 days, your website will always have the latest look! Our Update Service is included for free and offers you one full year of automatic software updates with brand new features.***" More asterisks. Look slightly below for the fine-print definition, "With the update service you will receive one full year of new features and updates for free, which can be used indefinitely. If you reinstall the program after one year, you will have access to the basic version without Update Service. After the one-year update service has expired you can extend it for a discounted price." Again, this could simply be put with the main text as it is fundamental to understanding the update service. Furthermore, "If you reinstall the program after one year.....access to the basic version without Update Service" is vague, in my opinion. It should be rewritten as "access to the version that was available when you last purchased or paid for the Update Service..."

The third problem is with getting the complete definition of the Update Service. There is an "i' beside "Update" that shows a reference to the web page definition of Update Service. However, a new user is likely not going to click on this and won't see the definition. Under the big black box that says Update Service, there should be a "See definition of Update Service" link. Right now, there is nothing.

For new users, the email with the activation code should specifically state that you have one-year update service, one-year access to the OCC, and what happens if you have to reinstall after the update service has expired. The same should be stated on a start up nag screen under a heading - Please read this carefully! I don't know what the email says for new users. Perhaps someone can tell us.

Lastly, we get a nag screen a month before the end of the update service period warning us. This should include the warning that there will be no access to the OCC beyond that date and that you may want to download the content, and that should one have to reinstall after update service period has expired the reinstall will revert to the version available when last paid, and any updates during the update service period will be lost.

That said, one way or another, this information was and is available, but the user has to actually read it. I think that even if Xara/Magix did what I suggest, there would still be complaints. Why? Because there are always users who just don't bother to read what is in front of them. Believe me, I see it all of the time on the Magix.info forum. Example, install Movie Edit Pro Plus/Premium, and you are presented with a screen advising you to download and install the additional free content by clicking on the button. You have to click on the box to not show this screen again. You would be surprised to know that we get users on a regular basis who upgraded, turned off this warning box without even bothering to read it, and then complained on the forum that there was no content that they had before or that they were promised and that they've been defrauded by Magix, etc.

Back to Xara. For the history, prior to the introduction of the Update Service, you purchased the version that was available, there was some free content available, but most of the on-line Content was for purchase. I purchased a few website templates and widget packs. If a new version came out 2 months later, you would have to pay to upgrade. With the Update Service, you suddenly got access to all of the OCC - for FREE! All you had to do was download it and you had a year to do so. You also got an advance on any new features/versions that came out during the Update Service one-year period. You did not pay for these; you paid for what was available at that time. If you used any of the new features/versions that came out after the start of the Update Service period, no problem, unless you let the Update Service period expire and then had to reinstall. If you don't have to reinstall, then no problem; just keep on going, which is my case. I know fully well that if I have to reinstall Xara, it will revert to when I last paid, July 2018, not the end of the Update Service. If that should happen, then I can either accept that or simply pay up for a year.

So, for @pgholman , you did not pay for Updates to the end of October 2019. You paid fully for what was available when you paid the year before. You were allowed to get updates/upgrades during the year, subject to the terms of the Update Service, which you should have read and understood. If you did not bother to get the updates before the end of the Update Service period, that is your problem, not Xara's, not Magix'. Sorry to be rough, but that is the way it is. The program still works, doesn't it? On the other hand, if you ever have to reinstall, it is likely that you will not have used any of the new features, so you won't be "forced" to renew. You can now comfortably continue using the program without having to renew. The only problem is that pesky nag screen at start up advising you that your Update Service period expired.

[mwenz]

I was not gonna reply in this thread...

While I more or less agree re. updated capabilities during the "update period" (but in the main, I disagree if compared to other, perpetually licensed software, I completely disagree when it comes to bug fix updates in the event of a reinstall. Xara/Magix are basically saying: You purchased software with known and/or unknown defects. We have fixed X number of these defects during your subscription. If you have need to reinstall, though, you will be back to using the defective version unless you give us more money.

Sucky, but it is what it is.

[browj2]

@mwenz

That is a slightly different problem, one that never seems to have been appropriately addressed. I thought that Xara was working on separating bug fixes from updates/upgrades and that one should be able to get all bug fixes for the version installed, be it 15, or 16. I have never heard what happened.

Many of us have the same beef with Magix about their programs, both those with and without the update service. For those without, a new version comes out with new features, new and old bugs, and the previous version is left with some known unfixed bugs. Most annoying. For those programs with the Update Service, we can never get a version without bugs (or at least most bugs fixed), it seems. Even more annoying. I expect, at the very least, that bugs raised by the user community always be fixed asap. We are not beta testers.

[ss-kalm]

When my Update service expired and I was forced to reinstall V15.0 with the STRETCHY/SQUASHY "Bug", I complained to Magix that Kate Moir had stated on the forum that Bug Fixes would be included in the version that was paid for ... so in my mind a bug fix for the stretchy/squashy issue should have been provided (even though Xara thought - wrongly - that this was a new feature). Magix support was very understanding of that issue, and they extended my Update service for 6 months to allow me access to the latest version, so that I wasn't stuck on V15.0. which I considered to be unusable.

Once again, I would like to thank Magix support for that kindness, even though I understood that under the terms of the agreement, I was only entitled to V15.0.

Having said that, it would be nice if Xara provided BUG FIX UPDATES and FEATURE UPDATES, then you know what you get to keep and what you are giving up when your update service expires.