Hello
I just checked out xara.com but I can't find any links to Xara Designer Pro.
What is going on - Has Xara stopped developing XDP?
J
Hello
I just checked out xara.com but I can't find any links to Xara Designer Pro.
What is going on - Has Xara stopped developing XDP?
J
go down to the bottom of the page a click on the desktop link for product
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Nothing lasts forever...
Ah yes I do see it now.
But let's be honest, it is almost completely hidden. Even on my high res screen (4K) I am having to scroll down about 10,000 pixels.
Not exactly reassuring for any prospective customers. Even if sales are now being handled by magix.com, I find it mind-blowing that they haven't even given a link to it in the top menu.
J
PS I am thinking of upgrading my XDP X10 at some point, even though it remains crippled by its failure to be compatible with high res screens (e.g. 4K). However I am not in any rush so I was planning to sign up for their newsletter and sit tight waiting to see if they give us a decent discount code at some point.
What is remarkable is the attitude Xara has about this in that it thinks the revenues are good enough. A clear sight of a Cash Cow. Good enough de facto means Xara could do better.
Do hold off until version 17.1 is released. Don't jump into v17.0 as it is now clear that Xara has little intention of ensuring bug or patch releases are available.
Acorn
Acorn - installed Xara software: Cloud+/Pro+ and most others back through time (to CC's Artworks). Contact for technical remediation/consultancy for your web designs.
When we provide assistance, your responses are valuable as they benefit the community. TG Nuggets you might like. Report faults: Xara Cloud+/Pro+/Magix Legacy; Xara KB & Chat
it isn't just sales that magix handles, it is marketing too as far as the desktop goes, which is probably why xara's site is all cloud
that is not to say I disagree about the cash-cow, far from it...
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Nothing lasts forever...
Maybe the answer is that Xara Cloud is a revenue earner for Xara, while Xara desktop is a revenue earner for Magix?
I have a feeling Xara only makes money from Xara desktop because of a maintenance and development contract with Xara gmbh/Migix, so there's no incentive for direct sales on the Xara site ( besides some commission, maybe).
We talk as though Xara desktop belongs to Xara UK, but I don't think that's the case.
Do correct me if I'm wrong.
Are any of you folks here old enough to remember Corel/CorelDraw taking over the "marketing" of Xara?
My memory was as follows: It was a car-crash. Xara was a VASTLY better product than CorelDraw, but Corel sat on Xara and thereby stopped it from eating the lunch of CorelDraw. Eventually, after c. 5 years of this, Xara escaped.
And frankly, Xara has never really recovered momentum ever since.
Talk to any professional graphic designer and it is 99% likely they even HEARD of Xara. It seems they all just use the vastly over-priced, but industry standard Adobe suite, including Adobe Illustrator.
And what about 'non-professionals'? Well somehow, Xara has never managed to attract them in significant numbers either. In truth I don't quite know how Xara have managed to achieve this! Partly it has probably always been just a little bit too expensive.
But also, IMHO, the UI has some 'silly' aspects that make for a steeper learning curve. We long-time users are all used to it of course, but new users don't find XDP as easy as it should be.
e.g. Right now, simply because I am used to Xara, I am using it to do some engineering diagrams. I am using the snapping to grid a lot. All works fine until you accidentally click "Scale Line Widths" at which point instead of snapping to the centre of each line, XDP now suddenly starts snapping to the EDGE of each line. Now, I can see that the user should be allowed to choose... but what an idiotic name! In fact why can't the actual scaling of line widths (when an object's size is change) be kept separate from snapping quirks? I moaned about this c. 10 years ago but... nothing.
e.g. Who would ever guess that is you create a rectangular shape by drawing it line by line, that you have created something completely different from a rectangular shape created by using the Rectangle Tool? And that you need to go Arrange ==> Convert to Editable shapes in order to have permission to move the shape's points individually?
And which newbie would ever guess that you have to be in the Shape Tool in order to do so?
And even if you ARE in Shape Tool mode, who would have guessed that you need have SELECTED the object in question before you can do so.
I could go on.
Ooops there goes my day! But, IMHO, Xara remains a fabulous product, but the basics simply aren't obvious enough to the newbie.
And now the marketing is back in the hands of geniuses....
J
PS Fwiw, I just signed up for the Magix newsletter and they sent me a "£10 off" voucher. But it guess what? It doesn't work for either new or Upgraded XDP.
@pauland
the current incarnation of xara is Xara GmbH based in Berlin - this is a venture capital company - it is the cloud app company
the old xara group ltd wasbased at Gaddesden Place, it would appear xara still have a base there that does development for desktop
Charles Moir is in on record as saying [in blog] that he sold a software company to a german company - though what exactly that means is not clear [to me]
so it may be more than just an M&D, but there again it may not
Rob is also on record as saying 'they' [R&D ? ] have to get the go ahead to incorporate changes to the program from higher up [Magix ?] for the desktop
....
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Nothing lasts forever...
Yes, I've seen it and unless someone says anything different, I'd be inclined to assume that is Xara as we have always known it (the desktop).
If that's so, Magix (I assume they are the German company, one way or another) calls the shots when it comes to the desktop software.
@ shiphen
'vastly overpriced' is a relative term - I use Toon Boom Premium, no cheaper [but at least you can buy a perpetual licence; not cheap but you can]... and Maya is no better.... you pay for the R&D, you pay for the support
xara wizzed off with some very good ideas, but the R&D stalled [desktop], support too - reason ? money would be my best guess - overpriced is a relative term.. you get what you pay for... and in a team environment that is even more so
Magix themselves produce DAW, audio and video editing software, the rest they just aquired the titles and then sell on...
@pauland
my assumption too...
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Nothing lasts forever...
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