I certainly don't want to contribute to rumors about the company Xara, but what I read really scares me.
Anyway, for me there is one single point to focus on: the software Xara X. You **own** it, it's on your CD, the 2.2 patch is on your hard drive. So be realistic: what **can** happen? Nothing. You can use your tool as long as you want to. It will not terminate, destroy itself or render unusable after a certain time span.
Look, I'm still using a fantastic software that had been developed 1996. That means it's 7 years 'old' by now. No update, no upgrade, nothing. The company is drop dead for 3 years now. But what the heck, the features in this great software are still far ahead of any of today's 'competitors'. The only drawback are the filenames, which are limited to the old DOS 8.3 convention.
In short words: even though I paid a lot more for Xara X than the 'on sale' prices today, I work with it, churning out great results. And I can imagine to use it even in 4 years, on a true 64 bit monster machine with 10 GHz and 20 megs RAM. Why? Because it's intuitive, extremely fast and precise. And best of all: it features a very small footprint on the hard drive - perfect for my 'old' (three years, 30 MHz, 192 megs RAM, 6 GB hard drive) laptop, to run stunning presentations at clients locations.
Xara X is the most creative tool you can find now **and** in the future. Look at the results some of our Russian friends have done with it - remember the lady on the stage, Conan and all the other images?
Before you complain there isn't any new version, please do yourself a favor and check what's really in the package, what the current version can do for you. Then, if you should ever reach a creative limit with this great tool, you might consider to scream for a new version. Unless you come up with anything better than the top range of artists, designers, illustrators etc in this forum, keep on learning and discovering the power instead of complaining.
I compare the situation to that of photography: I still own and use my 20 year young Nikon single lens reflex camera, a Linhof 6x7 of the sixties. For me there is no reason to 'upgrade' to a new digi cam, because with 35 mm film I have a whopping 20 million pixel resolution compared to the crappy 5 megabit of the digicams. With one set of batteries I can operate the Nikon for at least 2 years - in the jungle in a humid environment, in the desert, in ice and snow. I am independent from hi-tech and unreliable lithium batteries. Best of all: I know my cameras inside out.
However, there are millions of people who purchase a new camera every two or four years, just because they think it will result in better pictures. Wrong! If they don't know how to 'compose' a picture, the result will always be the same dull stuff.
Don't make Xara a victim, make it a winner in your toolbox.
A last word: in my humble opinion this superb tool could be marketed much better. The trick is not to lower the price, but to raise it: give it a new catching name, establish a new company to market it, and add a price tag of US$ 349. This is the **true** value of the tool. Chances are high it will receive rave reviews from the 'industry standard' users. In today's marketing scam world, the people want to be cheated all day long. Too much hot air around...
jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de
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If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
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We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
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