Author Topic: Corel PaintShop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate (Read 35055 times)

Darwin · « **on:** September 09, 2008, 02:42 PM »

I'm out of breath just reading the name of this latest offering from Corel. Where I think most PSPP X2 users were anticipating PSPP X3 be released about now, expecting it to be a paid fix for the problems in PSPP X2 v. 12.0.1 (note the version number: Corel have relesaed one fix in over a year and it's so bad, most users have stuck with the original release because of a number of new bugs introduced by the patch), Corel announced this today instead:

Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate
Includes everything in Paint Shop Pro Photo X2, plus:

Enhanced! Support for more than 250 camera raw formats
New! Background remover plug-in to change the background of a photo
Enhanced! Creative content pack with 150 new photo frames, photo edges and Picture Tubes™
New! Certified for Windows Vista® for better performance and enhanced security
Bonus! 2 GB USB flash drive to store and transfer your digital photos
Bonus! Corel® Painter™ Photo Essentials 4 to turn photos into paintings in 3 easy steps
Bonus! Media recovery software to retrieve images, movies and sound files, even from reformatted memory cards

PSPP X2 users are offered this incredible upgrade for $59.99! Amazing! Product comparision chart here: http://www.corel.com...rsion-comparison.pdf

What's next? Corel PaintShop Pro Photo X2 Ultimater? CPSPP X2 was supposed to be the Professional version now we're being encouraged to upgrade to Ultimate because we'll have access to full professional power, rather than Standard. A$$holes. They've sunk to new depths. Usually, they are maligned for trotting out bug fixes and requiring their user base (read: dopes that have paid out of pocket to be their beta testers) to pay for them in the form of major upgrades. Now, as far as I can see, they're not even offering that, just the RAW support that people have been clamouring for since PSP X (and which was supposed to have been part of X1 and X2) and some crap they've thrown together. Ooh, aah! A 2GB thumbdrive! I can one for about $7 at Futureshop - name brand no less! Dumbed down versions of their other software that are bundled free with drawing tablets and such devices (in hope that buyers will pay to upgrade to the "full" version), etc.

Corel has hit a new low, in my opinion...

EDIT: grammar, grammar, grammar.

Darwin · « **Reply #1 on:** September 09, 2008, 02:47 PM »

PS when PSP Photo X2 came out IT was supposed to be Vista ready. What the...?

Deozaan · « **Reply #2 on:** September 09, 2008, 02:57 PM »

I'd heard about the impending doom of PaintShop Pro when Corel bought it out with PSP X. People kept saying that Corel screwed everything up they touched.

PSP X was the last version I owned, but I still prefer PSP 8. (I never had PSP 9.)

Darwin · « **Reply #3 on:** September 09, 2008, 03:05 PM »

I have PSP 9 and it's great! I paid to upgrade to X and it was dreadful - a real resource hog. X1 came out and I stayed away, but won a full copy so installed it. Even worse. X2, in fairness is pretty good - it opens nice and quickly and is stable on my system. I'm just very annoyed by the crassness of Corel and their blatant disregard for the user base.

Looks like the naysayers were right. What's worse, they now own WinZip, WinDVD, and other titles. No doubt WinZip will be rebranded soon as "Corel WinZip Pro TextEditor Plus X3 Ultimate"!

PS I retain copyright on both Corel WinZip Pro TextEdtor Plus X3 Ultimate and Corel PaintShop Pro Photo X2 Ultimater.

f0dder · « **Reply #4 on:** September 09, 2008, 06:31 PM »

Imho, PSP9 was the last usable version of PSP - indeed (for me), corel broke it. Got slow, got a pesky license system, etc etc etc.

Darwin · « **Reply #5 on:** September 09, 2008, 06:56 PM »

got a pesky license system
-f0dder (September 09, 2008, 06:31 PM)

Don't even get me started on the licensing system (though the workaround is pretty easy...

)

f0dder · « **Reply #6 on:** September 10, 2008, 12:44 AM »

got a pesky license system
-f0dder (September 09, 2008, 06:31 PM)

Don't even get me started on the licensing system (though the workaround is pretty easy... )
-Darwin (September 09, 2008, 06:56 PM)

Yeah, well, one of the great things about older PSP versions is that it survives a windows reinstall - I have a bunch of apps (c:\usr\prg) that I simply move to another partition before formatting, then move back after windows is reinstalled, and presto they still work. (Definitely) not so with PSP X and later >_<

app103 · « **Reply #7 on:** September 10, 2008, 03:37 AM »

I have both v7 & 9 (7 is my fav)

The way I feel about it, if you run PSP the first time and it doesn't say "Jasc" on the splash screen...then close it, don't run it again, and uninstall it instead.

Lutz_ · « **Reply #8 on:** September 10, 2008, 12:07 PM »

The only positive aspect of this "release" could be that they might be working on a complete overhaul of the program (which is certainly necessary : 16- bit imaging, multi-core compatible, 64-bit OS compatibility) that needs considerably longer than the usual release cycle. ???
Alas, it is Corel, and the only thing certain about Corel is a moronic management. I do not have too many hopes.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #9 on:** September 10, 2008, 12:43 PM »

Corel is the graveyard of software ...

They buy out brilliant packages from reputable companies and then turn them systematically into buggy dogs breakfasts.

When you think Corel Draw and WordPrefect used to be near (or even at) the top of the heap - now they have drifted so far off traget I cannot imagine why anyone would steal some of their products - let alone buy them.

PaintShop Pro is just another brilliant package that has died a death of a thousand cuts under Corel's stewardship.

Painter seems to be just about holding its own but I think they got the original developers to continue the work when they bought that package from MetaCreations. New versions tend to be buggy but each version seems to get one or two service packs that fix the worst of the bugs. (The classic one was in version 7 when saving your file over an existing file corrupted the image file so it couldn't be opened again!)

The KPT photoshop plugins are still being sold even though they were losing compatibility back in Photoshop 7 days and they have seen no work at all since they were bought.

Intervideo will also go the way of Corel. They have released new versions of some apps but at a rough guess I would say you are likely to be paying for a new logo with the word Corel instead of Intervideo and not much else.

My favourite was when they released a Debian based version of Linux - they struggled on through 2 versions, were completely unable to provide any technical support (because none of there tech people even knew what Linux was - let alone have an understanding) and finally gave up when so many people demanded their money back because it simply did not get through the installation process on most systems!

The quicker Corel dies the better IMHO. Put the poor beggars out of their misery and put them on welfare - they will probably be more productive

CWuestefeld · « **Reply #10 on:** September 10, 2008, 03:48 PM »

When you think Corel Draw and WordPrefect used to be near (or even at) the top of the heap - now they have drifted so far off traget I cannot imagine why anyone would steal some of their products - let alone buy them.
-Carol Haynes (September 10, 2008, 12:43 PM)

I agree with your thesis. But in the case of WordPerfect, it was already a dying product before Corel grabbed it. I remember in 1993 using it (v5 something, I think) when it was my employer's standard word processor (MS Office wasn't so entrenched then). The thing was virtually unusable -- rampant leaks forced reboots several times a day, and formatting problems trashed layouts continually. I'm convinced that WP's quality problems killed them, and this made the previous industry leader easy to buy for Corel afterwards.

I'm a longtime PSP user myself. I skipped X, XI was a pig, and the biggest improvement in X2 was the improved startup time -- otherwise, it was more sizzle than steak. Their customer service folks really annoyed me when I tried to report a bug in their .DNG handling, and they wouldn't accept it, telling me that my license didn't entitle me to support -- but I wasn't asking for help, I was trying to help them make the product better.

f0dder · « **Reply #11 on:** September 10, 2008, 05:59 PM »

The only positive aspect of this "release" could be that they might be working on a complete overhaul of the program (which is certainly necessary : 16- bit imaging, multi-core compatible, 64-bit OS compatibility) that needs considerably longer than the usual release cycle. ???
Alas, it is Corel, and the only thing certain about Corel is a moronic management. I do not have too many hopes.
-Lutz_ (September 10, 2008, 12:07 PM)

PSP8 works just fine under 64bit OSes. It might not be compiled for 64bit, but it doesn't need to (sure, it would let you deal with larger files more smoothly, but the 32bit version does work).

Dormouse · « **Reply #12 on:** September 10, 2008, 07:31 PM »

Amongst many photo/image editing programs, I have PSP8; reviews of new versions have never tempted me towards an upgrade. And I can't see that position changing.

I think WP was only really an industry leader in the last days of DOS (having taken over that position from WordStar). Like the other 'leaders' of that time, it did not transition quickly enough to Windows and was never good enough to catch up with Word when it did. I don't think its demise can be attributed to Corel who paid good money to take over what was already deadware (in the mistaken view that they would do better with a Suite).

Curt · « **Reply #13 on:** September 12, 2008, 04:30 AM »

PS
I retain copyright on both Corel WinZip Pro TextEdtor Plus X3 Ultimate and Corel PaintShop Pro Photo X2 Ultimater.
-Darwin (September 09, 2008, 03:05 PM)

We will certainly expect these programs to be fully Vistable!

X1 came out and I stayed away, but won a full copy so installed it.
-Darwin (September 09, 2008, 03:05 PM)

You actually WON a copy of X1 ? Wow!
I haven't tried PaintShop Pro since 1995, so I totally envy you!!

Beside the problems and the lack of ethics; isn't X2 both stable and The Best ??

Darwin · « **Reply #14 on:** September 12, 2008, 06:41 AM »

Yes - I really like X2.

I entered an online contest for a copy of PSP X1 through a photo mag's site - was VERY surprised when I won it! The worst thing about X1 was the startup time...

y0himba · « **Reply #15 on:** September 12, 2008, 08:29 AM »

If anyone is interested, you CAN disable and remove the unannounced Protexis licensing spyware. THIS IS NOT A HACK AND YOU STILL NEED TO PURCHASE THE PROGRAM AND USE A VALID KEY. It just removes the unnecessary background service that was shoved into your system without your permission.

Close Paint Shop Pro
Go into control panel, administratve tools, services sort the services by name, then stop the Protexis V2 service
Browse to your Corel directory, then into Paint Shop Pro's root folder ("\Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2" where "Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo.exe" resides)and MOVE "PSClient.dll" to another folder, then rename it "PSClient.dll.bak"
Browse to your Windows/system32 folder and find "PSIKey.dll" MOVE it to another directory, rename it to "PSIKey.dll.bak"
Browse to "\%Program Files%\Common Files\Protexis\License Service" and rename the DLL in that directory to "PSClient.dll"
MOVE the newly renamed "PSClient.dll" to your Corel PSP root directory (same place that the PSP executable resides)

Start Paint Shop Pro and be sure it works. If it does, you can remove the backup files, open a command prompt, use "sc delete PSI_SVC_2" to remove the protexis service, then delete the "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Protexis\License Service\" directory.

Darwin · « **Reply #16 on:** September 12, 2008, 12:46 PM »

Yup! Y0himba's tip works - I've been doing the same thing since X1... Anyone trying this, though, copy the instructions and keep them because everytime you update (ie install a service pack or whatever), you have to go through these steps again.

Curt · « **Reply #17 on:** September 12, 2008, 03:04 PM »

Just remember that other programs are using Protexis as well. It may not be too smart to actually delete the entire folder.

J-Mac · « **Reply #18 on:** September 13, 2008, 02:05 AM »

I had (and still have) PSP 7, 8, 9, and 10. 7, 8, and 9 were all by Jasc and very good. 10 was Corel's first version and it really sucked. I use 10.3 currently and that's not too bad. I had dropped back to 8 but I actually missed a couple of the effects that I grew to like in 10. And the 10.3 patch pretty much covered most of the really irritating screw-ups from 10.

I hadn't used any Corel software prior to PSP 10, and I sure won't use anymore! BTW, one problem with having to reinstall any of those is that they require you to have the previous version installed in order to register the current version. E.g., PSP 10 will not install unless it sees PSP8 or 9 on the computer already. You can get around this by placing just the .exe file from PSP 8 or 9 into a Jasc folder in Program Files - that's apparently what the PSP 10 (or as Corel likes to call it, PSPX) installer looks at.

I would have jumped to PhotoShop right away but for two reasons: Cost and complexity. PhotoShop is too expensive for how I would use it, and it has a large learning curve, IMO. I also use ACDSee for my photo organization, though that's about all it's good for.

Jim

y0himba · « **Reply #19 on:** September 13, 2008, 02:43 AM »

Try either Gimpshop or this new contender: http://lifehacker.co...lps-edit-your-images

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #20 on:** September 13, 2008, 05:36 AM »

J-Mac - I have used both PSP (up to v. 9, I had v. 10 but unistalled it almost instantly) and PhotoShop and I really don't think the learning curve between the two apps is that much different.

The great advantage of Photoshop (apart from being a fantastic app) is the huge number of free tutorials on the internet, loads of sites dedicated to Photoshop, thousands of books on the subject and courses galore. It is expensive but you can get it cheaply by registering as student at a recognised institution (it doesn't have to be long term or full time - just an evening class will do at a recognised college - find a photoshop class!. Do check the local conditions at adobe.com by going to the academic shop for your country) and then buy the academic edition which is identical to the commercial product.

Lutz_ · « **Reply #21 on:** September 13, 2008, 11:59 AM »

Photoshop is no doubt powerful - but it is an ergonomic disaster. In this aspect PSP, Photoline, lots of others have many advantages.
This no problem in PS once you have accepted photoshops learning curve and have memorized lots and lots of keyboard shortcuts.

In my eyes, once one has understood the principles of a layer-based image editor and how to do the basics for example in PSP, it is not a problem to reproduce photoshop tutorials in PSP, Photoline, etc. - lots of procedures are quite bit easier there actually. This applies to a majority of tutorials, of course not to the one dealing with exclusive PS features which tend to be more esoteric.

J-Mac - I have used both PSP (up to v. 9, I had v. 10 but unistalled it almost instantly) and PhotoShop and I really don't think the learning curve between the two apps is that much different.

The great advantage of Photoshop (apart from being a fantastic app) is the huge number of free tutorials on the internet, loads of sites dedicated to Photoshop, thousands of books on the subject and courses galore. It is expensive but you can get it cheaply by registering as student at a recognised institution (it doesn't have to be long term or full time - just an evening class will do at a recognised college - find a photoshop class!. Do check the local conditions at adobe.com by going to the academic shop for your country) and then buy the academic edition which is identical to the commercial product.
-Carol Haynes (September 13, 2008, 05:36 AM)

J-Mac · « **Reply #22 on:** September 13, 2008, 12:08 PM »

J-Mac - I have used both PSP (up to v. 9, I had v. 10 but unistalled it almost instantly) and PhotoShop and I really don't think the learning curve between the two apps is that much different.

The great advantage of Photoshop (apart from being a fantastic app) is the huge number of free tutorials on the internet, loads of sites dedicated to Photoshop, thousands of books on the subject and courses galore. It is expensive but you can get it cheaply by registering as student at a recognised institution (it doesn't have to be long term or full time - just an evening class will do at a recognised college - find a photoshop class!. Do check the local conditions at adobe.com by going to the academic shop for your country) and then buy the academic edition which is identical to the commercial product.
-Carol Haynes (September 13, 2008, 05:36 AM)

Carol,

I admit that it was quite a while ago that I tried it. I had a very scaled down "Home" version that came with a photo printer or scanner and naturally it kept nagging me to upgrade to a full version. I downloaded the trial then and had a lot of problems getting the hang of it. About a year or so later I ended up going with Jasc PSP7 (Pretty sure it was 7 then). That was a long time ago - maybe 5 or 6 years.

Since then my Vista notebook I got earlier this year came with Photoshp Elements 6 and Adobe Premier Elements 3(? 4?). That looks nice but I keep all my digital pics on my desktop PC. I did move over a sampling of them to the notebook to try out Elements - and I am so accustomed to PSP that I often find myself "lost" in Elements! Oddly I cannot just have it scan for images or import my library of images. It seems that I must import only a folder at a time. I'd have to study the manual to soo if I'm missing something, but it is not very intuitive if you are familiar with working in Paint Shop Pro for years!

Thanks!

Jim

J-Mac · « **Reply #23 on:** September 13, 2008, 12:09 PM »

Lutz,

I agree that I could undoubtedly adapt to Photoshop but, yes, I would have a large learning curve.

Jim

Darwin · « **Reply #24 on:** September 16, 2008, 10:45 AM »

Just an update: received an upgrade e-mail from Corel this morning - they're offering the upgrade from PSPP X2 to PSPP X2 Ultimate for $29.99 (CDN or USD). Only mollifies me a tiny amount...