Author Topic: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 (Read 19606 times)

Curt · « **on:** March 24, 2010, 06:15 PM »

Think of it as a joke -- I mean, me posting this in the thread "deals and discounts" -- but the brand new CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 is supposedly on campaign offer in Europe!

Why is this a joke, you may ask. It is a joke because the Europeen price I was offered is TWICE the American price!

Have a look, and wonder>

upgrades =50%
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Curt · « **Reply #1 on:** March 24, 2010, 07:54 PM »

Corel Comic Book!!!

(One pdf in two halves; 5+4 pages)

Corel Comic Book-1.zip (3367.99 kB - downloaded 329 times.)

Corel Comic Book-2.zip (2823.68 kB - downloaded 322 times.)

Lutz_ · « **Reply #2 on:** March 24, 2010, 10:37 PM »

Don't you appreciate it when some body tries to rip you off ?
Seems like a good pricing policy to drive potential Corel customers away though.

bgd77 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 25, 2010, 05:31 AM »

Maybe the euro is at a 1:2 parity with the dollar and we don't know it. Not even the European Central Bank does not know it, only Corel knows it.

ipman · « **Reply #4 on:** March 27, 2010, 02:16 PM »

this is just a typical rip-off of European customers.

cmpm · « **Reply #5 on:** March 27, 2010, 03:49 PM »

hm, yeah, wherez the crooks
who's getting richer

Curt · « **Reply #6 on:** March 30, 2010, 03:16 AM »

Americans and Brits my be speaking the same language, more or less, but England is part of Europe, and therefore must pay the price; more rather than less...

Curt · « **Reply #7 on:** July 15, 2010, 07:44 AM »

They are still funny, those guys at Corel's. Today I have been offered to purchase a license for this CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 for € 718.80 including a "free" Powerstick worth € 40. When I went to the program's homepage, I was offered to have X5 without the Powerstick for € 634.80 !!!

You do the math. I can't.

versus

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #8 on:** July 15, 2010, 08:05 AM »

809 in my dollars

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #9 on:** July 15, 2010, 08:48 AM »

I think Corel work on the principle that if it is really expensive it must be good.

Personally I refuse to buy anything from Corel anymore - they used to be good but now everything they produce is full of bugs which never get fixed.

cranioscopical · « **Reply #10 on:** July 15, 2010, 11:05 AM »

They are still funny, those guys at Corel's. Today I have been offered to purchase a license for this CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 for € 718.80 including a "free" Powerstick worth € 40. When I went to the program's homepage, I was offered to have X5 without the Powerstick for € 634.80 !!!

You do the math. I can't.
(see attachment in previous post) versus (see attachment in previous post)
-Curt (July 15, 2010, 07:44 AM)

Tell them you'll take a copy without 15 power sticks!

Curt · « **Reply #11 on:** August 16, 2010, 01:32 AM »

The joke goes on, but now Americans must pay a little extra ($10) not to get PC Tune-Up. I think that is okay, because I tried it, and it sucks. I might just pay not to have it, because I have had it! (ehh?)

euroland with extra extras (normal price):

dollarland without any extras (normal price plus $10):

tomos · « **Reply #12 on:** August 16, 2010, 07:29 AM »

Corel draw doesnt get good press (see Carol's post above)
I did read somewhere lately (c't magazine) that Corel is still used professionally (only) by designers of cutouts (? "schnittvorlagen") for signs, t-shirts & car-signage.

At that price anyway it seems like Xara would be a better option for most users...

Curt · « **Reply #13 on:** August 16, 2010, 08:12 AM »

I have Xara, and I will not recommend it.
Besides, Xara was Corel was Xara; they are siblings / cousins.

Next stop: Adobe!

tomos · « **Reply #14 on:** August 16, 2010, 09:11 AM »

I have Xara, and I will not recommend it.
Besides, Xara was Corel was Xara; they are siblings / cousins.

Next stop: Adobe!
-Curt (August 16, 2010, 08:12 AM)

have fun...

tomos · « **Reply #15 on:** August 17, 2010, 07:58 AM »

I have Xara, and I will not recommend it.
-Curt (August 16, 2010, 08:12 AM)

I dont have it but I'm curious - why do you not recommend it (maybe you've said elsewhere?)

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #16 on:** August 17, 2010, 09:45 AM »

I have Xara, and I will not recommend it.
Besides, Xara was Corel was Xara; they are siblings / cousins.

Next stop: Adobe!
-Curt (August 16, 2010, 08:12 AM)

Xara was never Corel - they briefly marketed it but development has always been with the same UK company.

Boring history lesson:

Computer Concepts (UK company) developed brilliant software for the Acorn Archimedes/RiscOS computers back in the 80s.

One flagship product was ArtWorks which was later redeveloped for the PC as Xara (I bought the original and have been upgrading ever since).

Xara products have been produced by the same UK company ever since (from the same premises).

They briefly allowed Corel to sell the product (big mistake - but it was brief and Corel never got the opportunity to screw it up).

Now Xara is owned by Magix in Genrmany - but Xara still exists and you can buy Xara or Magix versions of the products - they are all still produced by the same developers in the UK.

I know some people have had problems getting off their mailing list but that doesn't detract from the fact that the sofwtare is brilliant - comparable in terms of functionality - with Adobe Illustrator but much faster in use and has features beyond what illustrator can do - you can even construct whole websites and flash animations in minutes.

superboyac · « **Reply #17 on:** August 17, 2010, 09:58 AM »

Man, Carol has been raving about Xara for years. I'm going to have to check it out. So it really gives Adobe products a run for their money?

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #18 on:** August 17, 2010, 10:05 AM »

It sounds like what CorelDraw was meant to do... have you used CD?

I'm presuming that you'd recommend Xara over CD?

I have PhotoImpact, which is not dissimilar, but was bought by Corel some time ago and then discontinued with nothing really to replace it (except their expensive flagship product or the budget (but still very good I hear) product)... and I've been wondering about a replacement at times when I think I want something newer

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #19 on:** August 17, 2010, 11:08 AM »

I'd recommend Xara over Corel anything (even if it is unrelated to drawing).

I no longer buy any Corel products although I do own Corel Draw 8 (probably the last good version) and Corel Painter 9.5 (not the best version but at least it works unlike the newer versions if you believe all the bad comments).

I also had Corel Linux (never did get it to install at all - and Corel hadn't got a clue)
Intervideo WinDVD (now bought out by Corel - so I won't be upgrading that ever again)
KPT photoshop plugins (from the days when they were actually supported)
Paintshop Pro (but can't see any point in any of the versions since JASC sold out).

Is there a pattern emerging here? Corel seems to be to graphics what Symantec is to security - the place where good software goes to die!

For drawing applications I have Corel Draw 8, Adobe Illustrator CS3 and Xara Designer Pro 6.

If I want to draw something I naturally gravitate towards Xara because it is quicker to use (onscreen rendering is instant unlike AI) , there are excellent video tutorials and a good manual plus a very active community with tutorials. The whole thing is more intuitive than AI (at least to me). You can even do some bitmap editing (including photoshop plugin compatibility) and generate quick Flash animations. I don't use it but there is a very comprehensive WYSIWYG web designer buit in with loads of templates to get you going. It also comes with loads of fonts, clipart etc.

My only negative comment is that I really don't like the new colour scheme in version 6 - which seems to have been changed (too late) to make it fit in with Vista colour schemes - personally I thing the old colour scheme is clearer and more pleasant (perhaps they can be persuaded to include a skinning or theme function in version 7).

superboyac · « **Reply #20 on:** August 17, 2010, 11:44 AM »

Carol, I have a wacom tablet. I know most artists who use the wacom do their work on photoshop. but if I want to do mostly pencil-type sketches, would it be better from a workflow standpoint to do it on Xara or photoshop? When I first got into it, I wanted to use Illustrator for sketching because of the vectors being lossless and all. However, the big problem with Illustrator vs. Photoshop is the selection features. In PS, the fundamental powerful feature is being able to select all different kinds of things (funky shaped areas, colors, etc.). In Illustrator, it's not really meant for that. I find Illustrator is more meant for crisp kind of graphics, with well defined borders and sections. Photoshop is more "messy" and more drawing-like.

Anyway, I guess I'm wondering about Xara's capabilties as a artist's sketching tool vs. the Adobe products. All we ever hear about is Adobe and sometimes Painter. Not many people talk about Xara's capabilties.

Curt · « **Reply #21 on:** August 17, 2010, 01:25 PM »

thanks, Carol, you've made me realize that I really NEED to watch those Xara tutorials...

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #22 on:** August 17, 2010, 01:47 PM »

Anyway, I guess I'm wondering about Xara's capabilties as a artist's sketching tool vs. the Adobe products. All we ever hear about is Adobe and sometimes Painter. Not many people talk about Xara's capabilties.
-superboyac (August 17, 2010, 11:44 AM)

Best I can suggest is download the trial version and give it a go. If you like it and want to buy a copy let me know and I will send you my affiliate link (which I only have because I added it to my website so I thought I may as well benefit from sales).

superboyac · « **Reply #23 on:** August 17, 2010, 02:32 PM »

Anyway, I guess I'm wondering about Xara's capabilties as a artist's sketching tool vs. the Adobe products. All we ever hear about is Adobe and sometimes Painter. Not many people talk about Xara's capabilties.
-superboyac (August 17, 2010, 11:44 AM)

Best I can suggest is download the trial version and give it a go. If you like it and want to buy a copy let me know and I will send you my affiliate link (which I only have because I added it to my website so I thought I may as well benefit from sales).
-Carol Haynes (August 17, 2010, 01:47 PM)

Thanks, I'll do that.

Darwin · « **Reply #24 on:** March 18, 2011, 12:32 PM »

My only negative comment is that I really don't like the new colour scheme in version 6 - which seems to have been changed (too late) to make it fit in with Vista colour schemes - personally I thing the old colour scheme is clearer and more pleasant (perhaps they can be persuaded to include a skinning or theme function in version 7).
-Carol Haynes (August 17, 2010, 11:08 AM)

Carol - there's a hack that enables the old colour scheme... Now, if only I could remember it! I'll dig around and post it (found it in the Xara forums when 6 came out, so should be able to find it again).