I had to reinstall Windows. GRRR
where to I access my copy of CGS 2018?
That's the thing I really hate about download-only software. It's a good idea to back-up the original download installer file. Hindsight is 20/20 vision though. I can log into my Corel account and see several past registered versions of CorelDRAW along with their serial numbers. But Corel doesn't let you directly access the main installer file, just the patches. I seem to remember being able to download the main installer files from the downloads page in the past.I don't understand this policy. If you, the customer, bought a copy of CorelDRAW, registered and activated it then that should be enough to be granted access to download the main installer file (as well as the updates for that version). When you reinstall the software you have to sign into your Corel account, enter the serial number and activate it. This whole "we need a proof of purchase" email thing makes no sense.I just did an overhaul of an old personal notebook (new 1TB SSD and upgrade from 8 to 16GB of RAM). Put Win 10 Pro in it clean. I installed Adobe Creative Cloud on it (for now until I buy the new notebook I'm planning to buy). All I needed was my user name and password to get running. I installed personal copies of X8 and CDR 2020 on this old notebook; thankfully I had the ZIP installer files, patches, etc.
Great fear of piracy, weaponized against the actual customers.
I wasn't planning on this. I was supposed to be a 10 min job adding ram. I didn't know it would blow out into killing off and actually deleting my software, emails, passwords... Unbootable is unbootable... you would think after 30 year Microsoft would have managed a repair utility that worked. I think it has something to do with the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). I doubt if Windows can get inside that to fix anything. If it could that would potentially be a security risk.
I've downloaded 10 years of Paypal as CVS, found the Corel transaction, given it to them raw with the "", explained that it was an issue at the time as I was updating the post beta. Which didn't matter as I'd owned the copy before. Said it is urgent and screwing me over on a job, which it is. Told them to talk directly to Gérard Métrailler.
That was 10 hours ago. I'd say 24 hours was long enough for them to sort it out. That's about how long it will take me to get everything reloaded that I need for the job.
I'm very intolerant of people who say "that can't possibly be done". But I will try to just let this proceed without contacting support again. And I'll feedback what happens.
You are correct, you should be able to download the software at call. Things happen! Computers are stolen, HD go US, you buy a new computer... and you can do that. But if you have paid for something and you are not on Corel's DB then it isn't really your problem is it!
It "feels like" call centre bullshit from the telco. I had a classic this week. A customer with 4 emails that are jamming his email feed that I can't delete no matter what I do. I've had to wait 2 months while they developed the covid safe call centre.
Yani "Well if you can't do this by accessing his account and deleting the emails on the server then delete the whole account and recreate it."
Tech Support "Creating an email account is a sales job and it will take 2 days."
2 days for 1 minute of effort! Support can't even create an email account for an existing customer?
This is some bullshit attitude I've never been allowed. I'll bet ya most of us have done all nighters to meet a deadline, worked weekends without overtime, done our share of author's corrections and dared not complain. I thought that was called the "real world". Maybe I just got it all *** about face again. In the "real world" it takes 2 days to set up an email. Which is about the same amount of effort as to fix my license on the server.
Not sure if you know this but water is listed as hazardous. Of course you need to drink a ton to cause water intoxication first then DEATH!!! From hyponatremia Oh no. Better call Greta!
They use an organic spray here on mosquitoes that attacks a particular state on the life cycle.
"Council uses a naturally occurring bacterium found in soils called BTI (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis) to treat mosquito larvae in the region. BTI contains bacteria that produces toxins that specifically target and only affect the larvae of mosquito, blackfly and fungus gnat."I do like Roundup myself. But I don't spray it on things I eat. And I love BT, that sense of satisfaction knowing you have given the grubs a stomach explosion. And ants, I pour a bit of petrol in their nests then blow it in deep with compressed air. My current garden experiment is Dragonflies, I'm building them a pond. I'm doing some work with a biologist mate to see if we can sell the nymphs. Dragonflies love insects, particularly mosquitoes. In the US they are sold for $30 for 12 nymphs. "Dragonflies and Odonatas can be used as biocontrol agents to manage mosquito populations. They are often used as key elements of Integrated Pest Management strategies. Mosquitoes might be one of the few pests that scientists wouldn't feel so bad about eradicating."https://youtu.be/tZUVq2rM-qUI'm totally up for embracing my inner old codger.
I trust no one, I remember Agent Orange!!!!!
Oh "Weed and Feed" they call that. Yes I use that too, 24D.
I strive to be rational and follow the scientific method. I have a very hard edge that is pro science and anti belief.
"Agent Orange" was a contaminate in 24D caused by a production push where the safety protocols were ignored. It should never have been used and the war was nothing but a waste of lives, the first of many where the military industrial complex from WWII needed enemies to survive.
I have a challenge on for my antivaxer mates on Facebook to find the drug trial for Covid-19 where I fit the criteria so I can enroll. And another for them to name the 3 issues about vaccines that matter to then for me to debunk. Of course they don't have 3 issues they have a belief, "it's bad".
How is that different to a Mac/Abobe user who claims "only the mac can be used for graphics because it is the industry standard"? Is that not a false belief? "Corel write buggy software." That's not true, they write software using best practice like all the other commercial software companies and like all the others it is going to contain bugs and some of those bugs will be from other bugs in compilers and libraries. The problem is the labeling of X.0 and the belief created by marketing that this isn't pre-release versions.
(To bring this back into context)
Then a problem, albeit "Agent Orange" or Corel Draw, it ends up at the coal face with soldiers being contaminated or in our case at the last minute when the file fails to rip correctly or some other issue.
It's a little lie with a big consequence for many people when it should have been confined to the testing/beta group. Then so many things have this problem attached to it, that everything needs to be questioned. Then many people who are just plain lazy with grab hold of some 3 word slogan and become committed to a false premise. In Corel's case "not industry standard" or "vaccines cause autism" or "build the wall" or "stop the boats" or even "God is Great" and "Jesus is coming". Once that has occurred, fixing it is a massive task, it's become a belief and indeed a set of counter beliefs.
If you want Corel to sell the number of units they are capable of then you need to deal with the questions of belief. And those belief are both internal and external.
Corel software is buggy >> Corel have an open bugs list are fix error within xx days as proved by these stats.Corel is not industry standard >> Buy a RIP and get into bed with the industry leaders.
Corel is expensive compared to Adobe >> ???
Corel have a history of shooting themselves in the foot >> Unfortunately true and likely only going to be resolved with a new attitude, product line and re-badging.
After 30 years I can see the potential but it seems to be getting less likely to be realised and not more.
I wish there was Roundup for Corel bugs. In Photo-PAINT 2020 after you save you must wait for the save process to finish or boom!
Otherwise it's stable for me.
I do use regular Roundup, in a controlled manner in 2 places in my yard, for barked briars and poison ivy. The treatment lasts about 3 years. The briars when first treated will actually grow significantly and where they touch ground set roots.
Roundup kills weeds. For Corel bugs you need DDT.
I have to figure out the background process problem in PP 2020 I haven't used it a great deal and maybe it can't be fixed and won't get fixed until 2025 version if at all.
That's the sort of bug that takes a week to resolve. Why wasn't it picked up in the beta? That's when bags are being process. After that the team moves on to the "Designer" upgrades. And then no doubt to other program updates before returning to the first round of bug fixes for Draw.
My guesses as above, right or wrong, recognise that developers move through a list of projects and bug fixing stages. It requires moving forward and that has a schedule. The point where the maximum pressure can be applied to bugs in at the confirmation stage within the beta testing. I'll bet you that the releases that people were the most satisfied with can statistically be proven to be the ones where the beta team left the least bugs in an unconfirmed state.
It's a hell of a lot easier for developers to fix bugs when their mind have been all over the code for the last 3 months than it is after they have been to Designer land and back.
So how do you fix that? You have a reward program for effort and a bounty on bugs.
A lot can happen in that 3 month period after the gold master. That has to include "hell, I've been under pressure to get his out for 6 months, I'm out a here for a holiday/resigning/to have a baby". I'm not going to blame people for being human.
It's the "communist" structure of the beta team. Everyone gets the same rewards, regardless of if they even turn up for roll call. I don't see an issue in starting there and introducing rewards for effort.
I don't want to breach any NFD I've agreed to in the past. It likely takes about an hour to read a bug report, follow the actions need to confirm or dismiss it, then write back the results to the database. $10 per bug and $10 per confirmation. Nothing for doing nothing. Bug bounties are known to be very effective in getting more reports sooner.
The idea of a "bug bounty" originated with Netscape. It's usually focused on security but the concept can just as easily be applied to software function.
www2.stardust-testing.com/.../4-benefits-functional-bounty-program
So you've not been a Corel BETA tester for quite awhile?
The background processes issue seems odd, some time ago instability issues were resolved by turning them off, then after a few Windows updates turning them back on resolves the stability issue.
That seems to have resolved the Photo-PAINT issues for me but I needed to spend some time on the rifle range and won't get back to serious image work until Monday or Tuesday.
Windows is a moving platform, I get as many as 3 anti-virus/malware updates a day, a few major updates every year. All in all Windows works very well and it's not just Corel software that is affected by these updates others are as well.