At last, we now can set the color/contrast of the desktop and not be so blinded by the abundance of white.....
Thank you, Corel, for this nice gift.
Pretty damn cute.
MikeWe said: Pretty damn cute.
Not.
Do I even want to install this update?
MikeWe said:Having access to new features isn't all it's cracked up to be. Certainly not for me and likely a whole lotta other people. What feature(s), through version X6 that was premium only, did you really make money on while I needed to wait for X7? How many jobs really depended upon that access to premium only features?
Most of my work is web and interactive software. So one of the premium features of x6 were the QR generator. I use that a lot to direct print ads to specific web pages that provide a "deal" etc. I also have them on posters that can be scanned. Can you get that somewhere else, yep but I like it under one hood. I use a lot of stock images for sites and I get my dollars worth out of them alone. Because I do a lot of image work getting the white out is a big plus for me.
I will agree with you Connect needs a lot of help and I am not wild about how you have to depend on being online and that you cannot simply download all that content. Hopefully that will be addressed soon?
Beyond the premium membership which is a choice, you can have it as it grows or wait 2 years. I guess that is a businessl choice. Sadly software is going SaaS which I also do not like but it is what it is.
Can I equate a single feature with income? No I can't but I can look at a tool/equipment investment vs. return and in that space I give it Draw a huge YES.The only thing I can equate with income is sales and the ability to provide superior product is the best path to income. I mean the only real income security is opportunity.
Lots of users use it completely differently so I can only speak for what I do. I can say it's worth it to me and you can say it's not, we are both right.
MikeWe said:If Corel really had wanted to make life better for its customers, they wouldn't have changed the desktop color to pure-ass white and then make it customizable as a premie feature only.
I totally agree with you here that making it white was a bad idea. To me a premium feature is a peek into the future of the next release and not depriving others, you can opt in now$$ or wait.
I am sure there are things that really mess with some workflows again depends what you use the suite for.
Well, seeing how the white desktop is only a registry entry as pointed out in this thread, I changed it without spending the money...which is one reason it boggles the mind that it is a premie feature to begin with.
Anyway, we are both preaching to the converted regardless of where one stands on the subscription model. What I do know is I hope I end up retired before the whole industry is subscription only. The subscription model is of only real value to the companies, not the consumers.
MikeWe said:What I do know is I hope I end up retired before the whole industry is subscription only.
agree
MikeWe said:The subscription model is of only real value to the companies, not the consumers.
It's a horrible deal for all, I would never use it. You are putting your entire business and work product in third party hands, that makes no business sense at all. Read the fine print, you are getting the royal you know what.
Trust me...if the premium subscription is even modestly successful, I can see Corel moving to an Adobe-type subscription in the future. It does stabilize cash-flow I suspect...in adobe's case, it is down. But they make most their money elsewhere and not on consumer software, so I doubt it matters to them.
The way this was handled (the white desktop) was handled and implemented, I am hoping Corel does the right thing here. There are only a few possibilities. One, someone messed up and it became a subscription feature. Two, it was planned from the get-go. Three, they needed to have more "things" to justify subscription and some boneheaded person made this decision. And there are more possibilities I suppose.
With the way it is implemented, I am hoping for #1. Likely it was #3. I just cannot believe they would take something away and add it back later as a premie feature...
MikeWe said: Trust me...if the premium subscription is even modestly successful, I can see Corel moving to an Adobe-type subscription in the future. It does stabilize cash-flow I suspect...in adobe's case, it is down.
Trust me...if the premium subscription is even modestly successful, I can see Corel moving to an Adobe-type subscription in the future. It does stabilize cash-flow I suspect...in adobe's case, it is down.
Are you really surprised it's down? When Adobe moved to the subscription model I simply stopped updating. A lot of us did. They send me snail mail periodically with "special pricing" (that isn't really) but so far everything I really need is in CS6. And to be honest, it hasn't hurt as much as I thought it would. To this point it hasn't hurt at all. Oopsie.
So I'd hate to see Corel fall into that trap. Features (and stability) are what sell me on new releases. I'm ok with the white screen, I'm more annoyed with the pettiness of making it a premium option.
Silver...
Not surprised at all. I stayed with CS6 and prior (still have customers on ID CS4 through 5.5). If I ever get a customer using CC Whatever, then I'll rent it for the duration of the job. I still haven't gotten a job from existing nor new clients using CC. Same with QXP. Most all of them are supplying me with version 8, 9 and just yesterday I got a couple version 10 files.
Corporate clients/customers tend to stick with older versions of software. The ol' tried and true thing. Especially if they have any custom additions, scripts, etc., added to their work-flow.
But let's face it. Neither Adobe's nor Corel's (nor just about any company's) software has at its main customer the professional user. It really is about the "consumer." This is what has made Adobe as successful in this venture as they are. People can now "afford" to rent it. I've seen it in the change of tune of forum posts. Where there use to be a higher mix of questions from professionals that otherwise know what they are doing, the larger number of posts are newbies to ID, AI, etc., who don't even know how to set up a page, how to print, and in one post, how to save their work. Really? Yep.
Anyway, I am generally cynical when it comes to companies and the future of actually developing efficient, functional software. By and large it is inefficient bloat-ware and only getting worse for the push-button crowd. Lowest common denominator and all that.
Best regards, Mike
Mike, thank you for the desktop color trick.
You're welcome, Sign...
Mike