Corel X5 is coming

[Dan Hintz]

Corel is going to have some sort of big "deal" on X4, according to my annoyingly repetitive emails from them, but they won't give up the details until the 26th. I'll post more details when I find out.

And as a teaser... the most likely reason for this "deal" is X5 will more than likely be released within the next 6 months. The last 3 versions have been released in January or February, and my sources tell me they're still on track to keep that up. There are a number of threads on their forums with user-desired upgrades, but only a limited number of those have been "confirmed" by the Corel guys. We'll see...

So, do you purchase X4 at a great price, or do you wait it out another 6 months and try for X5 (along with the requisite bugs)?

[Joe Pelonio]

I'm content to stick with X3. No one has convinced me that X4 is worth spending the extra money on. (Still using XP too!)

[Dee Gallo]

I'm with Joe. No point in changing one thing, just to find out now you have to change two other things... as they say, if it ain't broke...

I use X3 and XP pro, they do just fine.

:) dee

[Garrett Nors]

I like being on the edge of the software curve, so I'll be buying X5 when it comes out. I have X4 here at the shop on one of my machines but on my laser I use X3.

[Bruce Volden]

I'm still on Corel 11:o and can find NO reason to change (I refuse Vista).
So tell me I'm missing something! I started out with WIN 3.11 and Corel Draw 4. I migrated up to where I am and can't find a reason to upgrade. Granted I miss out on some of the graphics posted but if I really needed them I could make them! C'mon gang, convince an oldtimer.

Bruce

[Darren Null]

X4 has the centerline trace back, but I can't think of another reason to promote myself from X3. I'll wait. And probably still not do anything. Corel in my experience from version 4 on, has been notoriously twitchy. Having got X3 doing my bidding, I take changing it seriously; as there's usually a whole new list of 'features' to be learned and compensated for.

[Dan Hintz]

Seems like the same comment from almost everyone..."There's little value in changing". I find that quite interesting, particularly since no one knows what new features are being added. If I remember correctly, a number of members said the same thing about much older versions... "I've been using version so-and-so for so-and-so number of years and I see no reason to upgrade"... but something along the way forced them to upgrade (OS upgrade, dead computer, whatever), and once they upgraded to the latest and greatest the tone became "I don't know how I lived without features 'Y' and 'Z'... it was annoying having to learn a different interface, but WOW!"

Personally, I'd still be running Windows 2000 if the programs supported it as there's not a single freakin' thing in any OS since then that has been a necessity for me (or even a mild amusement), so I definitely understand the feeling, but I at least knew what was being offered in the upgrade...

[Scott Shepherd]

I'll have to see what it's claim to fame is first. I'm another one very content with X3 and VERY glad we upgraded from V12 to X3. For us, that one was well worth doing. I'm not sure I could live without SmartFill now. I use it all the time to solve difficult drawing programs or even alignment issues for weird shapes.

I've never been a big fan of the trace features. Never had much luck with them and for less than $20, there are people that will convert a logo into vector and they an excellent job. Now I just build that into the price rather than mess with trace all day.

We skipped X4, maybe X5 will have some useful improvements. Let's hope so. If handling PDF's is one of the things they do a lot of work on, then it would be worth it for us.

[Mike Null]

I'm in my eleventh year with Corel. I use X3 upgraded from V11. I upgraded due to some features and the ability to import and handle more files.
If X5 has enough new features that I deem to be worthwhile I will upgrade; otherwise,X3 is pretty good.

I do use the trace feature and find that it works quite well on about 50% of what I need done.

I can also do my work in Corel and send it to EngravLab with the application launcher for engraving with my rotary machine.

[Darren Null]

My laser laptop gave up the ghost. Fortunately I got given a vintage laptop for repairing somebody's computer, so I'm using that. I'm running Corel9 on that, as it's all it'll cope with. The massive, massive difference between 9 and the X3 I run on the design machine is the advanced 'snap-to' stuff in X3. All the 'quadrant' and 'perpendicular' and 'centre' etc. It just makes things so easy, and I'd forgotten what life was like before that. You have to use actual maths.

[Doug Griffith]

With software upgrades, I stick with what's stable and "works" for my business. I keep the cutting edge software for play until I know it VERY well and it has proven to be stable.

[Thad Nickoley]

I hate to admitt it but I am barely using X3 to about 40% of its ablity. X5 would have to be pretty special for me to consider changing.

[Bill Cunningham]

I upgraded to X4 from 12 and there is a world of difference. The upgrade to X4 was the same price as the upgrade to X3 so it was really a no brainer.. The only bug that has bugged the heck out of me on X4 is when your doing fiddly stuff, like laying out multiple line forms, doing many changes of small text, etc. (I use it for more than laser work) I have to make a save every few sections or every 3-4 minutes, because I think it gets so may variables going in and out of registers, that it trips and finally crashes. The crash WILL happen, and only a recent save, will save to a lot of work.. It can be really aggravating..The upgrade from X4 to X5 should be real cheap just for that reason. Sometimes I think I will reload 12 just for doing forms. It was very stable

[Larry Bratton]

I have been with Corel since Version 6. X3 works very well for me and I doubt I would upgrade. I tried X4 and didn't care for it, so I stayed with X3. If it ain't broke, don't fix it is my philosophy.

[Bob Cole]

Do you think it will be X10 or XX?

I used to be on the bleeding edge but now unless there is a real compelling reason to spend the $$ and invest the time in learning, I hold off.

[Dan Hintz]

I heard a rumor version 30 was going to be called 'XXX', but they scrapped that idea when they realized their servers would be overloaded when too many porn-addicts tried to download it :D

[Chris Nichols]

Deal is...Save $100 off new $50 off upgrade! Until 11:59 pm tonight.

[Dan Hintz]

The $100 off new is decent, if you can't wait for X5, but the $50 off upgrade pops up almost every other week (Corel really needs to reign in their marketing emails... it's not a "special" if it's done several times a month).

[Robert Ray]

I have Corel 9, 11, and X4, and to tell the truth, they all do everything I need. X4 is a little better in some ways, but a little more annoying in others, so I switch between Corel 9 and X4, doing the tasks each is better at.

I ust Corel for drawing the laser cut parts, converting raster bimps to vectors, drawing up color seperated decal layers, writing kit instructions, and making box shot labels. It's a great program, but I think maybe every 5 years or so is probably upgrade enough.

There would have to be something really impressive added in X5 to make it worth upgrading.


-Robert Ray

[Aaron Koehl]

I read somewhere that "Even" Corel versions are usually just lipstick and a few fixes, while odd versions introduce nice new features.

I use X4, but it's programming environment (object model, new functions, etc) is SO much nicer than X3. Problem is, everything I write has to work at least back to X12, so I end up writing function wrappers around all the new functionality.

[Lee DeRaud]

I use X4, but it's programming environment (object model, new functions, etc) is SO much nicer than X3.File that under the "things I need to take a look at eventually". But at least the VBA stuff I wrote in version 12 still works, so they must be doing something right.