I can see why some software upgrades become essential due to newer hardware and operating system differences, but my primary question here is why we as a group tend to buy into a continual software upgrade process that usually offers minimal improvements for the cost incurred,...is that $100 or $200+ really worth that one or two extra bells and whistles we probably won't use half a dozen times over the next year until the next advancement of that same new bell or whistle command costs us with the next upgrade?
I just spent 2 years studying computers at the college level and it still baffles me why folks spend the money on every upgrade as soon as it hits the shelf,...I know from my studies it is a given fact the majority of users utilize less than 10% of the commands available and even power users utilize less than 50% of the commands on a regular basis.I know from my personal experience that my old version of corel 9 does 9999 times out of 10000 what I need to do for every day sign design,....it even runs better on the newer operating systems than it did on the older ones it was designed for,...I guess my question here is,...if something works well ,why fix it? the example actually has shown improvements from it's original intended use due to OS upgrades(necessary due to hardware replacement)
Sure I,ve tried upgrades up to x5 but I really can't see the necessity of the learning curve to find where they moved the same commands I've been using and or what new input window or toolbar they moved it to,...rarely do I see the justification in the extra costs of upgrades actually make that big of a difference in the capabilities of the software. seems to me the driving factor here has been the ability to open newer versions of files from outside sources moreso than any other motivating factor to utilize these upgrades,...but then that is just my personal opinion and we all know what opinions are like,....
I'm not saying all upgrades are unnecessary just seems like alot more are than the software vendors let on like,...I've found that alot of older software actually does a better job on the newer operating systems whether the vendors continue support or not
Posted by Preston McCall (Member # 351) on :
i agree. I still use Corel 12 and it is working just fine. Now my XP Pro is getting a little ragged. I hear it will get much worse soon. they get you one way or the other....kinda like using One Shot lettering these days. Planned pre-aging promoting additional sales. Just wish I was in the printer cartrage business!
Posted by Ken Henry (Member # 598) on :
The correct term is "Planned Obsolescence" and it's been a core strategy in manufacturing/marketing for at least a couple of generations. The auto manufacturers are quite capable of putting out a product that can and would last for 20 years before the owners even begin to consider a replacement. Problem is if they did that, and everyone bought one next year, then all the auto workers could kiss their jobs goodbye until the demand peaks some 20 years down the road. So, they design their product to wear out well before those 20 years, mostly to insure their very existance, and look forward to a resale in a much shorter time span. Software has simply accelerated that interval of obsolescence. I like to call it The Hampster Wheel of Technology. Your choice as to when you get on and where you opt to get off.
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
upgrades are more of a " i am superior" cause i got the latest greatest most expensive SCHIT)))))))
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
I recently considered buying a new cutter, but found my older program that I'm happy with does not have drivers for the new cutters. I need to convert everything to lines and export as EPS to bring into another program to cut. Sure seems like I better sit where I am as long as it works
Posted by Ricardo Davila (Member # 3854) on :
Tim,
[ June 25, 2013, 06:00 PM: Message edited by: Ricardo Davila ]
Posted by Michael Clanton (Member # 2419) on :
I usually try to research before I determine if an "upgrade" is worth the time and money. I use machines as long as they do the work they are intended to do- unfortunately some of those machines simply wear out, or stop performing at a level that I can make money with- then I try to replace them with something more efficient, that will last as long as possible.
Software is a little different. I have tried for many years to follow that same rule- hold out with what works as long as possible- but unlike hardware, software tends to have bugs and issues, some upgrades simply address those issues.
I started 20 years ago with version 1 CorelDRAW!- then 2,3,4,5,7,9, x3 and now x6- some of those upgrades were well worth the money, some were not. For me I was very happy with X3- it did a lot of things well, was solid, etc. but as time passed, there were newer file types that it simply could not open or import- I am very pleased with X6 because I don't have those issues anymore- it is solid and has made me money without having to fight with it- in my opinion, that upgrade was well worth the money. Although I still have X3 on a machine, and use it from time to time- all of my newer work is with X6 and I simply would not go backwards!
For me the latest Adobe upgrades have been game-changing in my business- Photoshop improvements were staggering, the new Lightroom 5 that just came out a few weeks ago, is allowing me to work with photos in ways that were not possible even a few months ago! Products like Muse and Edge are allowing designers to take back the web from the boring coders who have almost sterilized the entire industry... not to mention After Effects and Premiere which are on the video editing side (I use, but haven't had a chance to use all of their new capabilities) You could not PAY me to go back to using the older Adobe products.
So for me, these upgrades have allowed me to expand my craft and my work- I believe they were the best investment I could have made at this time.
Posted by Michael Clanton (Member # 2419) on :
BTW- I didn't upgrade just to feel " superior" for having all the latest software- I did it to work smarter and more efficiently.
I will be happy to open and convert down any files that people want to send me-- I have to open and convert newer CDR, AI and PDF's for other people just about every other day
The times, they are a changin'...
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
I'm like most Corel users here...Started with V2 and, hop skipped and jumped through the upgrades. I quit at version X3, when I retired.
It does everything I need for fun and I don't need to import other, newer file formats to do a 'Job'.
I agree with OP and Michael...Corel 9 was probably the best version ever.
Posted by Kelly Thorson (Member # 2958) on :
Ooopeee, Ooopeee, Ooopeee. What a goofy statement! Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
really!
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
So, how many here wish they were still working in Windows 3.1 and Corel 2.0 on a 286 with a whopping 2 megs of ram?
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
Glenn,
I upgraded my Apple IIe to that!
Well... it had 1 meg of RAM.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
quote:So, how many here wish they were still working in Windows 3.1 and Corel 2.0 on a 286 with a whopping 2 megs of ram?
Glenn, I just finished disposing of a bunch of "OLD" floppy disks, including Win 3.0 and Win 3.1 and Win 3.11...My floppy's with Corel 2 are long vanished, I think they were on 5.25" real floppy's???
Those were the days when we thought we were state of the art!!! And we probably were, back then.
Nowadays, it is tough to be "state of the art" unless we upgrade every few months. Between Shirl and I we have 2 desktops and 2 laptops. The older ones, only 5 years old, seem slow. The newer ones, a year old are much faster and cost less.
We will be upgrading some soon....Nothing worse than having to wait for a progam or process to start working!!! We are too old to be waiting!!! We are the "I want it NOW" generation...At age 69, we only have so long left to "wait"!!!
As far as working with old technology, I think my son still has his first Commodore 64, just to remember how primitive things were back in the 80's.
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Well now I just feel old. I remember all of that like it was yesterday. I wouldn't want to go back to it, though.
Glenn,...if I remember correctly windows 3.1 was an excellent upgrade from the buggy 3.0,not to mention how much windows changed from versions 1 & 2,...I can recall having written scripts in dos to reconfigure my boot sequence when I switched from corel ver 1 to cadlink ver1(now signlab)thus having to reboot my desktop in windows 1 to switch programs and free up enough memory to do so,...windows was little more than a fancy file list you could click on filenames with a mouse,if you remembered to load the mouse driver,...back then when you paid for an upgrade you got what you paid for,(with the exception of the windows 3.1 you mention which was little more than a fix for the bugs in ver 3.0)..the upgrades I'm referring to are the ones nowadays where they charge you for an upgrade when it's actually only a fix for bugs in a previous version you've already paid for expecting that version to work properly in the first place,(windows vista and windows 7 come to mind here,... they are teaching both programs from the same text at college) ...or that odd number upgrade a few years back that for the most part all they did was shuffle the commands and add an interface window for $179,....I'm sure we've all been there ,...I continually see references by users who state they skip upgrades for that very reason,...why do we allow the software vendors to sell us these overly hyped upgrades? now they are expecting us to subscribe to the same ideal without any hype whatsoever as what if anything to expect next,....I'm already seeing reports of cloud software with serious bugs that have massive numbers of users with apps that won't run and or crashing yet still they pay the subscriptions or they don't get to play,....what's in that next upgrade???????
edited to add,...whats the stand alone client with a workstation not connected to the internet for security needs to do? will they wake up one day finding they are stuck in that same scenerio you use with windows 3.1 type software because they cannot endanger their clients data for security reasons?
[ June 27, 2013, 11:34 AM: Message edited by: Tim Barrow ]
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Easy. Put on a white tux and shoot the crap out of a goonie.
It works every time. Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
Michael, I remember (and probably still have the disks for) DrawPerfect. It was WordPerfect's drawing program back when WordPerfect Corp owned WP(circa 1991). WP was then briefly owned by Novell before being bought by Corel. When I got into signs & started using Corel Draw, it was like having a beer with an old friend you haven't seen in years. So many functions reminded me of how DrawPerfect did things.
Posted by jack wills (Member # 521) on :
Flexi 10.2 here. It is not qualified to walk in the footsteps of 8.5...They have lost heir minds trying to have a reason to make money selling a crappier version that is so slow to respond and when asking the tech's at said co. they get bent and still come up with an excuse instead of answering my questions. And if they finally do, it is some jerry rigged slight of hand that still is not an answer...
Posted by jack wills (Member # 521) on :
Flexi 10.2 here. It is not qualified to walk in the footsteps of 8.5...They have lost heir minds trying to have a reason to make money selling a crappier version that is so slow to respond and when asking the tech's at said co. they get bent and still come up with an excuse instead of answering my questions. And if they finally do, it is some jerry rigged slight of hand that still is not an answer...
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
i had a good friend of mine when i 1st got in personal computer(1990)(i had been trained in the air force 1972, to work with the IBM 1050-2 computer, it was card reader/keypunch on 80 column cards) and he told me 2 things that i have listened to from then. 1. ALWAYS STAY 1 VERSION BEHIND ANY PROGRAMS. as most are released in a BETA, then they clean it up with the next updates. 2. YOUR COMPUTER ONLY REALLY NEEDS TO AS FAST YOUR SLOWEST PERIPHERAL. pretty self explanatory.
[ June 29, 2013, 01:49 AM: Message edited by: old paint ]
Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :
Yes OP, really. That had to be the most ridiculous statement I've ever seen you post. No one in their right mind spends $200 to upgrade a program because of their ego. I only upgrade when necessary, or if a new feature is available that I know will help me be more efficient. And I don't feel "superior", mostly lighter in the wallet for a while.
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
musta hit the truth....since it bothers you so much)))))
Posted by Deb Fowler (Member # 1039) on :
still with Gerber Omega.
Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :
Posted by Donna in BC (Member # 130) on :
I waited so long with my current upgrade that I had to start all over again! Not a bad way to go. Just like an old beater, let it die a natural death then get a new one with new everything else.
It's either that or try and keep up with the never ending game of this thing won't work with that thing.
Posted by George Perkins (Member # 156) on :
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Just like an old beater, let it die a natural death then get a new one with new everything else.