PSP X Comments
Be
sure to download the trial version before writing any checks or
coughing up dough on upgrades to PSP X. There is just not much to
recommend it above its own earlier incarnations of PSP 8 and 9.
Corel's
Paint Shop Pro X landed with a wee bit of new toenail polish on a
couple of toes, and darned little else. Unfortunately even its new
toenail polish is already chipping rather badly. Paint Shop Pro X
also sports additional (though not enough) bug fixes you will have to
pay for, to enjoy. Meanwhile the touted Color Management and 16 bit
support fiascos are fast becoming legends of folly and farce. Brace
yourself for getting a short stick on program stability and
sensibility, along with a nice big helping of interface unfriendliness,
as well.
It's
not all bad. X's new browser is a pure joy for anyone of the
masochistic persuasion. Being rather delightfully served up smartly
drenched in marketeers' empty calorie baloney, customerdom
manipulations, lackluster support, and no small share of MIA (missing
in action) documentation. PSP X also generously provides plenty of
additional new gotchas and userdom problems you may not relish either.
Do
your own homework first. Download it for a very thorough test driving
before ever reaching for the wallet, or forever hold your peace.
For
potential new customers who don't have earlier versions 8 or 9, it is a
powerful program with many great features. Unfortunately they are now
somewhat buried and hidden. Probably being staged to phase out later.
Dumbing down and underestimating the public is a heavily traveled path
in marketeering whoredom #101. However, those advanced features are
still there for the moment, even in X. So, go download, test drive the
beejesus out of it, and simply decide for yourself.
-Porter