A New Buyer for Corel?

Last week I told you that Corel Holdings had withdrawn their offer to purchase all outstanding shares of Corel Corporation. Well, it seems as if the offer was withdrawn because at least one other interested buyer is out there.

Go ahead and read the article. You'll probably ask the same question as everyone else I've talked with. Who is it? I certainly have no inside information so I can only guess at who it might be and who it won't be. Let's talk about some of the names that have come to mind.

I'm sure two of the names that immediately came to mind were Microsoft and Adobe. Microsoft would be a great fit. Unfortunately there is one large problem, WordPerfect. Government forces would not allow Microsoft to take out their largest (albeit, small) competitor. Adobe would also be taking out their biggest competitor. Not to mention that there would be huge overlap between the product lines.

Quark is on an upswing after the latest release of Xpress. I just don't think they have a big enough checkbook.

Google has the checkbook. They don't have the overlap. Then again, I'm not sure what they would do with packaged software. Then again, maybe technology from WordPerfect could be used to give Google Docs more features. The Ulead video products could be given away so people could develop better video for YouTube. CorelDRAW and Corel DESIGNER could be developed to work with Sketchup. I definitely would love Google to buy Corel simply because I know they would get the word out about the products. OK, so I doubt this is likely.

Autodesk has AutoCAD and Maya. I'm really not sure how they would do with consumer products since most of their products are very high-end. They definitely have the checkbook and there is no overlap of product lines.

There are certainly more names that come up to me though I can't think of a good reason for them to purchase Corel and/or they are companies that can't afford to buy Corel. I'm sure I've missed some possibilities and would love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment and let me know who you think it might be and why. Please don't e-mail me comments directly as I would be the only one to see it.

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Corel Buyout Withdrawn; Where to Go Next?

Back in March, Corel Holdings made an offer to purchase all outstanding shares of Corel's stock for $11 per share. Today that offer was withdrawn. Keep in mind that Corel Holdings is already the majority shareholder with 69 percent of all shares.

Corel says that its directors will now evaluate strategic alternatives for the company. Of course none of those alternatives has been made public. So why don't we, the users, have a little fun and see what kind of alternatives we can dream up. Who know, maybe one of us has a great idea that Corel has not yet explored.

I'm going to list a few of my thoughts that I feel would be good for the company. Feel free to post comments with your thoughts. Please remember that these are my thoughts and if they are in any way related to the reality of the situation, I certainly know nothing about it.

1. Corel needs to make up their mind on Corel Ventura. I think it is absolutely crazy that they have done nothing with the software in seven years. Did you know that Corel Corporation was built as a VAR providing support for the then Ventura Publisher and that Corel's first product was a laser printer? Did you know that Corel created several utilitities like Headline and NewFont to add cool text features to Ventura? Did you know that those products turned into CorelDRAW in 1989? Those of us who truly use and believe in Ventura can make very compelling arguments for Corel to resume development. While we find the software indispensable, it is definitely showing its age. If Corel isn't willing to resume development before the end of 2008, they need to find a buyer for it immediately. Personally I don't think they would get much money from a sale and yet it could again become very valuable if they would simply develop it. It is the perfect complement to their other graphics products.
   
   
2. Sell WordPerfect! They have tried so hard to compete with Microsoft Office that it has taken valuable resources away from CorelDRAW. Remove WordPerfect from their product portfolio and almost everything else they own has some relation to graphics.
   
   
3. Consolidate image editors. Do they really need so many of them? Paint Shop Pro, PhotoImpact, PHOTO-PAINT and Painter are just the biggest names Corel owns. I truly believe there should be no more than three. Paint Shop Pro and PhotoImpact should be combined in some fashion to be the entry-level consumer product. PHOTO-PAINT should be the professional level editor. Painter should be for those who want to "paint" from scratch on screen. Believe me, some users would get upset when their favorite gets changed. It is just too much to develop products that compete against one another. Not to mention that Corel's own products can read the formats from the other products.
   
   
4. Continue to develop vertical markets for CorelDRAW. DecoStudio has taken CorelDRAW into the world of embroidery. Corel DESIGNER is for those doing technical illustrations. What about a version dedicated to the sign market to compete with FlexiSign? Maybe something else geared towards Web development. Of course putting Ventura in the box would give people the ability to do books more gracefully that doing it in CorelDRAW.
   
   
5. Work with third parties! This is a giant pet peeve of mine. Look at the corel.com Web site. Look at the coreldraw.com Web site. How many of the resources provided are provided strictly by Corel and how many by third parties? You'll find very few third party products listed. As one of the bigger providers of training products for CorelDRAW, it really bugs me that Corel does so little to work with third parties. And while this is somewhat self-serving, I always ask that Corel work with my competitors as well because I believe that it will be good for all of us in the long run. If a shopper realizes all of the support for CorelDRAW that exists, they are more likely to buy CorelDRAW and get the most out of it. If they go simply on what Corel provides on their Web properties, support looks awful compared to what is available for the Adobe suites.

OK, that's my five ideas. Are they realistic? Maybe. Will they happen? Sadly I'm not confident any of them will happen and that to me is Corel's problem. What do you think of my ideas? Am I crazy or did I hit the nail on the head? Do you have any ideas you'd like to share? Our goal is to make a stronger, more profitable company as that can only help us to get a better version of CorelDRAW in the future!

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Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite X4 Announced

There is a member of the CorelDRAW family that many users know very little about and today that family member has been updated. Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite X4 is available for immediate purchase as a download and a boxed version will be available soon.

Corel DESIGNER is built on all of the same engines as CorelDRAW so many parts of the product will be immediately familiar to CorelDRAW users. It includes Corel PHOTO-PAINT, Corel PowerTRACE and Corel CAPTURE just like the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. While there are similarities, there are also powerful features in Corel DESIGNER that are not found in CorelDRAW.

If you are working with technical illustrations, then you'll want to give Corel DESIGNER a long look. For example, support for importing 3D CAD files from all of the popular formats is included. You'll also find support for CGM files from popular design programs. When designing your own drawings, there are improved tools for adding dimensions and arrowheads as well as projected drawing modes. There is also a large library of hatch fills that can be used to fill your graphics.

These are only a few of the features you'll find in Corel DESIGNER. A free trial is available for download, so give it a try for yourself!

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Technology Preview of Corel DESIGNER X4 Available

What do you do with CorelDRAW? Are you often creating technical illustrations? If so, you might want to download the technology preview of Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite X4 and give it a try.

Corel DESIGNER is built on the same technology platform as CorelDRAW. So if you are already familiar with CorelDRAW, you'll find many things to work exactly the same way in Corel DESIGNER. What you'll find is more tools for technical illustration and more import filters geared towards technical file formats, including importation of 3D CAD files.

This is a pre-release, a beta, so please be careful if you choose to download and install it!

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The Other Corel Products

Most of the readers of my blog are users of CorelDRAW. You've probably heard about some of Corel's products, but I'm guessing that you didn't realize all of the different products that are in the Corel family. I wanted to use this e-mail to introduce them to you. Even better, I'll give you a code to save 10% if you find something you'd like.


CorelDRAW was the first major product for Corel Corporation, but many people don't realize that it was designed as a tool to create graphics for use in Ventura Publisher. Years later, Corel bought Ventura and still sells it as Corel Ventura. The unfortunate part is that they don't give it the marketing support it deserves. For those of you creating longer documents, Ventura is a publishing powerhouse that shouldn't be overlooked.

Corel PHOTO-PAINT is included with CorelDRAW, but it is only one of the image editors that Corel offers. If you are doing a lot of work with digital photography, you will want to investigate Corel Paint Shop Pro X2. While it shares many of the same features as Corel PHOTO-PAINT, the price is low enough that you can use it in conjunction with Corel PHOTO-PAINT.

Another tool for image editing is Corel Painter X. If you are an artist who has painted with a brush, this is the tool that lets you paint directly on the screen. One of the coolest things you can do with Painter is convert a photo into something that looks like the painting from one of the masters. For a lower cost alternative, check out Corel Painter Essentials 4. It doesn't have as many features of Corel Painter X, but it also costs much less.

For those of you wanting to create and edit videos, there is VideoStudio. It has a friendly price and yet does most everything people need for editing videos. If you simply want to watch videos on your computer, then WinDVD 9 will do the trick. It can play both standard DVDs as well as the newer Blu-ray titles.

I've yet to meet a user who doesn't have a need to zip and unzip files. Sure, you can do the basics with the tools in Windows. But with WinZip 11.1, you can do much more.

This is by no means a complete list of products that Corel makes, but they are the products that would be of the most use to CorelDRAW users who want to expand their product arsenal.

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Photoshop Web Design Book Available For Free Download

I'm certainly not a Photoshop user, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy getting a free book. The folks at Sitepoint are giving away the book The Photoshop Anthology: 101 Web Design Tips, Tricks and Techniques. This is a book that sells at Amazon for $26. Of course, the free copy is a download so it is a bit different than the printed version. The giveaway is also sponsored by an advertiser so you find one line of text at the very bottom of each page promoting the advertiser. Honestly, this wasn't a distraction at all to me.

There is a running clock on the site that says the offer will expire in a little over 27 days. So expect the offer to be gone by mid-June.

For those of you who use Corel PHOTO-PAINT to do your Web graphics, you might want to get our tutorial The Terms of Adobe Photoshop and Corel PHOTO-PAINT. It will help you translate some of the Photoshop terms used in the book so you can do the same projects in Corel PHOTO-PAINT.

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Corel to Get New CEO

David Dobson, Corel's current CEO, is leaving to take an executive position with a Fortune 500 company. He will remain on the board of directors through June. Kris Hagerman has been named the interim CEO. Hagerman was formerly a group president with Symantec. Hagerman will start on Thursday, May 8.

So what does this all mean? At this point there are no answers. I'm guessing it is related to the stock buyout offer announced in March. If I learn anything new, I'll keep you updated. As far as the short term, it should have little to no effect on Corel's products.

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Mystical Painter Bundle Provides Great Value

The folks at Auto FX have put together a special bundle of products at an unbelievable price. The Mystical Painter Bundle is comprised of six separate software and training products valued at $900. With this special bundle, you can get them for only $349 until August 31, 2008.

Corel Painter X is the centerpiece of the suite. By itself, Corel Painter X has a list price of $429 and sells for $379.99 at Amazon. Even if all you want is Corel Painter X, the bundle is saving you $30! The next piece of the bundle is the Mystical Lighting plug-in from Auto FX. It has a price of $179. You also get the Mystical Tint Tone and Color plug-in from Auto FX. It also has a price of $179. Add to that a training video from Jeremy Sutton on using Corel Painter which sells for $65. There are also training videos for both Mystical Lighting and Mystical Tint Tone and Color. Each of those series is $29 each when purchased separately.

For those who are looking for a way to unleash their inner artist, this special bundle gives you the software and the training you need to "paint" on your computer. Remember, the special expires on August 31, 2008 so don't miss out!

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Corel Receives Proposal from Majority Shareholder

So who really owns Corel these days? It can get confusing. I'll try to recap the ownership history as best I can remember and then I'll bring you up to speed with what happened today. Keep in mind that I don't work for Corel and I have no inside knowledge of what happened.

Back in the 1990s, Corel was taken public by then CEO and founder, Michael Cowpland. During the time the company was public, the stock price certainly had its ups and downs. There was a day in the late 90s (I can't remember the exact timeframe) when the stock flew up to $44/share because of Corel's involvement with Linux. The party didn't last long and the stock dropped to under $1/share. In 2003, Vector Capital bought the company and took it private.

The idea was that Corel was damaged goods and that Vector would fix what was wrong and then take the company public again. In the spring of 2006, Vector did take the company public again at $16. Since Corel's stock was made public, the price has never reached the release price. Just a few weeks ago it was selling for just under $7/share. It has since creeped up over $10/share.

Which brings us to today's news. Vector Capital still owned 69% of Corel. Now they are making an offer to buy the rest of the company for $11/share. What does this mean for users of Corel's software? Hopefully nothing, but I honestly don't have any idea.

I do know that management has been more focused on some of the new products Corel has acquired recently and less interested in the products upon which the company was built, Corel Ventura and CorelDRAW. I don't have any hope that Vector owning the company will give these important products more attention as they given't give them any more attention when they previously owned the whole company.

Today's announcement just leaves me scratching my head and asking "what's next?" What do you think of this announcement?

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Twisting Pixels Releases Classico Plug-In

The folks at Twisting Pixels have some really cool plug-ins that work with Adobe Photoshop and Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Recently they added a new plug-in that can make your photos look like a painting by one of the masters.

ArtStudioPro Classico gives you filters like Aged Paint, Artistic Edges, Cracked Paint, DaVinci, Graphite Sketch, Sketch, Painted Background and Vintage Sketch. With each filter, there are a number of settings you can adjust to get the exact look you want.

You can download a free trial version of this and other Twisting Pixels plug-ins as well as purchasing full versions at the Twisting Pixels Web site.

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Unleashed FX X4 Now Available

The Unleashed FX add-on for Corel PHOTO-PAINT has been updated to work with Corel PHOTO-PAINT X4. As Unleashed FX works with the macro language inside PHOTO-PAINT, it is very version specific. Both a full version and an upgrade are available.

If you aren't already familiar with Unleashed FX, it puts 300 special effects available at the push of a button. Those effects can be applied to any existing object in Corel PHOTO-PAINT or they can be automatically applied to a new piece of text in the font and size of your choice. Now you can create really cool effects with minimal effort.

Check out the Web page for Unleashed FX. You can find information about how it works, tips, samples and more. Give it a try by downloading a trial version including the full documentation.

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Corel Takes New Direction for Embroidery

Corel has been marketing the DRAWings package for a few years now. It combined CorelDRAW with embroidery software from Wings Systems. That era has ended and a new one has begun.

Today Corel announced DecoStudio, a blending of CorelDRAW and embroidery technology from Wilcom. Not only does DecoStudio handle embroidery, it also helps with garment printing, applique, screen printing, vinyl signage and more.

At the heart of the system is CorelDRAW X3 for creation of graphics. Wilcom DecoStudio is then included and I would guess that it does all the work of prepping the graphic for output in each of the mediums. I've yet to get a look at the software, so I can't be much more descriptive at this point.

The price is $1999 and that might seem steep to many users of CorelDRAW. But for those working in the industries targeted, it is a bargain price. If you already own Corel DRAWings, you can upgrade for $999. The software is targeted to ship in March.

I hope to have more information on this important announcement soon and will post more about DecoStudio as I learn more.

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What's Worse--Spam or Spam Filters?

Nobody likes spam. I get at least 500 pieces of "no questions about it" spam every day. There are probably another 50 pieces a day that are definitely not spam, but they aren't of interest to me. For example, I receive quite a few press releases because I write about computer stuff. Some of them talk about products that I want to tell you about and some are about really obscure stuff that doesn't have much to do with what I cover.

Like most everyone, I have spam filters that filter out the majority of the stuff that should never be sent. Heck, a lot of the spam is in Russian and I can't even read it so I'm not really sure how someone benefits from it. Oh well, I digress.

I needed to cover that ground so I can explain the true problem with spam filters. They are often over aggressive and block "good" mail. Part of this is user error, but a lot of it has to do with stereotyping.

A day doesn't go by where we don't hear from a customer furious that we haven't sent them a product they purchased via e-mail. I freely admit that maybe 1% of these are our fault. There are probably another 10% where the customer has an old e-mail address on their PayPal account and so we sent to this "old" e-mail. It was the only address we had. The vast majority of the problems are spam filters. We did send the mail and the user either didn't get it at all because of spam filters or they haven't looked in the area where their spam lands.

So please go to your spam filter right now and whitelist the unleash.com domain. This will save all of us headaches down the road.

Dealing with those spam filters is certainly annoying, but it is nothing compared to the problem we had last week. I sent out a newsletter announcing that the latest issue of our CorelDRAW Unleashed magazine was available. If you have an AOL address, you didn't get it. AOL blocked the e-mail because it contained a "spammy" URL. Of course, they just tell you that one is spammy without telling you which one. This upset the company who manages our newsletter list as all of their customers were blocked from sending to AOL addresses because of our newsletter.

We did some investigation with AOL. Their first response was that there was nothing wrong with the newsletter. After digging a bit further, they gave us the bad URL. The offender? It was a link to buy CorelDRAW from Corel Corporation directly. No matter your personal definition of spam, that is about as far from spammy as it gets.

Like many companies, Corel has an affiliate program. That means they provide links to buy their products and those links are coded so that a third-party can receive a small commission if they send a sale to the company selling the product. Corel uses Commission Junction to handle their affiliate program. So the link is actually a Commission Junction (CJ) domain which then redirects to Corel. If you were to click on the link and bought a copy of CorelDRAW, we'd get a small commission on the sale. This helps vendors sell products and helps those of us who publish content make a little bit of money.

I can only guess why the CJ domain is blacklisted by AOL. There was probably someone who put one of their links in an e-mail and truly sent it as spam. CJ manages affiliate programs for hundreds of companies and millions of products. The sad thing is that AOL just blacklists them all. Other companies that supply large amounts of freemail like hotmail.com, Gmail, yahoo.com are not nearly as strict with their filters and do allow some user configuration. AOL is just bad. Their filters are clamped down so tight that I'm sure there are false alarms going off like crazy. If I had an AOL e-mail address, I would drop it immediately!

So while I hate spam, I really hate spam filters!

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