Apple Insider has an interesting article on the future of Quark XPress. Apparently Quark is nervous that Adobe InDesign is stealing their thunder and rightfully so. They say to expect Quark 6.2 or Quark 6.5, whatever number they decide on, to be out this summer. Um… It’s the middle of August. There isn’t much summer left. Quark XPress 7 will be overhauled and released in early 2005. What do those dates REALLY mean? I think 6.2 or 6.5 will be out January 05. XPress 7 will be out October 05.
What will 6.2 feature? integrated online font store (sounds cool, but how many agencies are set up where you could actually buy the fonts you need right away?), Citirx Server support (zzzzzz), QuarkVisa image editor (non-destructive image filters…could be dangerously interesting), more robust tables (yes, yes, yes!), better XML support (hardcore stuff), bleed and OPI settings in print styles (weren’t those available in version 4?), path information in the “Edit Original” (on PC only…dumb bastard Quark), some silly Quark-esque features (iMuse and Tokens), and the best features in the new Quark: support for guides on pasteboards and masterpages! (about time!!!) All in all, this sounds like it should be 6.2. Not enough stuff to make it 6.5.
As for XPress 7, “InDesign-like interface” and a completely rewritten PDF engine. Did I say October ’05 for XPress 7? Let’s make that February ’06.
too late for me. i’m already a convert of InDesign. it truly is the Quark-killer.
let’s just combine all the apps into one big mutha program.
capitalism won’t allow that.
while they’re working on that “one big mutha program”, they should build in functionality where the program can design on its own. It won’t need a human to do the designs.
I remember right before InDesign hit the market, I went to a demonstration and the guy said that InDesign could do some design on its own. what a joke. of course he didn’t have a copy of InDesign to demonstrate this false functionality. He just had a powerpoint presentation.