I am very curious how Adobe Illustrator became the 'default standard' in vector drawing programs? Was it simply because they were the first one out there?
I have been using Illustrator every day for about 17 years. I will admit that there are those that know it's nuances better than I, but I feel like I am a pretty skilled operator.
Every day finds some measure of frustration with this program. For me, it has been buggy has hell, and I find myself excited when a new release becomes available - not for new features - rather, in hopes that some of the bugs will be addressed.
That is a pretty pathetic statement to have to make.... "I can't wait till the next version arrives, so that it will hopefully fix some of the horrible glitches in the current version."
I also have CorelDraw... which I have used to a lesser degree. Everytime I use it, I find it extremely intuitive and the features far more useful. And, these useful features have generally been available years ahead of Adobe. There have been cases where Adobe has rolled out a new feature with a new release and made a big deal about it, when CorelDraw has had the feature for 8-10 years prior. Woo-hoo! Whoop-tee-doo.
Such simple tasks as selecting a 'node' for manipulation still proves to be a monumental task 80% of the time in illustrator. They knew it too... because they 'tried' to address THEIR problem by FINALLY inserting an option to allow a little easier selection.... which for me, still sucks.
AI Prefs is a fickle abomination and reminds me of the 'Soup Nazi' from a Seinfeld episode. If you don't treat Illustrator with the precise affection it thinks it deserves, it's 'No Soup For You!!" And it goes down in flames taking Illustrator with it.
Why do I use it then, you ask? Because my employer has been heavily invested in it for years - with multiple employees. Most of them have never tried CorelDraw... and are afraid to try anything new.... so for our company, Illustrators dominance is based upon longevity and ignorance.
Why don't I have problems with CorelDraw having internal preference errors? Why doesn't CorelDraw crash and 'RUN OUT OF MEMORY' constantly? Why don't I seem to have issues that people blame on corrupt fonts with CorelDraw - but I apparently do with Illustrator? Why does CorelDraw have FAR superior text features than Illustrator??
I almost purchased Illustrator 6 today - as stated above- in hopes it would fix some issues... but then I found that I would ALSO have to purchase about 5 plugins which are not yet available for Illustrator 6.... COSTLY plugins that perform functions that come standard with CorelDraw.. and have for YEARS.
Damn this program to the flaming pits of hell it deserves. One day, I will be triumphant... and will convince our bean counters that the real value is something other than Adobe: CorelDraw... which has multiple programs in it's bundle, which perform better for me and is less expensive than Adobe.
I am extremely frustrated...even typing in this Adobe forum is a chore... my text keeps bouncing around from one line to another at random - go figure. While I am at it - I also hate Macs. They are over-priced eccentric pieces of crap. I have a MacBook Pro 17"... and it performs no better, no faster than my Windows powerhouse. It's like owning a British car; lots of snob appeal, but it runs like $chitt. It runs the same programs - and programs Apple doesn't offer. I even had to bend the POS over my leg when I first got it, just to straighten it out so it would sit evenly on all four corners... as it rocked back and forth from one corner to the opposite corner. A $2,500 machine should at least sit flat on a ******* desk, don't you think?
My apolgies for ranting... this has been a flame-job against Adobe... an Adobe Hater's Manifesto. Maybe I will calm down and come to tolerate this program again till the next error message - or until tomorrow - whichever comes first.
Wade.... I expected push-back from the Adobe/Mac lovers, and I put myself out there for it. And that's alright.
![[scott w]](/people/%5Bscott%20w%5D/avatar/30.png?a=5184){kind=small}
