Hi all-- you know I remain mostly quiet on the list, mostly 'cos I'm too busy with work, but I really do want to just throw an "Amen, David!" into the mix. I agree with him on several counts, but mostly about the upgrades being worth their cost, *and* the escrow key issue.
When I have the assurance I can never be without the program I've **paid for** being accessible **at all times** without needing to contact anyone when I move it to another computer I own, THEN I will think about upgrading. I started using Finale around '86 and I think it has become more unwieldly, unstable, and less intuitive overall. The plugin necessities that pervade the program now are frustrating to me. It's ridiculous anyone has to pay others for the kinds of functionality a "professional" engraving program should have in the first place. (Don't anyone take me to mean I'm not very grateful for the plugins I've purchased over the years. They've made life much easier for me. and the people that make them are doing the **real work** selling Finale anymore at all, in my opinion.) Lastly, MakeMusic might MakeMoney if they'd concentrate on satisfying the needs of professional engravers rather than implementing features to widen the customer base (what else was human playback for?). I personally quit moaning a long time ago about Finale's sorry handling of EPS and PDF creation and bought into several pro tools for Adobe Acrobat and Distiller. I simply decided I'd rather sink $$ into programs designed to do those things professionally than essentially ask MakeMusic to drive Finale's cost up by trying to implement those things correctly. WHY can't they fix the **basic** MIDI, TEXT, and COPYING tools!?! and let those who want to make professional soundfiles get the programs to do that on their own, I say. What will someone be screaming for next, a PowerPointFinaleThatPlugsInToMyRodgersDigitalOrganAndOverHeadProjectorSoICan ProgramAllThisYear'sSunday'sServices? off the soapbox... have a great weekend & Happy Memorial Day! :) Cecil Rigby [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
