I have been a finale (FinWin) user since 3.7, and right now, although I
find the Sibelius discussion tempting, I do not plan on switching. I
have upgraded to 2008, and while I am not a heavy user (maybe an hour a
day), nor am I a professional engraver/musician/composer, I do
occasional work gratis for others which means I do have to put my very
best foot forward in the finished product. I have learned much from the
professionals on this list, but don't think my work is up to their fine
standards or exacting detail. As such, I have run into few of the bugs
they have, but I have run into some, such as the hyphenation bug.
Nevertheless, whenever one of them has a beef with MM, I pay attention,
because as a computer professional, I try to keep attuned to user
complaints, even if they are not for my products. Also, I know that this
issue affects what users really want - productivity. And, therefore, I
know that I know that these bugs, even though I may not have run into
them myself, will eventually affect me sooner or later.
I have been reasonably productive with 2k8. But, again, I'm not a
professional. There are things that I think need fixing (e.g., Unicode).
There are "improvements" that took getting used to, but I like better
once I got accustomed to using it (e.g., the new selection/mover tool).
There are some things that just confuse me (some keystrokes have been
re-assigned). But, when it comes to computers, I adapt quickly, and most
of this has not bothered me.
My 2c.
Daniel Wolf wrote:
Thanks to all for the overwhelming response to my question about users
skipping the current upgrade or switching products. Most surprising was
the fact that no one on the list has stepped up and indicated that he or
she has either upgraded and been satisfied with the upgrade or has the
intention to upgrade.
Personally, I'm an experienced user who has invested a lot of time and
money in Finale, since 3.7. I have upgraded regularly, missing only
2004; I have purchased TG Tools as well. I like Finale's flexibility
in entry methods (I'm a command line fan), as well as its capacity for
finding a number of solutions to notational problems, especially for new
music. With my own templates and working routine, I would really
prefer not to switch from using Finale as my primary notation program,
but the current state of the program raises some real concerns about its
future.
I have been writing an item about the current state of Finale for my
blog, Renewable Music ( http://renewablemusic.blogspot.com/ ). I have
written to MakeMusic outlining my concerns but have yet to receive any
response. In the article, I would like to document the persistent bugs
concretely. Specifically, which long-standing bugs in the program are
"deal breakers", keeping current users from either upgrading or driving
a user to switch products?
Daniel Wolf
Frankfurt
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