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Paint Shop Pro : Version 4 Was Best
By Stephen Bucaro
Paint shop Pro (PSP) by JASC, Inc. was the leading shareware graphics application for
many years. If you purchased a book that included a CD-ROM, it almost always included
a copy of Paint Shop Pro.
Versions of PSP before 4.12 had annoying problems, like not remembering it's working
directory and, instead of undoing your last edit, it would dump all your edits since
you loaded the file.
PSP has always attempted to be be a Adobe Photoshop look alike. Adobe Photoshop is the
number one application for graphics professionals. Adobe Photoshop is too complicated
and too pricey for the average user. Lagging behind Adobe Photoshop caused PSP to be
easier to use and far less costly.
When your 30 day evaluation period was over, PSP would display a nice little nag message
notifying you that "you are on day X of your 30 day evaluation period". Then the program
would continue to chug away, letting you perform some important image processing functions.
After version 4.12, the programmer learned how to use the Windows registry. When you
try open newer versions of PSP after the 30 day evaluation period, you get a dialog box
with the nasty message "this evaluation version will no longer function".
Here's the problem: I never have the time to evaluate an application within 30 days
after I install it. I'm lucky if I have the time to open the program at all within 30 days.
So with newer versions of PSP, all I can evaluate is the dialog box with the message
"this evaluation version will no longer function".
Solution: Rather than a 30 day evaluation period, the program should give you a 30 USES
evaluation period.
Only a professional designer would put in the time and effort to learn such a complicated
graphics application. The average user just needs to make a quick sketch or do some basic
image processing. So JASC, Inc. is passing up 99 percent of the market.
Solution: Make a "PSP Lite" version. Vendors don't like to do that. They would rather
screw the average user into paying for far more functionality than they need.
In the limited time I was allowed to evaluate the newer version of PSP, I was able to tap
into some of its power. I was truly astounded. I wasn't allowed to continue my evaluation
because the evaluation period expired and application stopped working. I didn't get enough
time to become confident that I could handle the application's complexity.
The older PSP version 4.12 is better for the average user. That version fixes the annoying
problems, and does not contain all the complexity. You won't get 3D, layers, or vector
graphics, but you will get a powerful and easy to use drawing and image processing
application. Version 4.12 is a pleasure to use, even for the beginner. And you don't get
that nasty "this evaluation version will no longer function" message after 30 days. Now
if only we could still buy version 4.12.
Note: version 4.12. vendor.doc part 2: Distribution Requirements. The shareware version of
Paint Shop Pro may be freely distributed, with the following restrictions; written
permission must be received to distribute Paint Shop Pro on retail racks, on CD Roms, or
bundled with any other product.
Download PSP version 4.12
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