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From: jr@amanue.UUCP (Jim Rosenberg)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: Freehand vs Illustrator
Message-ID: <490@amanue.UUCP>
Date: 22 Jan 91 12:48:19 GMT
References: <47@owl.ukc.ac.uk>
Organization: Amanuensis Inc., Grindstone, PA
Lines: 41

In <47@owl.ukc.ac.uk> rej@ukc.ac.uk (R.E.Jones) writes:

>I am trying to decide whether to buy Aldus Freehand or Adobe Illustrator.

I'm in the same boat.  I thought the review of Illustrator 3.0 in the latest
MacUser was just *AWFUL*.  I'd give it about 1 mouse.  Or maybe the bomb.  It
said Illustrator 3.0 had passed way ahead of Freehand, and then went on to give
practically *nothing* in the way of real details as to why.

From the last review they ran, I've got the following down as advantages of
Freehand that I might find important.  The Illustrator 3.0 reviewer didn't say
a *word* about these:

1.  Freehand has much better export/import facilities.  I have SuperPaint --
1.something -- and have a fair number of drawings I'd like to redo.  They
looked cute on an ImageWriter but look pretty poor on a laser printer.  My
understanding is that the only thing Illustrator can do with a PICT is let you
trace it, but Freehand will let you import it and edit it directly.  True?

ASIDE:  Get with it, Adobe.  Lack of attention to export/import can only be
spelled a-r-r-o-g-a-n-c-e.  There is NO EXCUSE for it.

2.  Layers:  Freehand has all the layers than you could possibly use,
Illustrator 88 has only one layer.  The MacUser review didn't mention whether
Illustrator 3.0 had improved at all in this regard.  Does anybody know?  I
have some idiosyncratic reasons for possibly needing layers.

Of course the biggie superiority of Freehand over Illustrator was dealing with
text, which Adobe has now addressed.

Meanwhile, if the trade rags are to be believed, Freehand 3.0 is supposed to be
just about out.  It was supposedly shown at MacWorld.  Did anybody see it?  Is
there a ship date?  I know Adobe is on the net; is Aldus on the net?  Can
anyone from Aldus comment?  From the brief writeups I've seen on Freehand 3.0
it looks like a lot of the new stuff has to do with color, which I don't care
about.
-- 
 Jim Rosenberg                                               -- cgh!amanue!jr
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