Reviews of Microsoft Acrylic

1. 
   patmc7

   Reviewing August 2005 Community Technology Preview (Aug 16, 2005)

   It's not freeware if it has a timeout. Shareware has timeouts.
2. 
   twosheds

   Reviewing August 2005 Community Technology Preview (Aug 15, 2005)

   The five rating is for Creature House's wonderful software, as for what MS have done to it, well, they've made it unstable and taken out the superb and really elegant Flash export feature, which means that the pre-MS version is the last one that will ever be used professionally by me. Sheez, even Adobe gave a bit of ground on Flash export when they were MM's biggest rivals,seems pretty petty.
   
   On the plus side MS have added some very nice default line styles, really sensational. Back to the negative side, they've yucked up the interface with really horrible 1995-style smooth-bevels - why, for God's sake? Plus Expression had a bit of an interface problem to begin with, and MS are making it much, much worse.
   
   Just as a PS, why also do Betanews add a 'no-follow' tag to ANY URL that we post in these forums? Hiding from 'the man'....? :)
3. 
   iknowyouknow

   Reviewing August 2005 Community Technology Preview (Aug 15, 2005)

   I`ll give it 5 cos it does what it says. I really hope that in future it can handle PSD files also, I think PS is extremely overpriced. As far as this beta goes, its clunky for sure, but lets hope it gets better:)
4. 
   Mukkinese

   Reviewing Beta (Jul 3, 2005)

   A piece of software with exceptional potential, this beta version is a little rough around the edges and can get clunky when using the bitmap tools, but all the tools have a great deal of functionality and many unique features.
   
   If this lives up to it's promise this could be a
   major contendor in the pro graphics field.
   
   For anyone interested in graphics production, it's well worth trying out.
5. 
   yokozuna

   Reviewing Beta (Jun 12, 2005)

   First of all it is not a "native" Microsoft application. It is rebranded Creation House Expression 3.3 (which I use and I like it much). Microsoft acquired the Creature House technology and development team in 2003. I do not care that it is a beta version. The problem is that it is worse than CHE. Picture my surprise when I discovered that the code for this product is so poorly redone that it is worthy of Microsoft. I hope it will be improved.
   And one more thing: I love the logic of Ms. Acrylic was released on the 10th of June 2005 and the timeout is 180 days. What the FAQ says (http://www.microsoft.com...cts/expression/faq.aspx )?
   "Does the Acrylic Beta have an expiration date?
   Yes. The Acrylic Beta will expire on October 1st of 2005." How they counted the days is one of the greatest mysteries ever known.
6. 
   justinb

   Reviewing Beta (Jun 12, 2005)

   this is actually pretty nice. i drew something kinda random and it looks nice and smooth. played around with some of the features.. pretty good for a beta :)
7. 
   aerthling

   Reviewing Beta (Jun 11, 2005)

   It looks like MS has jumped on the beta bandwagon.
   
   It looks pretty good so far. Perhaps they'll replace Paint with this in Longhorn? Probably not, but that would be nice.
   
   Thank God for the main window's watermark. If it weren't for the hundreds of 'BETA's, I wouldn't have known.
8. 
   wincement

   Reviewing Beta (Jun 11, 2005)

   Everyone's rating this at a 3 or below just because it's Microsoft's.
   
   The interface is a little clunky and slow, but the release notes tell you that up front. It's still a beta, so they're still working on improving the performance.
   
   All in all, I think it's a really good effort, and it *should* hopefully prevent the Adobe/Macromedia merger from creating a monopoly. I give it a 5 for effort.
9. 
   Zyxyx

   Reviewing Beta (Jun 11, 2005)

   Completely agree with TerminalX.
   
   Learn to review a software instead of judging the company !
   
   4 for me...
10. 
    microFawad

    Reviewing Beta (Jun 10, 2005)

    cool that MS is relesing a graphics editing program. I am tired to see the extremely high prices of photoshop and never drop down. Now the competition will increase.
11. 
    twosheds

    Reviewing Beta (Jun 10, 2005)

    Acrylic is based on CreatureHouse 'Expression', which is fundamentally a drawing rather than panting program, but Microsoft bought it for its superb 'skeletal stroke' technology, which really made it stand WAY out among paintin/drawing hybrid programs.
    
    If you've never tried Expression, and you think that a graphics program based on Skeletal Strokes will only be in the league of Microsft Paint, you have a very pleasant surprise coming (unless you are Adobe!).
12. 
    ukexpat

    Reviewing Beta (Jun 10, 2005)

    A replacement for MS Paint? I don't think so - this is supposed to be a competitor for Adobe's graphics tools, PaintShp Pro etc...
13. 
    shy_one

    Reviewing Beta (Jun 10, 2005)

    Haven't had time to realy play with the program yet but does anyone else think this might be the replacement for ms paint when longhorn comes out as one of the incentives to upgrade?
14. 
    terminalx

    Reviewing Beta (Jun 10, 2005)

    How can you comment on something and say it will be better if it isnt even finished yet? It would be great if this works well because Adobe is overpriced...I will reserve judgement until I see a final because as you know THIS IS BETA and people bashing on the product rather then reviewing it is getting tired. If something needs to be improved tell microsoft about it don't go on a message board and start off by saying its terrible. What makes it terrible? Why is paint shop pro better? What do they need to do to make it better? It behaves like Adobe and seems to have the same idea involved I've only been testing for a couple of hours but no crashing and no problems yet and if there are problems ITS BETA meaning ITS NOT FINISHED YET. As it stands right now ITS FREE as well and free for 180 days. Paint Shop Pro, Adobe you have to pay for given this program will probably not remain free its nice to see you have a chance to see what the program is capable of. It would be nice if people on here actually reviewed it with an open mind and instead go omg its microsoft it sucks oh yeah...its old and childish. If you don't like Microsoft don't use it and leave the comments to yourself because again this is for a review of a product not the company itself...
15. 
    donpacman

    Reviewing Beta (Jun 10, 2005)

    Even when this is finished Paint Shop Pro 9 will still be better.
16. 
    Slug_Coordinator

    Reviewing Beta (Jun 10, 2005)

    Cac for video editiing there is many that work fine with a 700 Duron and 256 meg ram.
    
    Now my problem with this is the fact that I can run Photoshop 7 and CD using Code Weavers Crossover under Linux on a 450 mhz AMD K6 3 Compaq Laptop with only 192 megs of ram. So why in -'s name would I bother with this?
    
    Next I can download and run THE GIMP on Windows 98,Me,Xp,2000 or Xp with 128 megs of ram! So this would be the better way to go on Windows, Linux, or even OsX.
    
    Next any plugins? Any Tuitorials? Any CMYK seperation like that in Photoshop?
    
    Microsoft is forgetting about people not running the latest and greatest.
    
    SC
17. 
    cac2690

    Reviewing Beta (Jun 10, 2005)

    It's not all that bad for Microsoft. I am wondering what kind of price tag it might have next to adobe's.
    
    Also if your system isn't service pack 2 and doesn't have a Pentium 4 Extreme or at least 3.06 ghz don't even dream about real time video, audio, or in this case picture editing. The hyperthreading is needed for write proficciency. So just make sure you meet a high-end program's specs and you'll be great for this.
18. 
    ArabianNight

    Reviewing Beta (Jun 10, 2005)

    freeware......180 day timeout? Microsofts retarded version of photoshop.
19. 
    agf

    Reviewing Beta (Jun 10, 2005)

    Pretty interesting ...
    
    I wouldn't wine about the min requirements though ... have you seen Adobe's or Macromedia's?
    
    # Intel® Xeon™, Xeon Dual, Intel Centrino™, or Pentium® III or 4 processor
    # Microsoft® Windows® 2000 with Service Pack 4, or Windows XP with Service Pack 1 or 2
    # 320MB of RAM (384MB recommended)
    # 650MB of available hard-disk space
20. 
    slushdot

    Reviewing Beta (Jun 10, 2005)

    Not yet tried this one, but someone should make the sys. reqs clear before others download ->
    
    YOU NEED WINDOWS XP SP2, 733Mhz cpu, 256mb RAM MINIMUM!!!
    
    don't know if its because it's a beta, but that seems steep.

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