Edited (in the loosest sense on the word) by Gary W. Priester
ISSUE 16 •  August 15, 2000

In this issue:

Xara X is Coming! Xara X is Coming!
 It's almost official. Last your editor (that's me) heard, Xara X was on schedule for a September Release! I feel confident to present this semiofficial news as it came directly from Xara Ltd.

Using much of the material from the WebXealot #15, I have created the official i/us Xara X Preview Site. There are some additional features that your editor uncovered while preparing the site as well as some very favorable comparisons to the Corel product. So be sure to check it out.

In light of the eminent release of Xara X, beginning with this issue, I am going to dedicate the coming issues to an in-depth feature review. Many persons have asked repeatedly for a book. Books are a long and drawn-out process, painfully difficult to write and tedious to edit. So, I will attempt to make the coming WebXealots a private manual for Insider Members Only. And the best part, it's free!

You're a Winner!

The winner of auto f/x's AutoEye , which promises to Improve your images in just one click! goes to Milton Lau, who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Congratulations Milt, hope you enjoy this cool product.

I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or not, but your editor and his wife are moving to New Mexico towards the end of September. We will be driving the 1,000 plus miles in a rented van with the five cats, one finch (Orville II is no longer with us), and Harry the Canary who is currently in full molt and about as sullen as a canary can be. Whenever Harry molts it's like this. He sits hunched up in the corner of his spacious cage looking morose and pitiful. And he takes a temporary vow of silence robbing the world of his magnificent arias. Touchingly, when Orville II went to the great nest in the sky a few weeks ago, Harry broke his vow of silence and sang a poignant, and heartbreakingly beautiful Requiem.

The chickens are going to live in Petaluma, which bills itself as the Chicken Capitol of the World, on the small ranch of a friend who already has 5 hens, and a flock of sheep. We'll miss their mutterings and egg announcements but they'll be happy there and well looked after. The doves are staying with the house and will now have the full run of the hen house and the Honorable Aunt Bea East Chicken Wing of the Chateau La Coop. 2000 is indeed a year of change.

The frightening aspect of the move is apparently New Mexico is bandwidth- challenged. Connect speeds of 28.8K are considered to be blazing. So unless I can get lucky and score an ISDN line, posting the WebXealot and Zipped download version is going to become an all night affair. Progress, eh?

Win a Copy of auto f/x Studio Pro 2.0!

My friends at auto f/x, the people who created Photographic Edges, have sent me several products to review, which I am going to make available as prizes. For next month's drawing I have a copy of Studio Pro 2.0 — Essential Design Tools for the Pros! (Or so it says on the package). Included in this bundle of goodies is Typo/Graphic Edges, Ultimate Texture Collection, Photo/Graphic Patterns, Universal Animator, Universal Rasterizer, Photo/Graphic Frames, Page Edges and WebVise Totality. Pretty awesome package if you ask me.

Xara 3D 4 is still available for $35 from i/us or $39 from Xara.com. When you buy from i/us you help support the XaraXone. On the other hand, when you buy from Xara, you're supporting the Trompe L'Oeil Room . What to do? What to do? Xara.com or i/us ? I'll leave it to your conscience.

To visit a handsomely designed and informative special Xara 3D 4 web site detailing all the new features, plus a mini-tour, a mini-tutorial, an order page and a free 15-day trial version version CLICK HERE. 

Insider Information

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum. Or should I say a very pleasant thing happened. The new conference software in finally in place and the Xara Conference and Gallery (as well as all the other conferences) are now a joy to participate in. Check them out when you finish reading this month's WebXealot!

The Featured Artist for July is Cecilia Elman creator of Hyper Tex the Information Cowboy . The August Trompe L'Oeil Room jumps the gun with the first Xara X-based tutorial, which recreates the Chrome Pretzel featured in the last WebXealot.

The XaraXone News— Do you want to be informed of all changes in the world of Xara. CLICK HERE to add your name to the XaraXone News e-mailing list. Once you subscribe to the list you'll be notified of all matters relating to Xara, the Trompe L'Oeil Room tutorials, the Xealot and the XaraXone . Subscribe now before you forget.

Feedback is always welcome, as are questions and even criticisms. Even criticisms. Did I say that last month? Ah well. when you get older you repeat yourself. CLICK HERE to send feedback.

©2000 Gary W. Priester , All rights reserved. No portion of this publication, including the illustrations contained within, may be reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author.