Kamar Aulakh has taken charge and pointed Quark in a very different direction from that long travelled by Fred Ebrahimi. Pretty much since day one, Aulakh has recognized that Quark is no longer the dominant layout application in many of it’s former key markets.
Interesting. The prevailing sentiment I've seen recently about Quark--understandably so--is that Ebrahimi will never let Aulakh do anything substantive to reverse Quark's long-brewing decline among the individual designer and small business markets. This feeling is based on the fact that several years ago that very thing happened: Ebrahimi relinquished control, changes were announced, and then Ebrahimi fired the new managers and reverted to status quo antebellum before any real progress could be made.
Aulakh's done well so far, reducing upgrade prices, restoring the user forums, seeking user input, and improving customer service. If Aulakh's Quark can deliver a usable product with features comparable to InDesign's, that may slow the bleeding enough to keep Quark viable outside its strongholds while giving printers and other service providers a reason to upgrade.
But don't expect me to buy a copy unless I absolutely have to.
No comments:
Post a Comment