Jimo

When I update Photo and Publisher, once the installation has completed I get a warning message that says "A required privilege is not held by the client." (although Designer installs without incident). The apps of course don't then open like the successful Designer installation does, but the new installations do open successfully when started manually and appear to function. I'm reporting it now after just installing version 2.1.0 of the apps, but I've been getting the messages ever since the first installation of version 2.0, originally Installed from the start using the MSIX file and subsequently updated from the in-app prompt at start-up. I'm on Windows 10.

Just adding my voice to this thread to say I'm experiencing the same thing - a build up of 'laggy' behaviour in Designer 2 over time. I've particularly noticed it when using my graphics tablet - lines can be way behind what I'm trying to draw and there doesn't appear to be any reason why it should be getting so bad, and of course makes it particularly frustrating to use. Closing the app and starting it up again fixes the problem, although on occasion the app doesn't restart and an inspection of task manager reveals that it thinks it is still running and I have to force quit before starting it up again. Also, task manager has reported five-figure high memory usage before attempting to quit, but is back to a much lower four-figure memory usage on restarting, even with exactly the same working file open. I haven't read every post in this thread - so has it already been suggested that the History could be the cause of the problem?

Yes - The more I've been using Designer the more I've been experiencing this too. And it turns out we are not alone - there is already an ongoing thread all about it as well, with lots of people reporting the same thing:

Brilliant thank you!

As a v1 owner who now has v2, where I do get this amazing creative collection package?

So I've played with customising the tools 'palette' on the left of screen (not the tool bar) and it seems to create a problem that can't be reversed - you can't go back to the default setup once you've customised. By default, the DOCKED tools palatte has ONE column and the UNdocked tools has TWO columns . However, once you customise, both the docked AND the undocked tools pallete both have however many columns you picked - both are the same. The two modes can't be edited independently. But clicking reset DOESN'T go back to the default - both the docked AND undocked tool palette remain as they currently are. I like having a single column when docked and two columns when not docked. Is there a way of customising the columns in the docked and undocked tools palette separately? Is there a way of getting back to the default that I've missed, or is this a bug? This is just in Affinity Photo v2 so far - I haven't tried in Designer or Publisher.

Serif should pay me to upgrade.

I don't think they've announced what that is yet. My guess (and it IS just a guess) is that it will be a brushes or a font set or something along those lines.

Unfortunately you don't truly 'own' it. I too would love the security of knowing that I could carry on using the software I pay for in the future, even in the event that Serif should no longer be around. However, I'll repeat what I just posted in another thread: Technically, we don't, and have never, 'owned' software - even in the days when we bought it in a box from the store. We are only ever granted a license to use it. We're paying for the right to use someone else's software, under certain conditions and terms. Online registrations, dongles and now subscription models are ways the software companies introduced to try ensure we remain complient with those terms and conditions. Frequently, when companies talk about a 'lifetime' of usage, they don't mean the lifetime of the person who purchased it - they mean the 'lifetime' of the product. Which is a fairy vague guarantee at best, but tends to end when they stop supporting it and move on to another version.

It's also just a sort of general 'rule of nature'. Most people are only going to feel compelled to make the effort to express their views when they feel aggrieved by something. When they're happy and content they just get on with their lives. People don't take to the streets chanting and carrying placards to express how happy they are with what the government are doing!

Technically, on maybe a pedantic note, we have never 'owned' software, even when we bought it in a box from the store - we have only ever paid for a license to use it. We're paying for the right to use someone else's software, under certain conditions and terms. It just used to be easier to exploit and break those terms and conditions. Online registrations, dongles and now subscription models are ways the software companies introduced to try and prevent us from doing that.

Quark have TWO ways of paying: A subscription model where you pay annualy - if you cancel you can't use QuarkExpress (like Adobe's model) OR you can pay for an upfront perpetual licence to 'own' it, which entitles you to one year of updates. When that ends, you still have an active copy to use indefinitely, or you can pay another fee to get updates for another year. And as far as I'm aware, you can opt back into that at any time when you decide you want to start getting the latest updates again.

And no discount off something that costs just £60 at full price is better than a 20% discount off something that costs, say, £500 when you first bought it. It isn't reasonable to compare what one company does with what Serif offer when what another company does is also charge a lot more to begin with. But even with their current discounts, it looks to me like they those also cost more than all of the apps Serif provide. ON1 cost £105 to own outright. How much is the upgrade? DoX costs £199 before VAT (or £66.33 for 3 months - so is it looks like it's a subscribtion model anyway?). Cheapest version of ACDSee is the Home Edition at $54.95 (normally $219.97!). I can't see where it says how much any upgrades cost, but are they less than the £60 we'd have to pay for Affinity Photo 2 if we missed out on the promo discount (bearing in mind V1 only cost us £50 at most to begin with)?

You could have replied with this answer to my post instead of just insulting me. Although when I asked "What are you talking about?" it was a rhetorical question.

Indeed. Save installation files to a USB stick or extenral drive, or upload to the cloud. Although we should appreciate that might be difficult when the sky is falling.