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Rumor of Paradox change

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jlockley

Technical User
Nov 28, 2001
1,522
US
I was just speaking to a programmer who believes he has heard that Paradox is being incorporated into another large database group. This, he surmises, would mean that it could be sold separately. Since the Corel website is down, I thought to bring this here. I think, actually, one would have heard if it were true, and that it's possibly a late version of the rumor that Borland was dropping all future involvement to focus on Delphi. Still, I'd be interested in hearing.

 
jlockley,

I haven't heard of the Paradox rumor, though Borland has announced that they no long intend to uppdate the BDE (
Personally, I don't believe Corel can afford to sell Paradox outright, as they need a database in order to keep WPO competitive with the alternative(s).

I would expect to see some changes to Paradox for Windows itself, perhaps to remove it's reliance on BDE, but that would take major engineering and I don't see Corel doing that either.

Instead, I fully expect them to either sell WPO outright (and that might explain the rumor you heard) or they'll come up with something completely different.

I wouldn't expect this to happen quickly, as they've already announced plans to release WPO 2003 in late April ( which includes something called Paradox in the Professional Edition.

Hope this helps...

-- Lance
 
Which is less than a month away. I wonder what upgraded are planned for Paradox if any.
 
jlockley,

Can't say; they've not made any announcements. However, given the restructuring they did last year, I wouldn't expect too many surprises, just continued refinements.

Hope this helps...

-- Lance
 
Hello!

Actually, there was a link (now invalid) to a WPO 11 overview PDF that recapped the features in the new version of the suite. It appears that CorelCental has been discontinued and that Pdx v 10, yes 10, and not 11, will be included in the Pro edition of WPO 11.

Also, check out the press releases on Corel's web site, where they first mention that Vector Capital had bought out Microsoft's stake in Corel and now is now looking at a buy-out of Corel.

Cheers,
O.J.
 
OJ,

From a marketing perspective, it wouldn't make sense for Corel to ship WPO 11 without upping the version numbers of its components. I wouldn't expect to see major changes to the underlying products, but I would expect at least cosmetic changes, bug fixes, and perhaps even a few new experts added to Paradox in the new product.

As far as Vector Capital's interest in the company, there've been some discussions of this on other boards. They're described as aggressive, which is a term that you can't use with Corel's recent marketing of their business applications.

I can't see any VC firm spending the kind of money that Vector has--and will, assuming they buy part or all of Corel--and not trying to agressively capitalize on the assets acquired through the purchase.

I mean, let's face it. Corel is a great graphics company, but they haven't suceeded as well in the buisness application market. Part of that comes from the Suite concept being a legacy of Cowpland's desire to take over the world and part of it, I think, comes from the fact that many of Corel's senior people came from the graphics side of the business. The two markets are different and need to be handled--and marketed to--differently.

I'm not saying Corel hasn't had some wins, especially given the agreements they've signed over the past year. However, perhaps it's time for the Suite to be developed, managed, and marketed by people who understand and cater to the needs of business users.

In any event, I'm not personally ready to write off the Suite simply because there are acquisition discussions going on. If WPO goes to another company, well, let's hope they're willing to devote the resources necessary to create and capitalize on opportunities. At the very least, the brand still has great recognition and the Suite is positioned to take advantage of certain missteps by the other Suite vendor.

Mind you, I don't have any insider information; I've simply kept my ear to the ground and heard a lot of different ideas and rumors. So let's see what happens and focus on answering questions in the mean time. :)

-- Lance

 
The offer is definitely on the table, but it's not done.

Looking for a cheap copy of Quickbooks (laugh here) I came accross an offer for Corel Office 11, but not Office Pro, so it's definitely on the table.

Right now, considering what could happen, I am seriously considering either getting another oem of v10, or v11, just in case the option ceases to exist. I can see Vector cherry picking and dropping Paradox.
 
Unfortunately, it seems that Paradox will not be included in the WP11 upgrade. The details are on one of the dbcommunity forums. If I read the various information correctly, there is no update of Paradox planned. The new suite is listed on Amazon, but there is no Paradox version included, which more or less substantiates the claim.

It would be good if Corel sold it off to a group which would attend to the product.
 
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