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