I got my cross-grade copy last week but am only now getting around to
installing it. I still haven't test-driven the program yet, but I
have been reading with great interest the list of bugfixes in Sib 5.1
available here:
http://www.sibelius.com/helpcenter/updates/sib51_changes.pdf
There has been a lot of (justified, IMO) complaining on this list
about the bugginess of Fin2008. And I do sincerely hope that Fin2008a
will be a major bugfix release. But just for a sense of perspective,
take a look at just a few of the Sib 5.0 bugs that were not fixed
until maintenance:
Moving notes between voices using Alt+2 or z2 etc. no longer causes
Sibelius to lose articulations.
Changing the frequency of bar numbers no longer changes their
vertical position relative to the staff.
Edits made after a blank page that occurs after the start of the
score no longer causes multiple extra blank
pages to appear in the middle of the score.
When adding text to a blank page, the text now immediately appears
once you finish editing; you no
longer need to force the page to redraw (Mac only).
It is once again possible to create barré lines in chord diagrams.
Copy Part Layout now works correctly.
Sibelius no longer crashes if you create an ossia, then undo it,
then switch to a dynamic part.
You can now correctly save changes made in the Notes > Edit Arrange
Styles dialog.
This is just a small selection of what seemed like the most egregious
bugs in from the first *two* pages of an *18-page* PDF.
I don't say this to excuse the bugginess of the initial release of
Finale 2008, nor the longstanding unfixed bugs in Finale. But it
seems pretty clear from perusing this list that the initial release
of Sib 5 was extremely buggy -- quite possibly at least as buggy as
the initial release of Fin2008.
I don't intend to use Sib 5.0 enough to learn whether this impression
is accurate -- the very first thing I will do after installing Sib
5.0 is to install the Sib 5.1 upgrade. But it does seem that both
companies have a similar "release first, fix in maintenance"
mentality that is (IMO) detrimental to their long-term health.
It's true that at least Sibelius is actually fixing this stuff
(though I don't know how far back any of these bugs go, or how many
remain unresolved), and that Finale has allowed certain major bugs to
remain unfixed, year after year. And I sincerely hope that Finale
start making bufixes a serious priority.
But, at least based on this list, it's not true that the initial
release of SIb 5.0 was all sunshine and light, while the initial
release of Finale 2008 was a mess. In fact, both would appear to have
been not ready for prime time.
- Darcy
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[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Brooklyn, NY
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