iView versus Expression Media

[ralphpaonessa]

I am still using IVMP to manage about 50,000 images (mostly DNG and Canon raw) in a single 1 GB catalog.

I also have Expressions Media, which in its current incarnation seems outwardly identical to IVMP. I'm running on both Windows XP and Vista.

Following these forums, it seems that Microsoft "got rid of a lot of IVMP bugs" -- and introduced some of their own. Is there a comprehensive list of these somewhere? Couldn't find one here.

Now that people have used both programs for awhile, which is the "safer" one to use at this point? I'm not really clear what bugs were squashed and/or created by Microsoft. I haven't had any problems for awhile with IVMP. My biggest concern for either program is bugs that might corrupt the catalog or -- much worse -- cause corruption to my image files (e.g. by syncing metadata back to the files).

I don't see any point in switching to EM -- unless it's safer and more robust. Any consensus at this point? Absent consensus, I'd also accept wildly contradictory opinions ... 

Thanks,
Ralph

[peterkrogh]

Ralph,
You don't say what platform you are on.
There seem to be reports here that indicate Leopard incompatibility with iView.  This should get fixed for Expression, but won't for iView.

(Modified 12/10/07 - The Expression team has only found a minor cosmetic problem with Expression or iView, and is working with Apple to get it straightened out. Other issues that have shown up may be isolated, or unrelated).

That said, if you're rolling along fine with iView, I would not upgrade until there's a reason to.
Peter

[ralphpaonessa]

Peter,

I updated my post to note I'm running on Windows XP and Vista.

Part of my reason for asking this here is that when Microsoft released Expressions Media and it was outwardly no different from IVMP, there was a lot of consternation on these forums that after months and months of effort by Microsoft, nothing seemed different.

I think you comment then that they had acutally done a lot of work "under the hood" and had fixed a lot of bugs and perhaps patched security holes.

Were these bugs mostly cosmetic and/or minor annoyances, or did they fix some "serious issues?" Is there a list somewhere of what was fixed?

From your answer above, I'm guessing that nothing major was fixed? If it were, it would make sense to "upgrade" to EM.

OTOH, I know there were complaints about new problems introduced into EM that weren't there in IVMP.

Regarding Vista: My main DAM PC is now Windows Vista Ultimate. Does Vista cause any problems for IVMP?

I seem to recall that when I downloaded my free copy of EM, I had the option of either "XP" or "XP and Vista" versions. To be honest, I'm not sure which I chose. Do you know what was going on there?

Ralph

[peterkrogh]

Ralph,
Most of the fixes Expression made to iView code were deep security holes in the program.  It is possible, but unlikely, that these could be exploited in iView to attack the system. 

I don't know if this was something that would affect XP or Vista differently (I assume Vista has better security, and is less vulnerable, but I don't actually know that).

I don't think the iView security holes present too much risk.  It's different for a Microsoft-branded product for a couple reasons - first, it is a much bigger target (particularly since Expression is now going to be in some versions of Office) and because of liability issues that Microsoft would face that iView did not.

That said, if everything is working fine for you, I'm not sure there's any reason to switch over yet.
Peter

[ralphpaonessa]

I've just made the switch to Vista on my main system, and IVMP appears to be fine. I searched these forums for "Vista" and didn't find any reported problems. So I'm assuming the switch to Vista is a non-issue for IVMP?

Based on your comments, I'm sticking with IVMP for now. It has it's problems and quirks, but it still seems to be the best option out there for serious DAM.

Thanks,
Ralph

[Neville]

So to ask another neophite question, I have just started the process of DAM read the book working on new vs. the 18K plus photos that I already have in Adobe elements.  Just today downloaded Expressions and Iview Pro 3.  But which one would you recommend that I start with?  Since Pro is going to no longer really be there since the purchase by Microsoft at least in the near 1-2 year future would it be better to start with Expressions or with Pro and then migrate to expressions especiall since MS really didn't do much to the program?

Thanks in advance.

Neville Guard

[peterkrogh]

Neville,
You don't mention OS.
As a new user with both, I'd suggest using Expression, and only consider going to iView if you find a problem with Expression that is not in iView.
Peter

[Neville]

Hi Peter,

I'm using windows XP, and have just started this process so my thought is to go ahead with Expression Media since that is the future for IView.

Thanks
Neville Guard

[peterkrogh]

Neville,
Agreed.
Peter