To begin with, the process involved with simply getting to the point of test driving iStudio left a rancid aftertaste. For whatever reason the connection to the site kept timing out no matter how long I allowed my browser to retry. Meanwhile all other avenues of Net activity continued to function normally. Late into the night the download finally connected and completed. I gave iStudio the benefit of the doubt since who's to say who or what the culprit behind a Net glitch is. Unfortunately suspicions immediately returned as right after launching the application iStudio informs me that it can't connect to it's license server in order to download a trial license. Of course this meant I was stuck test driving a worthless version of iStudio, penalized with reduced functionality (One of the WORST models for demonstrating shareware, especially in modern times).

Unable to obtain trial License.
An error occurred at the license server. iStudio Publisher will run in unlicensed mode. The application will run with reduced functionality. You will not be able to Save or Print documents. If you are having problems, you can use the Help menu to check for the latest updates.If you need help, please inform us using the feedback form at www.istudiopublisher.com

One glance at the icon and I was already wary of the application before I even launched it. Though it may sound trivial, credibility with the target market is immediately put into question by the fact that a touted "design tool" sports an icon that actually spells out the application name on the symbol. An icon is a small, simplified, recognizable (not readable) graphical representative of something larger. Hence literally spelling out the name on an icon:

1. Defeats an icon's entire purpose
2. Is impossible to read in small contexts (e.g. in the Finder)
3. In the case of application icons redundant as the text is repeated in the name
4. hinders localization due to the involvement of language

It's sad but true that the icon did turn out to be an omen for things to come. There are plenty more features in iStudio Publisher that don't look and feel very Mac-like at all. Off the top of my head I recall the first thing my eyes were drawn to was the tool palette's clunkiness, including space wasted on it's fat palette border. The list goes on but I've allowed iStudio to waste enough of my time already (especially with a worthless "reduced functionality" demo) It's safe to say that the proof is not in the pudding when it comes to this application.

This package feels barely even beta ready, I can't help but wonder if someone rushed it out the door for some reason. Some of us were hoping for Apple Pages gone "the whole ten yards" but without crossing the border into needless Adobe bloat. Instead it feels, in a certain sense, more like a Novamind or Mindjet Mindmanager as compared to OmniGraffle. The overall experience feels much more Software Developer-laden with barely any strategic, well thought out implementations from Aesthetic/Usability/Experience Designers. In the case of iStudio Publisher, "Desktop Publishing Simplified" is nothing more than three words that carry little if any weight.