At ISE 2007, software provider Stardraw.com will publicly unveil significant changes to its range of design and documentation products, namely Stardraw A/V, Stardraw A/V Lite, Stardraw Audio and Stardraw Lighting 2D.

With effect from January 1st 2007, current design/documentation products will be replaced by newly branded, ‘2007’ versions. Stardraw marketing director Rob Robinson explains the move: "For years we had deliberately chosen not to have version numbers, but we’re re-introducing them now simply because the market has had no easy way of differentiating between current and past versions. For example, we launched Stardraw A/V in 2000. We've added huge amounts of functionality since then and it's still called Stardraw A/V today, despite being light years ahead of the original product. We felt that ultimately this was doing both our customers and our products a disservice. However, the rebranding will change all that. From January 1st 2007, the evolution of the product range will become totally transparent. Customers will know where they stand in the development cycle and it enables us to add value to our product in a far more recognisable and appreciable form."

"Even with this change we remain true to our policy of providing new feature updates for free to customers who have a current subscription," continued Robinson. "Anyone with a subscription that runs to January 1st 2007 or beyond will get the 2007 version of their product completely free of charge."

An important change being introduced with the 2007 product series is a policy of free Minor Version Releases (MVRs) offered independently of any annual subscription. MVRs include bug fixes, any updates needed in response to changes in supported operating systems and minor UI enhancements to existing functionality. Such updates are free to all users of that version for as long as it is supported, even if they do not have a current subscription. Robinson commented, "In this way, we can ensure that our users are able to maximise their investment and future-proof it against changes in operating systems and hardware platforms. It also ensures that, regardless of their subscription status, all users can always access the latest and greatest incarnation of the 2007 product. It’s a great initiative for everyone concerned."