I would have to consider myself a fairly recent convert to Fireworks when the rest of the crowd is considered. I really jumped on the bandwagon when CS4 came out, specifically because of the type engine changes that took place.
All that is well and good, but it’s no secret that Fireworks is plagued with its own set of problems. Stability and consistency issues are scattered throughout, and many users are not quiet about it.
While I truly feel Fireworks is a fantastic application for Web design, if a viable alternative found itself on the playing field, I’d switch in an instant. For our benefit, Jon Hicks painstakingly put together his analysis of some top contenders for the Mac, Acorn, DrawIt, and Opacity.
If you’ve followed me on Twitter, it’s absolutely no secret that all of my money is behind Acorn. Acorn is my go to editor for all things quick, and I truly feel it’s got the legs to become an accurate Fireworks replacement. I love the lightweight nature of the application, its approach to UI, and perhaps most of all I’m a huge fan of Flying Meat, the company behind the app. I’ve sent in a few feature requests, and I don’t believe three hours went by before I heard back from Gus Mueller himself with a personal & personable reply.
I’ve dabbled with Drawit but found less comfort in the UI decisions as it seems to be more geared toward icon design where Acorn is more adaptive to Web design. I haven’t had a chance to play with Opacity mainly because it seems to tout itself as a definite icon editor, something I never find myself doing.
Fireworks alternatives on trial: Acorn ° Drawit and Opacity ° The Hickensian ° Hicksdesign.