"Anonymus'" comments don't show credible problems with this software. As for slow... It's Cocoa... Cocoa apps are, usually, pretty quick (down right snappy) especially, with the hardware configuration people use in these fields... realtime adjustments of images and text are by no means slow. The estimation,"Overrated", was, as my guess leads (as there was no detailed example of how it was overrated), may be a referrence to the apps esteemed power and comparison to apps like InDesign or Illustrator Image Ready or Quark or Dreamweaver, etc.... nah..not overrated. Though often touted as a "mid level" suite of apps...the Stone Studio often stands toe to toe.. (sometimes surpassing..) the usefulness of these apps.. The "Studio" is the "Studio" and isn't meant to be these other apps.. it's meant to be the "Studio". Standing on its own merit, it shines. In comparison with other apps.. and suites... it shines. The combination of apps to equal Create© alone, shows its power. With the addition of iMaginator and the power of Linkback... these apps just became a whole lot more powerful, funcional, and the ease of use and workflow possibilities just sky rocketed.
Drag a portion of a layout via a dragwell to iChat or Adium, or Fire or Proteus or Subetha or iStorm (,etc) and your collaborative productivity just left the others in the dust. yeah. check it out. Cocoa is the way to go... (P.S. ;-) ) put (the following is a list of and/or's) Tiffany, Seashore, Gimp (or Gimpshop), Teal, Intaglio, iDraw, EasyDraw, Cheetah3D, Sphaera, PressPercent... Put these in your arsenal... then judge. see your inital costs come down.. and see your productivity increase. Give them a try... Most come with Trial liscenses. I didn't mention the makers of OW.. but... heh heh.. add them in the mix... wow. Check out the Studio, Now.