Attitudes of Apple fans/snobs in 2002 was an external factor, a serious one, but still external. I was only referring to issues with the actual CorelDRAW application.
Internal/external, still a factor that has to be dealt with and I don't see it having changed that much to where it isn't an issue still.
But Corel had an outside chance to win over some Freehand users rather than see them all migrate to Illustrator.
Very outside chance even if they did hit that release out of the park.
Adobe Illustrator allows users to do customize and re-arrange the UI in all sorts of various workspaces and save those workspaces. It's that way on both Mac and Windows versions.
Up to CS6 it was there, but (for me) it was in a limited fashion (I've seen far better abilities within their CC line that I would have enjoyed far more). No where near the level of customization that I have with other programs. Is it customization, yes, but certainly nothing to write home about until we started getting into their CC lineup, so really only in the last decade.
As for "adapting" to a CorelDRAW UI, I use the Windows version and I will NOT use the stock, vanilla UI of CorelDRAW as installed.
With that being said, if the Mac version of CorelDRAW forces users to just go with the stock vanilla version of the UI as installed and offers little in the way of UI customization options, then yes, users do have a very legit complaint to make. Most of the people buying CorelDRAW for the Mac are existing CorelDRAW users who ran it in a Windows shell on their Macs. They're used to Corel being able to work a certain way.
If a program is no longer usable for you, then swap. It's that simple. How they do things, how they setup the UI and all that, is up to them. If they choose to remove options, that's under their ability to do so. May not be good, I/"you" may not like it, but it's their choice to make.
Don't like it, go to something else.
Not having options is why I switched my entire platform to something else entirely. I'm not unsympathetic to the plight, but it does require one to make the change, if you believe that the program is totally unusable to you.
Taking away the options to tailor the UI to one's own likes is akin to taking one of the wheels off a car.
Customizing UI is not analogous to that. It's an efficiency hit, but it doesn't totally render it unusable. It may require relearning or adapting to a different workflow. That does take an efficiency hit, but I'm used to programs (that cost significantly more then this, regardless of which method of licensing Corel that one is talking about) that would do major radical UI changes on the same platform (only Windows) every new release. Key bindings, tool groupings etc (and there is no ability to setup a unique workspace in this program, none) are different every new release.
Adobe Illustrator 6 was a Mac-only release, as was versions 5 and 5.5. Adobe didn't start doing dual platform releases of Illustrator until version 7.
I didn't say 6 was a Windows release, it was where parity between the 2 platforms being used was getting there. That's the point, what was on Mac stopped being quite as different then what was on Windows.
The Corel company (or the venture capital owners calling the shots) has compounded its problems three-fold. Both the Windows and new Mac versions of CorelDRAW 2019 have serious performance issues that remain un-fixed. CorelDRAW 2019 has unwelcome changes in both Windows and Mac versions. Topping it off is the absolutely ridiculous new upgrade policy, threatening to go into effect sometime "very soon" according to the frequent pop-ups.
I don't disagree with you in the part of this causing issues, here is the thing though, if it no longer has the efficiency that you need/want, switch. Pure and simple.
They can either listen and change or "you" switch to something else.
They don't have to change, that's their decision to do so. Now, it may run the program into the ground (which could happen regardless if it's done by venture capitalist or somebody else calling the shots), but times change. Have to change with the times.
It's said that when programs that were one's favorites has that happen to them, but have to move on.