I was new to embroidery, so bought the very expensive Viking software when I bought my Designer 1. Afterward, I learned of Embird. I had a very hard time learning the Viking software and never really did get a good handle on it, so I bought Embird. Embird is a mere fraction of the cost of the Viking software. Wow! what a difference in software. Embird is very user friendly and easy to learn. Plus, there are several Yahoo groups that are tremendously helpful. I was lucky in that I sold the Viking software for what I paid for it. Updates are free and upgrades are very reasonable. I absolutely love and recomend Embird.