Re: Serif PagePlus...
I was using PagePlus for my assignments in the early 1990s. At the time it was really the only option on a simple Windows machine. It wasn't perfect, but for many projects, including my dissertation, it was good enough. I revisited it a few times via a Windows VM and found it still usable and many of the older quirks had indeed been resolved. If I had the need for something similar again, I'd have no problem buying a new version, whether for Windows or Mac. Given the ability of the market behemoths to dominate and squash competition, it's really quite amazing it's still out there.
For Photoshop-like work I use Photoline.