I'd like to answer your question: Is OSX/Win Audio moving _backward_?
In the most general sense my answer would be a no.
It is like being in a process of building a house and looking at your neighbour who has already built a house and saying - "hm, his building process seems to be going backward." But I think it is more accurate to say that his building process simply stopped, because the house is already complete.
Since day one I have always underlined that I do not think Linux can technically compete with Windows and Mac OS in that many things.
Freedom is what gives Linux its benefits. But technical superiority is questionable. It strongly depends on what distro you use, what you do with it, etc. And even if in theory it can be shown that Windows and Mac OS are in many ways technically inferior, the number of users hammering at it surely made it work - not in theory, but in practice.
Windows Audio, as opposed to Linux Audio, has all pieces in place - it has sequencers, it has tens of thousands of plugins, hundreds of them high quality, it has software for djs and live performers, just like Linux it has all sorts of very cool experimental applications, which continue to be developed and absolutely no problems with hardware.
Mac OSX is even better in the realm of audio. I have many friends who are professional musicians and who use Mac, I've performed with them and I have seen great things that Mac Audio can do - it is incredible.
And now, when these platforms have everything a modern musician requires and, while there is always room for improvement and new ideas, there are hardly any pressing needs, they can experiment with Metro, with small screens and with anything they want. They are on a firm base and if needed, all of it can be expanded to anything you want.
This is my opinion.
Why we stick with Linux? Each has his reasons. Linux is free. Linux surely has some unique workflows, possibilities and apps.
But to me the problem is that I can do great ambient on Linux, but I have a difficult time putting together anything else. Doing a house tune, which is a pleasure on Windows, is a very difficult thing on Linux, I've written about it many times.
So my dream is to see Linux fulfil the need of a non-experimental electronic musician.
On Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 4:33 PM, Ben Loftis <ben@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I'd pose a different question:
Is OSX/Win Audio moving _backward_?
If OSX continues to move towards iOS, and Win continues to move towards Metro, and Thunderbolt stalls, and screens get smaller, and expansion ports get scarcer, then Linux might become the de-facto "pro" multimedia platform simply because the other choices have become too dumbed down.
Of course _most_ users will be happy with the ease and power of the tools that will be available on iOS/Metro. And _most_ users is where the money is, so Apple/Microsoft are chasing the right users. But there will be some serious users that need a powerful production system with big screens and big peripherals, and for these users, Linux might become the standard.
-Ben
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