Do you use MacOS X? Options

[Francois Déchery]

With the new Jaguar (OS 10.2) , and the coming major music apps, how do you feel about it?

[Levon River]

With the new Jaguar (OS 10.2) , and the coming major music apps, how do you feel about it?

I feel just like I did when the major music apps were still coming under OS 10.1.x. They are still coming.

Until somebody shows me something Logic can do that DP can't do as well (and nobody has yet), I will not pay the premium for Logic. Beyond that, Logic under OS X still has a whole list of important things "coming," so it's not even a fully working package yet as far as I'm concerned. (I also vowed back in the '80s that I would never, ever, under any circumstances support any software that required a hardware dongle--which are like cabinet locks in a daycare--and I have no plans for ever breaking that vow, but that's a separate issue.) So I certainly am not moving full music production over to X in Logic at this point

Until there is a fully functioning DAW+MIDI package for OS X, I'll be in the using OS X "for everything else" category. Serious music production just is not an option for me without a complete, intact work flow that doesn't require bouncing in and out of operating systems. It's too schizophrenic.

It's always been bad enough having to bounce in and out of various programs, or going through what it's always been necessary to go through to get several disparate proprietary packages to work in sync, since we are this many decades into the use of computers, and *nobody* has ever actually produced a complete solution. That's exactly why we have to have "fixes" like OMS, FreeMIDI, ASIO, VST wrappers, ReWire--the host of "cures" that are sometimes almost as bad as the disease. We have the promise that Core Audio and Core MIDI and Audio Units are supposed to make life oh-so-much easier, but apparently even those are going to be no panacea, and so ASIO and ReWire are both still going to be required, both depending utterly on the whimsical cooperation of independent developers to implement them at all, and, if so, to implement them correctly and effectively. To the degree they don't, we'll continue to shell out money for needed apps that won't talk to each other, or, when they try, stutter.

I do believe (hope springs eternal) that somewhere not too far up the road there will be a choice of working, effective DAW+MIDI programs in OS X, and that things actually will be better than they were in OS 9. But right now it ain't. So I'm in the "for everything else" category.

P.S. I inadvertently hit the wrong button on the poll, and got myself a nice, shiny, useless "null vote" entered, apparently, that I cannot shed, change, orphan, abandon, or disclaim. If anybody knows how I can change it, please let me know. Otherwise, please mentally tote up one more "for everything else" vote.

[Doug Miner]

I have been using Jaguar with Deck and Intuem for several months and have had generally very good results. I have produced plenty of remix stuff and voice overs and am working on a recording project with a 9 piece group using 24 tracks that is coming along just fine. The stability is better than OS9 and the use of core audio and MIDI makes older interfaces (Free MIDI, OMS, Sound Manager, ASIO, etc...) obsolete. I will soon be switching to either Logic or ProTools (any input on that decision greatfully accepted), both of which have OSX compatibility now. I am doing this because of the need for 24 bit audio (which DECK does not support) is apparent even on the casual user level. Yes, I think OSX is ready for primetime as far as music apps are concerned.

[hughster]

Right now, Jaguar with the TASCAM US-428 is unusable for audio input. Someone, somewhere has messed up on the USB audio input with Jaguar, and no-one at Apple seems to want to even admit that such a problem exists. I can use Reason successfully (some people don't seem to be able to do this, though) and I can play back OK. But recording produces stutters and dirt after 2.5 minutes. This did *not* happen with 10.1.x.

Come on, Apple, you're losing credibility (and customers!).

[filarion]

I'm using Ableton Live and Spark XL (still missing sampler support under osx :/ ) running Jaguar right now. I can't switch to any serious work with Logic under X as long as I don't have better drivers for my Multiface - plus, as long as there's no Max/Msp for OSX I can't switch once and for all anyways.

I just purchased one of those 1.25 gHz dual/proc g4s and I am amazed and dissapointed with apple:

i understand that Apple had no desire to get 3rd party developers rolling until core audio and core midi were implemented (as far as they are currently implemented...)... there would be no sense in having 3rd party developers write code for osX carbon/cocoa ports and then come out with coreaudio and coremidi 3 years later ("sorry we made you rewrite the code for all your apps/hardware drivers, but looks like you are going to have to do it again now that we have our s**t together"). so currently i am booting in to osX for "everything else" like many others seem to be doing...

here is the problem: i just started making music on a macintosh so i dont have much commercial software for os9 either. some freeware stuff, sure, but nothing which i purchased a mac to use (i.e. max/msp and dp). and i have no intention of shelling out for the os9 versions of either of those programs when osX versions of both have been promised by the end of the year. so really i am stuck completely unable to make music on the nice and shiny g4 i just emptied my pockets for.

here is the second problem: there have been many complaints about the loud fans on the new ddr g4s... when i am booted in to osX i never hear the fan. not once. but when i boot into os9 the damn thing turns on and shuts off every 10 seconds. what in the world?! Often it won't come on in os9, but when it does it just does not shut up.

i wish i could use osX, it is a peachy os, and my midikeyboard and such seem easily recognized by coremidi... too bad there is no software which i could test it with yet (please do not mention logic, i dont want to spend that money yet/ever).

[HauiB]

[FONT=Impact][SIZE=7][COLOR=blue]I have 10.2, A M-Audio USB Duo, A MIDIMan Keystation 61 on a B/W G3 400 Mhz w/ 512MB RAM, I am awaiting Cubase SX. I have been a Cubase user for quite a while am very excited about the possibility of removing OS9. I just want something that functions correctly with OSX

[ruxx]

The sad fact of the matter for anyone using MOTU audio hardware, is that it looks like we're going to be in 2003 before any drivers are released. So far they have managed to write only a half working beta for the 828, so despite the fact the Logic & Cubase SX are now shipping, we are all still stuck using OS9.

[PlasTree]

The biggest issue for me concerning the transition to osX is plug-ins. Assuming MOTU updates DP3 anytime soon, I don't know if my current MAS plug-ins will work in osX. I'm guessing no, unless MOTU comes up with a way to run os9 plug-ins within a shell of some sort. I'm not sure how this is handled in Protools 6, if at all. I hope both programs will support Audio Units. If it is indeed a fully capable plug-in format, then it would be nice to see all osX apps taking advantage of it. That's probably wishful thinking, though. I wouldn't expect Digidesign to support anything non-proprietary.

[kaboombahchuck]

I's sticking with 9 untill hell freezes over, or my iMac burns to the ground. I'm really sick and tired of the big OS race. If it aint broke, don't fix it!