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NOTE: Seeing as this topic relates to both Computer & Technology and Music, I was conflicted as to which subforum in which I should have posted it - and if I wasn't right to post it in this one, please move it accordingly. Thanks.
Now, I'm fully aware that Apple Mac computers and their exclusive software have managed to successfully worm their way into becoming the de-facto standards for professional-grade music production, and that most members of the Mac-using media are perfectly happy about this - but I, for one, object massively to the Mac monopoly in the music industry, and I'll happily explain why:
Windows PCs have endless reams of add-ons in terms of both hardware and software that can easily ace Macs in all aspects including music production - and the only thing that stops the music producers of this world from seeing that is the aggressive marketing push that Apple puts behind their own software, Logic Pro; the Windows-exclusive Fruity Loops (a program that I am a massive advocate of) and platform-agnostic Ableton Live and Cubase are vastly superior to whatever exclusive software that Mac OS has in their every aspect.
Want to install a 7.1-channel sound card with integrated real-time synth acceleration and multiple microphone inputs, AND use your choice of drivers with it? On Windows, go ahead - on a Mac, you'll have another thing coming. Want to plug in a ton of MIDI controllers and hook them all into different synth patches so that you can run an entire band's instruments from one PC, but you don't have enough USB ports to do so? Install a USB controller card on a PC - and forget it on a Mac. Want better performance and more efficient, streamlined programs so that you can play more complex, multi-layered pieces of music without your computer stuttering? Windows 7 and most applications for it are exceptionally well-optimised - the OSX family, on the other hand, is a total embarrassment in that respect. And so the list goes on.
On top of that, there's the unfavourably weighted price-to-performance ratio, the guarantee of fast hardware obsolescence and lack of guarantee on future software support - and Windows emerges as the clear victor. ASIO is an unbelievably powerful tool once you get it working, (which has been as easy as installing an EXE on every PC but one that I've tried) and its efficiency and low-latency are unbeatable by anything that Mac OS has to offer - and I DON'T say this as a Windows fanboy, either; in fact, I couldn't be further from it these days, and Linux would be better than both if I could get Wine's real-time drivers to work correctly. As it stands, though, Windows is the clear victor in all respects.
Additionally, Logic Pro (Apple's own Mac-exclusive Digital Audio Workstation) doesn't support VST, (a universal synth plugin format that Cubase, Ableton and FL are all compatible with) has a far more rigid and awkward interface for music sequencing than almost any other DAW on the market, and suffers latency when recording MIDI data - and Fruity Loops has none of these issues. Fruity Loops handles VST plugins so well that you can run many of them at high quality settings on Atom-powered netbooks with ASIO drivers - and the performance scales almost perfectly on more powerful hardware. It is, as the marketing tagline says, the fastest way from your brain to the speakers - but Apple's control of the media and inherent skills at absolute monopolization allows them to push advertising far further than smaller companies like Image-Line could ever hope to. And the inferior functionality of their software is evident of the fact that they spend all of their budget on publicising it rather than making it universally good.
Now, if I was being cynical, I'd suggest that...
Wait.
I am being cynical. Let me rephrase what I was about to say:
I'm convinced, though, that the only real and tangible reason why Apple refuses to support the universal VST format is because they have their own Mac-exclusive plugin format, AU - and while VSTs work on all systems, AU only works on products licensed for Mac OS, (to keep users and software developers locked into their system) and the best way to crush the rival format is to refuse to support it in high-selling official software. It's because of this blend of lack of vile business tactics, software functionality, inefficiency, incompatibility, ridiculous price, horribly rigid and poorly designed interfaces and limited hardware choice that Logic Pro and Mac OS are inferior by a considerable margin to their Windows alternatives - and it's only because of Apple's prevalence in the media and cemented status in the minds of consumers that their software is so popular and widely used.
So, what are your thoughts about Macs vs Windows PCs in terms of music production? Are there too many bites taken out of the Apple for their software to be worthwhile, or is Windows' double-glazing just a little too soundproof for your liking? Your responses are eagerly awaited.
Now, I'm fully aware that Apple Mac computers and their exclusive software have managed to successfully worm their way into becoming the de-facto standards for professional-grade music production, and that most members of the Mac-using media are perfectly happy about this - but I, for one, object massively to the Mac monopoly in the music industry, and I'll happily explain why:
Windows PCs have endless reams of add-ons in terms of both hardware and software that can easily ace Macs in all aspects including music production - and the only thing that stops the music producers of this world from seeing that is the aggressive marketing push that Apple puts behind their own software, Logic Pro; the Windows-exclusive Fruity Loops (a program that I am a massive advocate of) and platform-agnostic Ableton Live and Cubase are vastly superior to whatever exclusive software that Mac OS has in their every aspect.
Want to install a 7.1-channel sound card with integrated real-time synth acceleration and multiple microphone inputs, AND use your choice of drivers with it? On Windows, go ahead - on a Mac, you'll have another thing coming. Want to plug in a ton of MIDI controllers and hook them all into different synth patches so that you can run an entire band's instruments from one PC, but you don't have enough USB ports to do so? Install a USB controller card on a PC - and forget it on a Mac. Want better performance and more efficient, streamlined programs so that you can play more complex, multi-layered pieces of music without your computer stuttering? Windows 7 and most applications for it are exceptionally well-optimised - the OSX family, on the other hand, is a total embarrassment in that respect. And so the list goes on.
On top of that, there's the unfavourably weighted price-to-performance ratio, the guarantee of fast hardware obsolescence and lack of guarantee on future software support - and Windows emerges as the clear victor. ASIO is an unbelievably powerful tool once you get it working, (which has been as easy as installing an EXE on every PC but one that I've tried) and its efficiency and low-latency are unbeatable by anything that Mac OS has to offer - and I DON'T say this as a Windows fanboy, either; in fact, I couldn't be further from it these days, and Linux would be better than both if I could get Wine's real-time drivers to work correctly. As it stands, though, Windows is the clear victor in all respects.
Additionally, Logic Pro (Apple's own Mac-exclusive Digital Audio Workstation) doesn't support VST, (a universal synth plugin format that Cubase, Ableton and FL are all compatible with) has a far more rigid and awkward interface for music sequencing than almost any other DAW on the market, and suffers latency when recording MIDI data - and Fruity Loops has none of these issues. Fruity Loops handles VST plugins so well that you can run many of them at high quality settings on Atom-powered netbooks with ASIO drivers - and the performance scales almost perfectly on more powerful hardware. It is, as the marketing tagline says, the fastest way from your brain to the speakers - but Apple's control of the media and inherent skills at absolute monopolization allows them to push advertising far further than smaller companies like Image-Line could ever hope to. And the inferior functionality of their software is evident of the fact that they spend all of their budget on publicising it rather than making it universally good.
Now, if I was being cynical, I'd suggest that...
Wait.
I am being cynical. Let me rephrase what I was about to say:
I'm convinced, though, that the only real and tangible reason why Apple refuses to support the universal VST format is because they have their own Mac-exclusive plugin format, AU - and while VSTs work on all systems, AU only works on products licensed for Mac OS, (to keep users and software developers locked into their system) and the best way to crush the rival format is to refuse to support it in high-selling official software. It's because of this blend of lack of vile business tactics, software functionality, inefficiency, incompatibility, ridiculous price, horribly rigid and poorly designed interfaces and limited hardware choice that Logic Pro and Mac OS are inferior by a considerable margin to their Windows alternatives - and it's only because of Apple's prevalence in the media and cemented status in the minds of consumers that their software is so popular and widely used.
So, what are your thoughts about Macs vs Windows PCs in terms of music production? Are there too many bites taken out of the Apple for their software to be worthwhile, or is Windows' double-glazing just a little too soundproof for your liking? Your responses are eagerly awaited.
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