I really shouldn't even care, but my curiosity is getting the best of me. I think Mac is coming out with a new OS on Sept 20, and I believe that Sonar is scheduled to be Mac-ready in September also. How is all that lining up and when will it be ready? I'd like to just give it a try to see what it looks like and how it works.
DS

<shrugs>

bapu
<shrugs>

So, no cheese?

Going back to the original announcement, it said "We receive a lot of requests for a Mac version of SONAR, so we’re very excited to announce SONAR OS X Alpha. This free version runs SONAR’s built in plug-ins, and works with any Core Audio compatible audio interface. Starting in the Fall, please join us in testing out this new frontier for SONAR—and then share your experiences, or find support, in the new SONAR Mac forum."
 
This was accompanied by a survey asking people how interested they were in a Mac version. Bear in mind that an Alpha version is very early in the development process, which explains why it runs only SONAR's built-in plug-ins, and works with Core Audio and no custom audio drivers. By giving it to users for free and soliciting feedback from their testing, Cakewalk can gather the data necessary to move the project forward (or not, if no one wants it - although that appears unlikely). I'm assuming (perhaps someone from Cakewalk can confirm) that the company will then apply the "rolling updates" approach to tweak the program over time.

Anderton
Bear in mind that an Alpha version is very early in the development process, which explains why it runs only SONAR's built-in plug-ins, and works with Core Audio and no custom audio drivers. 

For whatever it's worth, I seem to have better luck with the default Core Audio drivers than with the manufacturer's.  That was true with my M-Audio interface, my Focusrite, and more recently, with my Native Instrument.
 
At one point, I also discovered that I could still use the old M-Audio on a secondary machine by reverting to Apple's own default driver, even though it was technically not compatible with the newer OS on that machine.
 
So for me, that was not even a concern. I am really anxious to try it, even if it only run its own built-in plug-in.