Apple cares very little for backwards compatibility. They depend on their systems running within a very limited set of parameters (hardware) which keeps people upgrading and in theory means they always have a current computer and a good experience. It's both their strength and their weakness. 

JCB
 
I worked in the Oil industry for over 20 years for the biggest Oil companies and Service companies (and they buy the best), and never saw an Apple machine. Their IT managers usually know their stuff.

Me too, well 34 years in the Oil industry actually. Never saw a Mac. In the early days it was HP or TI machines and terminals to IBM main frames.

For "desktop" application its been mostly PCs with the odd Sun UNIX workstation for high-end applications, but latterly even they were being ported to PC's once 64 bit Windows became reliable.

arachnaut
There may be a reason why the PCs had viruses and Apples didn't. Not many governments or big businesses hide their valuables behind Apple gear.

Most of the valuables in that situation are stored on servers which often run Linux or FreeBSD.

The lack of OS X viruses I think is down to a couple of things. The first is cost-effectiveness for the virus writers, the vast bulk of computers out there run some kind of Windows, and many of them run old versions that have long-known exploits. Many companies and governments don't even apply the MS urgent security fixes or even service packs because they want to extremely thoroughly test the update in case it causes a problem with their network or applications.

The second is that OS X is a *nix system based on FreeBSD and Gnu tools and has an inherent security model that's harder to insert running code into or install anything without the user noticing. Not impossible of course, but harder. So if you're a lazy virus writer why put the effort in when there are millions upon millions of security-comprisable PCs out there and lots of existing malware whose code you can recycle?

arachnaut
For me, though, I think the major reason I like PC's is because Microsoft tries very hard to keep older stuff working (drivers being an exception) while Apple seems to require all new software on major updates. At least that what seems to happen on the audio forums.

Doesn't happen very often, any more than it happens in Windows. I have several 32bit Windows applications that would run under modern 64bit Windows, but the 32bit application was suplied with a 16bit installation routine that won't run in a 64bit environment. Windows XPsp1 broke quite a lot of applications when it clamped down on user account security and blocked bad practices like applications which store documents in the same folder as the application. Something that was normal in the DOS/Win3 days but MS had been advising and warning against for years. Every so often every hardware/OS combination has an upgrade earthquake that changes lots of things, if it didn't we'd be using green-screen monitors, teletype terminals and storing stuff on punched paper tape and "minicomputers" the size of a couple of seriously big fridges. State of the art when I used it as a student in 1978/9 that was.
 

arachnaut
Those companies that make software products for PCs and Macs probably write everything under a universal layer of upper level software, like Qt or something like that. I like how Sonar just has to know Windows APIs.

Cakewalk's long-term Windows only approach is one of it's strengths, I agree. Windows and OS X do things in very different ways and Cakewalk have built a good, long-term relationship with MS and Intel. Having to only worry about bugs on one platform rather than two has to be a good thing as well. And Windows from Vista on has been getting steadily better at supporting DAWs and the peculiar requirements they have. The long lists of things that needed changing or tuning in Windows to get low latency audio working has got shorter and shorter over the last ten years.

In the end computers are like cars or guitars. You get and use what you hope will meet your personal needs, you find comfortable to use and costs no more than you are willing to spend. There's little point in arguments about which is "best" any more than in arguing whether a Telecaster is better than a Les Paul or a Selmer Maccaferri jazz acoustic from the 1930s.

Maybe it's because ProTools takes out a 10-page add in the Sweetwater catalogs, while the others only have one page. 

Brian Walton

Snehankur
For Sonar : [of course only in my opinion]
Developers are fantastic, but marketing - I doubt.
 
Recently one of my friends circle (those who work in the industry) asked which DAW I use:
I said : CAKEWALK SONAR.
They asked : is it like a DAW ?
 
I brought them home and ...
 
Question is why do we have to bring them home and demonstrate?
 
Regards
Snehankur
 
 

If you friend works in the industry and doesn't know what Sonar Cakewalk is, they are either really young (early 20s) or they are not very knowledgeable about the market as it relates to creating music using a computer to record.
Reply #1
 
Cakewalk as a music production tool is 25+ years old and has been on the shelves of Guitar Center for decades.  Not to mention the other major retails.  
Reply #2
 
Of course if you are outside the US in a 3rd tier music market the experience might be different.  But here in the US which has by far the largest music market in the world, just about anyone in the music creation business should have at least heard of Cakewalk/Sonar.  
Reply #3 

Reply #1 : No they are not. They are in industry for more than 20 years. They uses Logic and PT HD.
Reply #2 : Even I used Cakewalk when it came from Twelve Tone and I used Sound Blaster card from Creative.
Reply #3 : I am from India. Music Industry is very large and as far as the listener base its much more than US. I will get the figurative details and charts. I am not sure about your concept of gradation of Tier of the music market here. Cakewalk is hardly in the scenario. And is why my question was how strong the Marketing Department of Cakewalk is, as they have can enough scope to make footprint. A bit planning is required.
 
My view was in the broader aspect not limited to the shelves in some US stores.
*English is not my language so bear with me and my explanation.
 
Regards
Snehankur

At least part of the reason for Cake's focus in the U.S. (apart from it being US based) - is this:
http://www.mapsofworld.co...mputers-users-map.html
(311 billion pc's in the U.S. Vs 57 billion in India) with a smaller proportion of Internet user.
You go where your market is. While the population might suggest a higher number of musicians in India, far fewer are ready to use Sonar (or any DAW) for that matter, (because they don't own pc's). Studios are always going to lean towards Pro Tools, and to a lesser degree, Logic, Cubase, etc regardless of where in the world they are.
Cake recently suggested a big segment of their growth (and potential growth) is in the "Artist" line - moving to steam supports this. Where better to grow this market than among US home PC users?

Snehankur

Brian Walton

Snehankur
For Sonar : [of course only in my opinion]
Developers are fantastic, but marketing - I doubt.
 
Recently one of my friends circle (those who work in the industry) asked which DAW I use:
I said : CAKEWALK SONAR.
They asked : is it like a DAW ?
 
I brought them home and ...
 
Question is why do we have to bring them home and demonstrate?
 
Regards
Snehankur
 
 

If you friend works in the industry and doesn't know what Sonar Cakewalk is, they are either really young (early 20s) or they are not very knowledgeable about the market as it relates to creating music using a computer to record.
Reply #1
 
Cakewalk as a music production tool is 25+ years old and has been on the shelves of Guitar Center for decades.  Not to mention the other major retails.  
Reply #2
 
Of course if you are outside the US in a 3rd tier music market the experience might be different.  But here in the US which has by far the largest music market in the world, just about anyone in the music creation business should have at least heard of Cakewalk/Sonar.  
Reply #3 

Reply #1 : No they are not. They are in industry for more than 20 years. They uses Logic and PT HD.
Reply #2 : Even I used Cakewalk when it came from Twelve Tone and I used Sound Blaster card from Creative.
Reply #3 : I am from India. Music Industry is very large and as far as the listener base its much more than US. I will get the figurative details and charts. I am not sure about your concept of gradation of Tier of the music market here. Cakewalk is hardly in the scenario. And is why my question was how strong the Marketing Department of Cakewalk is, as they have can enough scope to make footprint. A bit planning is required.
 
My view was in the broader aspect not limited to the shelves in some US stores.
*English is not my language so bear with me and my explanation.
 
Regards
Snehankur

 
I'd be happy to look at your figures.  But I think if you do a search on Recording Revenue you will find US sales absolutely dwarfs India's.  We are talking about recorded music here.
 
http://www.statista.com/statistics/297910/music-industry-revenue-india-sector/
 
http://www.statista.com/s...try-revenue-in-the-us/
 
As for marketing, any company is going to market where the actual biggest market is.  And honestly, sales figures would suggest that isn't India.  I mean zero offense by this, but they are not even a blip on the map.  Say 130 Million in revenue in India vs BILLIONS in the US.  

With most software being bought on the web I don't see how location is as much of a factor as it once was, unless you live in China or some other places of the world where the government controls  web content. 
 
If they don't know Sonar exists, this is another thing altogether. An internet search will reveal Cakewalk as a contender for your DAW software dollars. Is Cakewalk difficult to find on the web? In India I'm not so sure. My guess is it's buried under pages and pages of other stuff...so search engine priority is probably a much larger factor than anything else. Most shoppers won't look too hard if they have six choices within the first few searches. Cakewalk should have popped up early.This is true even here in the US.
 
Many beginners don't get sweetwater catalogs and might go to the first music forum they find to ask questions. They'll find those DAW popularity lists that limit PC  programs and are only based on the following- A. Who happened to see it to vote and B. Uneducated opinions. 10 year old Herckel Snerckel can comment and that's fine, just be aware that these are very opinionated polls and you don't need a recording or music degree to comment on them.
 
Musicians who record  because they like having more control in the recording process are a tight picky bunch. Once they pick a DAW it's like a child to them. Hopefully they can be persuaded between the time they have the money to spend and the time it goes toward a DAW to at least have a look at Sonar as an alternative.
 
Exposure to different software seems to be somewhat determined by country, for example, if you live in Norway or Denmark, you're probably going to see ads and product placement more for Reason or Cubase. The UK seems more bent on the whole Mac thing than America is overall. In some places over there it's almost as if they don't know PCs or Sonar exist. Am I slightly extrapolating? Probably but I think I'm fairly close to the truth. The web is different when it comes to advertising in different countries.

On the one hand, while annoying that SONAR isn't routinely taken as seriously as other DAWs, I'm okay with that because it's exactly what I need.  There was a time several months ago when PT had a significant edge over SONAR in some specific scenarios, but as the monthly updates rolled out, those features started being incorporated into SONAR and right now, I can't think of another DAW that offers the same functionality, flexibility, and content that SONAR has. So from that perspective, I couldn't care less what the masses think about SONAR or if it's widely considered to be "industry standard" or not. It does what I need it to do, it's a pleasure to use, and while there's always room for improvement, there's absolutely no reason for me to switch DAWs. 
 
On the other hand, general perception is important to certain degree, because if Cakewalk were to lose a significant foothold in the industry and didn't stay relevant, then they'd be out of business. Granted, were that to happen, we'd still have our current versions available to use, but eventually they'd most likely need to be replaced. Considering that Cakewalk's been in the game for decades and is still going strong, this seems to be a unlikely scenario. We can hope!

streckfus
On the one hand, while annoying that SONAR isn't routinely taken as seriously as other DAWs, I'm okay with that because it's exactly what I need.  There was a time several months ago when PT had a significant edge over SONAR in some specific scenarios, but as the monthly updates rolled out, those features started being incorporated into SONAR and right now, I can't think of another DAW that offers the same functionality, flexibility, and content that SONAR has. So from that perspective, I couldn't care less what the masses think about SONAR or if it's widely considered to be "industry standard" or not. It does what I need it to do, it's a pleasure to use, and while there's always room for improvement, there's absolutely no reason for me to switch DAWs. 
 
On the other hand, general perception is important to certain degree, because if Cakewalk were to lose a significant foothold in the industry and didn't stay relevant, then they'd be out of business. Granted, were that to happen, we'd still have our current versions available to use, but eventually they'd most likely need to be replaced. Considering that Cakewalk's been in the game for decades and is still going strong, this seems to be a unlikely scenario. We can hope!

Excellent post!
Functionality, flexibility, content, that really sums up what SONAR is for me.
 
Would I be glad or happy if Cakewalk would become the biggest DAW seller with the largest user base, the mother of industry standard?
Sure, I would. Absolutely! Be glad for Cakewalk.
 
But for me, it would be the same DAW I've chosen to use. A great DAW!