Microsoft threatened as smartphones and tablets rise, Gartner warns

A possible future according to Gartner.  As windows becomes niche and marginalized, will Sonar still only work on Windows?  As desktop becomes relegated to specialty applications like graphics, etc will the cost of desktops increase?  Which would in turn push home recordists like me towards tablets to make music?  We are beyond an inflexion point.  Micrsoft has already lost the war.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/04/microsoft-smartphones-tablets

I think the future is hybrid. A tablet on its own may not be the best tool for music production as is, but throw in some kind of dock w/ connectivity to a keyboard and mouse, a bigger screen... I mean, the reason why we cling to towers is power, connectivity and expandability. Given the equal amount of power, and admitting that we can hook up that power to other pieces of equipment and expand it, it is obvious that the traditional computer will become a thing of the past.

You know, I moved from a PC tower to a laptop because I had no other option with the tour. And my plan was to move back to a tower once we'd settled down again. But, you know what? I'm not so sure. For the stuff I do, the MacBook Pro/Logic combo delivers pretty much all what I need. Hooked to a bigger screen and w/ the addition of a mouse, and I'm pretty happy w/ it. If I planned on working U-He's Diva and D16 LuSH-101, things might be different. But I'm using native plugs 90% of the time, not to spare the CPU but because they're my favorite tools, anyway. I could probably do w/ a bit more horsepower - not that I miss it, but I'd probably take advantage of it. But a newer MacBook Pro would give me that - even if it's not the most powerful CPU. There will always be a more powerful machine anyway... As such, I'm really not sure I'll opt for a tower when I upgrade - in fact, more and more, I'm thinking iMac, Mac mini server or a new MacBook Pro.

 Lost the war, no I think they gave up years ago. Sure seems like they have been keeping their eggs in the X-box basket since the first generation. I do believe there is a campaign to kill off the standard PC and it is being waged by m/s, Macintosh and Intel. I was reading that Intel plans to kill off the socketed processors in the next couple of generations. To the consumer that will probably mean no more custom built PC's. Not sure what AMD is going to do.
 Bad news for most of us I think. Great deal for them, with the small time specialized builders out of the picture or greatly reduced. A return to everything being totally proprietary and "no user serviceable parts inside" is soon to come I think and they want to get total control back of software and hardware distrubution and use...   

 
I really think the next logical step in the evolution of the DAW is going to be more like an X-box but pro audio based with many features and uses for live and home recording use. 
 Instead of touch screen, motion/gesture controlled like on the Wii? Basic voice recognition “Sonar record",  "Sonar launch amplatube" ? 
 Take it on the road and you have all the effects comps and EQs you ever wanted? I believe all that and even more things I can't fathom are already possible today    
 
I don't think portable devices are quite developed enough to do the number crunching many DAW users need simply because of heat. Every lap top I ever worked on underperformed its PC equal in a CPU or graphics benchmark simply because of throttling because of high temps. JMO 

  As far as Macs, since they are essentially the same nomenclature as a PC. I would be perfectly willing to buy a version of their OS they just don't sell it without their overpriced hardware. They're also not interested in the desktop war They have their eggs in the ithingy basket,  also JMO

 

Rain


Speaking of motion, here's a little something I stumbled upon recently. No idea how this could be made into something actually useful for DAW, but, who knows... http://logicblog.info/logic-pro-blog/2013/01/06/leap-motion-controller-plus-bettertouchtool-equals-awesome.html

 Cool, and very cheap.
 
  If I were willing to work in WDM, I think I could use my Microsoft game voice to control just about anything that there is a keybord shortcut to in Sonar. I'm going to have to try that.

Rain - you've really got me thinking about mac's lately.  I get a new laptop every 3 years - and this fall is time for a new one.  I'm thinking about a MacBook Pro. 

But you've also got me thinking about Logic, which is scary.  Would I have enough patience and time to port over all my projects from Sonar to Logic?  Does Logic have everything that Sonar has and more?  Will Logic be around for the future?  Logic does look like a great product.

mmmmmm....microsoft is also into tablets and smartphones.....

Rain


Speaking of motion, here's a little something I stumbled upon recently. No idea how this could be made into something actually useful for DAW, but, who knows... http://logicblog.info/logic-pro-blog/2013/01/06/leap-motion-controller-plus-bettertouchtool-equals-awesome.html

this looks like the solution that will give me access to a 128 channel mixing console - this thingy on a flat wood board ... plus photographic memory that allows me to remember where each fader was ...
 
just kidding, looks interesting at least; it is the proof that there will always be something new to supersede what's here.
 
as regards the debate whether windows will vanish from the face of the earth or not: well, probably not, definitely not with a bang and most likely not within a few years - it's just been around for too long with too many people / systems depending on it.
 
but - i believe that we will see dramatic changes in the home / project studio arena in the coming years (just think of all we got in the last 20 years that wasn't there before! sum that up and you call that a super dramatic change); one can safely assume further radical changes when thinking in terms of decades rather than software update cycles
 
anyway, the past years were driven by a rather uncontrolled (almost cancer like) growth of hardare / software tools and toys. now pretty much all you can imagine is available at affordable prices, but to get these gadget work together in a professional manner it takes an expert to set-up and huge amounts of time to build and maintain a proper system as the entire world around your DAW just keeps updating, updating, updating ...
 
with time being the most valuable asset there will be more room for "one shop solution" like e.g. buy your DAW fully set-up, ever functional and remotely maintained by service contract. whether or not this is all Cakewalk from hardware to software or 7 different brands combined by a smart reseller is not the point, but i'm sure if there'd such things available, quite a few would buy in (aren't we all sick of it working one day and all the sudden not the next day?) ... of course, all those not so commited or on a smaller budget are left to buy the iToys and Android apps or whatever and keep struggling with the latest and greatest technology while not being able to produce songs any more fluently and professionally than other did 10 years ago ...
 
enough said. it's all rubbish anyway ;-)
 

 @ Guitartrek

The good thing about a Mac is that you can always run Windows and Sonar on it. That could make the transition easier. Fellow forumite Scott Lee has also been working on a self-contained solution which should allow to run Sonar directly under OSX, w/o the need for Bootcamp and Windows. Not entirely done yet, but that's one thing to keep an eye on.

Granted, if you want the most raw power for your money, PC is a no-brainer. For me, I prefer a machine that meets my realistic needs while offering some overhead AND offers a more consistent and finite experience. 

And that's what my Mac does - as much of a paradox as it can be considering the ridiculous cult around the Apple brand, the best thing I can tell you about my Mac is that the computer erases itself behind its purpose. When I bought my first PC in the late 90s, I only wanted to record and mix music. That's ALL I wanted. But I've had to learn an awful lot - so much that I ended up putting my own machines together. My Mac brought me to my starting point - I power it on and I make music - literally.

Does Logic do all the Sonar does? Well, current version doesn't handle 32 Bit FP wave files, so that's one thing to consider. Freeze doesn't work like in Sonar - a frozen track is frozen solid - you can't edit it. But there are other different options that you get used to. It doesn't have the wave preview on the output or busses. No X-Ray view. And probably other similar things. BUT, it also does tons of things which Sonar doesn't, things, which, to me, are much more useful than any of the above features. That being said, we all have different needs and expectations.
 

Mathew - You can hook up a mouse to a laptop. And a monitor. ;)



FWIW, I rarely touch the mouse. And for some purpose, the Mac's trackpad is far superior to the mouse. Especially w/ Logic. 

And the sweet thing is, when we want to record drums or vocals, I can book time in a studio somewhere and finish my edits while we're on the plane on our way there... 

Though the laptop isn't the most powerful machine around, it certainly is powerful enough to pull it off in many serious scenarios. Nowadays, every body talks like they need every possible options and the ability to run gazillions of tracks w/o ever bouncing anything ever... 

One think we must keep in mind is that a tablet may not be adequate to accomplish what we want as of today. But the way we interact w/ software is likely to change - when I mix music, my ultimate goal is not to draw automation curves using a mouse - that's the METHOD. My goal is to have some passages played back louder or quieter. 

Just like typing a report on a tablet isn't ideal. But whoever said that typing was the ultimate way of entering data... It's just a method, not the goal. And we often don't really make a distinction between the end itself and the means to get there.

Rain



 

.

I see we use one common piece of equipment, at the right had side of you desk, next to the notepad.

Glyn Barnes

Rain 

I see we use one common piece of equipment, at the right had side of you desk, next to the notepad.

Same here, but just like with other special equipment, the latest may not be the greatest ... vintage rules ;-)

In a few years your tablet will smoke today's tablet.  Nature of the beast.

In the meanwhile maybe someone can get apple (or MS) to sponser a tablet orchestra.  That would be cool.  A bit arty, but I'd see it.

@

AT


In a few years your tablet will smoke today's tablet.  Nature of the beast.

In the meanwhile maybe someone can get apple (or MS) to sponser a tablet orchestra.  That would be cool.  A bit arty, but I'd see it.

@

In a few years they might have a tablet as powerful as my current desktop (although I bet it till be closer to 6-8 years) but then my new desktop will still get that tabelt's but, and the super duper extra analog synths coming out will still require even more CPU

Another thing is that some developers seem to love the simplicity of coding for iOS. 

I just read in my newsfeed that Korg had announced its Electribe app (no regular pc/mac version announced as far as I know) and that SampleTank is now compatible w/ AudioBus. Things are definitely moving fast.