Hi guys, long time Sonar user, but this is my first post on the forum - be gentle!
 
I'm a registered X2 Producer user and recently had some issues with DPC Latency after migrating my DAW to Windows 8 Pro (not serious, but some little niggles).
 
I thought that I'd take some time to revert from Win 8 x64 back to Win 7 x64 and rebuild my DAW on that, just to compare.  Instant fix, all perfect now with my new Roland Quad capture set at the lowest ASIO settings - Brilliant! (For reference: I'm running fairly high-end PC hardware).
 
Anyway, the events above got me thinking about the OS we're all running on and what awaits us for future OS updates.
 
I started digging around on Google and saw an alarming amount of posts that say the next version of Microsoft windows (I guess 9?) will have the desktop completely removed and will work exclusively within the 'Metro' touch front-end.  I'm also reading that Microsoft have stated (don't know if this is a fact) that 100 msec was considered to be their goal for acceptable latency within the 'Metro' environment.
 
Now that got me thinking about how cakewalk and the other 'Big' players are going to perform on any future Microsoft OS that doesn't have a desktop and isn't optimised for Audio performance. 
 
I'm slightly worried about the way Microsoft is trying to turn my £1000+ Pro Desktop PC into a low performance tablet/Phone clone with touch features that I neither want nor need?
 
I've got to be honest and say that I'm keeping an eye on both Linux and OSX for the future, in case I need to transition to a new DAW platform.  It's slightly worrying to note that Cakewalk is Windows only though.
 
I guess that my question here is why don't Microsoft just improve/optimise/polish Windows 7 and keep a Desktop OS for Desktop PCs rather than attempting to have a single OS that runs on your phone/tablet/PC/wristwatch etc. etc.
 
I can see that software like cakewalk is already starting to be considered by Microsoft as Legacy desktop software.  We're all investing a fair amount of money in software and hardware for music production and I want to feel a little bit assured that the investment on PC hardware is justified.
 
I guess the new windows 8 is 'love or hate' for most - personally I hate the direction that Microsoft are going in for desktop OS and that's why I'm considering ALL of my options - how do you guys feel.
 
I did a quick search and couldn't see any other Windows 9/Desktop threads, so though I make a post - apologies if this has already been discussed before.
 
Thanks and regards.
 
 

you don't want to be left behind, windows 8 is indeed faster than windows 8, I think anyone here how has used it successfully will agree.
I don't see the desktop being taken away but if it, well than it is, there's no use being stuck in the theory "where's my start button"
the start button is now the start screen, as a matter of fact by pressing the windows key and then just simply start typing it will yield results faster than windows 7 did and in a more complex categorized view, I love that.

I know some people that were stuck using windows XP they needed to upgrade in order for sonar x2 (because it only supports win 7/8 not xp nor vista.

I feel bad for these folks because most of them have stayed with xp because of compatibility issues but win 7 had xp comp so it ran a lot of programs anyway, but they are now learning a new daw and a noew OS at the same time.

ive always stayed on top of new operating systems, in most cases using the consumer previews even before the real os hits the market., because technology is very unforgiving, and besides, its nice to be able to be in with the hop crowd my sons friends talk about, new software.

weather we like it or not windows will keep selling, 8 is a perfect example, all the people who complained about it, but its seems to be the best selling os to date. very versatile too.

my advise is to give it a chance, you may not have had proper updates or proper drivers for your devices and that's why you were turned off so fast.
sooner or later you may realize, its a faster product, a better engine, reactions are quicker.
which in turn equils better performance, who wouldn't want that?

by the way welcome to the forum :)

hope I went easy on you ;)

The Windows desktop isn't going anywhere. Microsoft would go out of business if they did that anytime soon. See these articles...

* http://www.zdnet.com/five...going-away-7000013185/

* http://winsupersite.com/w...dows-8-blue-build-9364

Scott

--
Scott R. Garrigus - http://garrigus.com - SONAR X2 Power! - http://garrigus.com/?SonarX2Power
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://garrigus.com/?PowerBooks
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar ProAudioTutor video tutorial series: http://garrigus.com/?ProAudioTutor
* Publisher of the DigiFreq free music technology newsletter: http://digifreq.com/?DigiFreq
* Publisher of the NewTechReview free consumer technology newsletter: http://newtechreview.com/?NewTechReview

Hey Charlie, thanks for your reply - appreciate it.
 
Yeah I wanted to like Windows 8 and was excited about the upgrade but I guess the very reason I upgraded to Windows 8 in the first place was to keep up with progress, not because I needed to.  But once I had Win 8 installed I hit a few little issues and just couldn't really take to that metro GUI. 
 
You're probably correct about my drivers not being updated properly or something similar, although I did update my BIOS, GFX, LAN, INTEL, SATA, USB drivers and made sure I had the correct x64 driver for my new Roland interface.  I may give it another try when I have more free time in the future. 
 
For the time being; I'm happy to be back using windows 7 as it just works for me.  I hope you guys understand that I'm not anti-Microsoft, the complete opposite in fact; I've always been on the cutting edge for my Desktop OS.  But this is the first time that I've installed a new OS and sat back scratching my head, asking myself what's going on with that?  Up to Win 7 every iteration of windows seemed to make sense from a usability/function perspective (well perhaps not Vista..lol).
 
I just hope that Cakewalk continue to work in close partnership with Microsoft and that any future OS is optimised for the desktop and doesn't just cater for the tablet brigade.  I think that the other problem is that once you start investigating these things using Google, you end up disappearing down the rabbit-hole and the amount of info is overwhelming.
 
I'm glad others are getting on well with windows 8, which kind of suggests that I may need to make a few tweeks on my system during my next upgrade attempt.  On the plus side of things, I'm absolutely loving X2 which is why I want to make sure we're in it for the long haul with Microsoft.
 
Yep - I would consider that your response went easy on me - Thanks for that ;-)
 
I should end by saying 'BRILLIANT' forum guys - glad to be participating at long last.
 
 

Hey NorthernElite
I've got 8 on one of my work systems. I'm not a huge fan of it either.  I just ordered a bunch of new hardware for my computer. Once it get it all installed I plan on upgrading to Win8 even though I'm less than thrilled about it.  I have a coworker who says he hated it at first, but he forced himself to use it over a weekend, now he loves it.  Eh, I dunno... I'm not that optimistic. 

None the less, I will be upgrading soon, now that Boss has released Win8 drivers for the GT100

I'd be very surprised if the desktop went away. Then again, I was very much taken by surprise by the abomination that is Metro. But anything you hear or read on the net about Windows 9 will be pure speculation. MS will only be sharing such information with a few select third parties (Cakewalk may be one of them), all of whom have signed NDAs that MS has an army of lawyers to enforce.

Windows has never been optimized for efficient audio out of the gate. Any refinements in that regard have usually been implemented after the OS's initial release. Ours is a very small market segment, too small for MS to be overly concerned about. The other 99.99% of users could not care less whether 2ms latency is possible or not. So the best strategy for us users is to wait and see - and don't be a pioneer.

I'd be more concerned about the potential for forced obsolescence. CW is a MS partner, meaning they have formally agreed to conform to the Microsoft Way in exchange for using the Windows logo on their packaging and being privy to inside technical information. So if Microsoft tells them they must use some feature that only exists in Windows whatever, Cakewalk has no choice but to declare their products incompatible with previous versions of Windows. This is what has happened with X2 and Windows XP. The incompatibility is in the installer, not the application.

This means that if you're happy with Windows 7/8 there could be a future version of SONAR that Microsoft won't let you install or run on it. Apple products provide no safe haven from this kind of manipulation; their history is full of similar pranks. It seems only Linux is likely to continue to run the same software forever.

Cheers Scott - I followed your links - very interesting reading - thanks for that.
 
Yeah I agree it doesn't make sense for Microsoft to dump the Desktop!  That prospect IS worrying, I do hope you're correct.
 
Perhaps I should start reading some of the positive search results occasionally, not just the negative ones!
 
Google is your friend (sometimes)....lol
 
Thanks again.

It would be nice if hardware manufacturers keep up with new OS technologies and have drivers and such ready before a new OS comes out. Why make people suffer? As far as Win 8 being the most sold I believe that's because new PC's come with Win 8. You don't have a choice unless you custom order a PC with Win 7. If you go to Best Buy they don't even have Win 7 on the shlef, only Win 8. I would say Win 7 was the most sold OS when it came out for the same reason. Hey who remembers using EMM386 to free up some of that DOS 64K memory barrier? You gotta love DOS. Windows 3.0 and 3.1 went through some big changes over the years for sure. Ah memories...

I posted elsewhere about my recent purchase of Office 2013. It sucks, and the transition from 2007 to 2013 was much like Sonar 8 to X1. There's all these place holders in the interface for  your friends pictures and they waste a ton of space. To compensate, they remove boundary margins from adjacent windows. 

It's really hard to describe, but it screams tablet. If DAW makers were smart they start to develop a minimal O/S designed to host their applications. Bundle it with the programs and distribute it. Rather than making the product conform to the system, make the system conform to the product.

After all, there's not much more they can cram into a DAW. Let's call the new interface OSC.

I spoke to a Windows Dev guy the other day at length on the phone....probably for about 2 hours on this subject.

Desktop aint going anywhere.