mike_mccue
John,
 Thanks for giving the forum first crack at helping you with your questions.
 
 Read post number 1 and get back to us if you are still confused.
 
 
 
 
 You may refer to these pages to confirm Rain's observation about OS compatibility:
 
 http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/DimensionPro/feature.aspx/Dimension-Pro-System-Requirements
 
 http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/Rapture/feature.aspx/Rapture-System-Requirements
 
 OSX Lion came out back in July 20, 2011.
 
best regards,
mike

Confused? where did I say I was confused? What I was pointing out was Windows doesn't seem to have this problem. But maybe that went over your head. 

John™, your toilet swirl logic rarely rises above the mid drift.
 
best regards,
mike
 
 

There are ways to keep using some of your favourite synths and this is one approach I use. It is based on the idea of having a separate computer setup running the OS, and plugins that enable the use of that/those instrument/s.
 
I have two auxilary computers doing this for me currently. All you need is midi and audio connection between this extra machine and your main machine. A little fiddly to setup but it works perfectly and it is the same as having the instrument inside your main DAW. It is simple as selecting a track routed out to that instrument. All you need at the other end is some sort of host that does not do any sequencing but hosts Rapture or Dimension and just plays all its sounds as per normal. The sound libraries just need to be installed on the internal drive on the remote computer for easy access. As you don't always use these extra instruments, you don't have to turn that computer on all the time either.
 
I have digital audio as well as analog audio between the machine and the digital connection sounds excellent. There is no latency either playing these instruments from my main computer and controller.
 
You just print the midi performances coming live off those VST's into audio just before mixdown and then you don't run them again. The entire session on the aux or remote computer can be saved in one hit for instant recall into the setup later with the VST inserted, patch loaded and mixed and processed by effects. I often add the reverbs and things right back at the synth level for some extra colour.

I think I'd rather just enjoy having everything ITB  but it seems like Jeff's idea would work great with an older Mac mini.
 
It would make a great little freestanding synth box.
 
best regards,
mike

I've done exactly what Jeff is suggesting.  It works pretty.  My E-mu Emulator software runs on WinXP.  So I keep one PC set up for that.  

A bit pricey but this looks like an option to have that cake and eat it too  http://www.viennaensemblepro.com/
 
 Network-compatible, cross platform mixing

ohgrant
A bit pricey but this looks like an option to have that cake and eat it too  http://www.viennaensemblepro.com/
 
 Network-compatible, cross platform mixing

I started working with VEP a few months ago & one it's strengths is that it takes a noticeable cpu load off your daw software & improves overall performance. ( especially helpful in X2 )

I split duties & mix all my orchestral in VEP & synths in X2 / Cubase. It has great mixing flexibility, I use the standard 32 channels in+out per 8 instances each. You can route back into VEP from you daw too.
It goes on special every so often, sometimes bundled with either MIR 24 or full.

Hmmmmmm... not compatible with Lion or Mountain Lion...? That's actually odd if you ask me. Rapture in particular is one awesome synth! And DimPro as well, even though it's expansion packs could be a little more interesting. Why won't they update them to support Apple's latest OS? If it was my company, I'd really want the Apple crowd to keep buying into these excellent instruments. Don't like the sound of this. When did Lion come out? Two, three years ago? Peculiar...

BTW Rain, looking forward to hear your judgement on Logic Pro X. I'm holding off until I hear what you think of it

BTW AGAIN: z3ta+2 is compatible with the newer Mac OS so it can't be because they don't know how to program for Lion or Mountain Lion.... this adds to the mystery, right?

I had considered the dedicated computer at some point in the past but I'm not sure it's something I want to do - though I can see how it might be an interesting option for many folks. More and more I'm trying to streamline things, to keep 3rd party stuff to a minimum and such.
 
If I integrated a second computer, I'd probably prefer to give Logic Nodes (distributed processing) a try than to waste it to run two incompatible synths. Or I'd run MainStage on it as a host. 
 
Maybe things would be different if it were a plug-in that's crucial to my workflow, like EZ/Superior Drummer, and if I knew that an update was in the work. But as much as I love Rapture and Dimension, I guess that I can and will have to replace them. Apparently, Cakewalk doesn't care much if I do. We're not talking about 6 months behind in their support of an OS - Lion was released 2 years ago.
 
As for SampleTank and the others, I guess we may meet again in a not so distant future...
 
My initial post was actually pretty pointless. I am not really looking for a temporary solution or a workaround; I'm annoyed and disappointed that Cakewalk doesn't simply support any newer OS, doesn't communicate their plan if they have any. That can only leave me guessing and as a result, I can't be too optimistic about Rapture and Dimension Pro.
 

ProjectM

BTW Rain, looking forward to hear your judgement on Logic Pro X. I'm holding off until I hear what you think of it

BTW AGAIN: z3ta+2 is compatible with the newer Mac OS so it can't be because they don't know how to program for Lion or Mountain Lion.... this adds to the mystery, right?

I'm guessing this won't be before sometime in September because we have a few weeks off coming up. But I'll keep you posted. ;)