Hi - In the Dec 12 PC Notes on W8, Martin Walker writes:

Quote:

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... while at least three specialist audio PC vendors claim they won’t touch its new interface with a bargepole until they absolutely have no choice.

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I believe some of the posters here are reps (or owners? - sorry!) of some audio PC companies ... just wondering if they might be some of the ones Mr. Walker is referring to? I've seen some comments in older threads about the W8 interface, but don't recall coming across statements as definitive as that.

Thanks -

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Alexis -Cubase 6.5.0/SX3.1.1.944, XP SP2, 4GB RAM (1GB not accessible, but used just to balance the computer so it doesn't tip over); Delta 66 in Omni i/O Studio; Motif8; UAD-1

On behalf of Rain UK and Rain USA here's my answer to that one:
Rain Uk's Windows 8 audio performance testing youtube vid - I share my views on the interface towards the end of the vid.

Or if you want the quick version - yeah, i like it

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

perhaps the more pertinent question is how many audio interfaces have W8 drivers yet.

until that's "the majority", then why would an audio PC mfr supply a product that won't work with most of their customers' gear?

fwiw, i have a Surface running W8 RT, and it's very good on a touchscreen. can't imagine it being all that useful as a DAW platform, but it does what MS set out to do very well.

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hourglass | random thoughts | doubledotdash!? collective

Err, not directly. From a stability and backend point of view it works well in most cases (if the drivers are there) and we've got it set up as an option on all systems we sell althrough public uptake hasn't exactly been astounding. I'm just not a huge fan personally from an user experience point of view and I await with interest to see what Ballmer is going to do with it now Sinofsky has been booted; as by all accounts the GUI changes were forced through by Sinofsky against a lot of peoples wishes.

In balance I'm also not a huge fan of linux but my media server and laptop both have various installs of that running... whatever gets the job done with as little fuss as possible.

Quote onesecondglance:

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perhaps the more pertinent question is how many audio interfaces have W8 drivers yet.

until that's "the majority", then why would an audio PC mfr supply a product that won't work with most of their customers' gear?

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Well i'm yet to find an interface with Windows 7 drivers that didn't also work fine with Windows 8 - most manufacturers have said the same, in fact i can't think of any who have said otherwise. I used the Windows 7 drivers for the UR28M that i used in my testing - Steinberg have recently added "Windows 8" to the driver compatibility specs without actually updating the driver at all....

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Quote alexis:

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I believe some of the posters here are reps (or owners? - sorry!) of some audio PC companies ... just wondering if they might be some of the ones Mr. Walker is referring to?

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Hey Alexis,

I suspect one of the DAW builders Martin is referring to is me, and I am not at all concerned about being on record publicly, I have stated it clearly on numerous forums already - I won't be touching it with a barge pole for any of my professional DAW solutions until all avenues with Win7 OEM are exhausted , i.e M.S pull availability, which from what I understand is not going to happen as the Corporate sector will also not touch it with a barge pole either

All of this hyperventilating about how we all need to get jiggly with the new UI, etc, is absolutely bollocks IMO , in short if Windows 8's so called performance advantages do not outweigh Windows 7 by a substantial and measurable amount , its not worth navigating to an O.S that simply has some bolted on overlay UI designed for tactile surfaces.

Never mind many of us can't stand the whole approach.

Getting back to the performance aspect which is our main focus , my testing across multiple DAWbench tests sessions using 3rd party Plugins and VI's on both Cubase and Sonar , performance is identical using and RME HDSpe AIO which I detailed in a thread at G.S ( easy enough to find if interested ). That's not to say there were no caveats, iLok caused all manners of issues, as did Waves CP. Also , its a minefield depending on what interface is being used by the original poster , again outlined in that thread , results were wide and varied.

Of course the posted results raised the shackles of the Cakewalk community as it placed a question mark on their reports of substantial and measurable performance improvements in W8 over Win7 , also I just finished watching Robins video of his side by side comparison where Win8 bettered Win7 in some of his tests , by a bees dick if that, personally I didn't see it but of course Robins tests are no more/less valuable than any of the others.

In short its pretty simple, I'll continue to deliver what I believe will be the better option for my clients for mission critical environments with the available technologies , and to me that still remains windows 7 , the last thing anyone needs is to navigate potential incompatibilities for zero sum gain in performance.

@ Robin,

I liked the video Btw, very entertaining, had a good laugh in some spots, you've missed ya calling their Bro... :-)

One point re drivers , well its not only drivers Mate, one example - the RME FF400 which has all the boxes ticked for many years will not work under Windows 8, and it has nothing to do with drivers ( I don't think ) as the FF800 works fine, its more to do with firmware /revisions of the controller on the unit.

The FW stack has totally been rewritten again in Win8 , Joy , so without the signed legacy mode driver in Win8 we are going to get more and more FW interfaces that will not work to spec in Win8, mark my words.

That is one minefield I do not want or need to navigate to get some square tiles on a desktop... LOL

Peace

V.C

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AAVIM Technology
DAWbench.com

Just spotted that Martin had listed the G.S thread in the article , so its probably safe to post it here as well.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/762183-my-windows-7-vs-wind ows-8-dawbench-results.html

V.C

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AAVIM Technology
DAWbench.com

Hi folks!

Hah, I certainly seem to have stirred things up a little with this month's PC Notes column

Yes, Vin was one of the DAW builders I was (obliquely) referring to, although I've spoken to at least two others who privately have very similar opinions. Even in the mainstream PC magazines opinions about Windows 8 remain spread between pure joy through indifference all the way to total disgust.

There can also be a huge difference between “working well with Windows 8” and “working as well with Windows 8 as Windows 7 or even a gnat's whisper better or worse”.

As I wrote in my column, I fully intend to get the hyper-cheap Windows 8 upgrade, but am still not that keen to switch to a touch-screen interface until I have a touch screen to use it with

Yes, Windows 8 can boot even faster than Windows 7, but the latter is plenty fast enough for me as yet, especially since I generally use Sleep mode so can be up and running again in a few seconds.

No worries about posting the link to that GS thread Vin - at least those tests were done in a scientific way that pushed the machine to its limit rather than speculation on the likely increase in performance after measuring any drop in CPU overheads.

Anyone who has gradually loaded an audio project to glitching point (as musicians often do in the real world) will know that the final tally of simultaneous tracks, plug-ins and softsynth voices depends on far more than what any CPU meter is reading


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

Quote TAFKAT:

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@ Robin,

I liked the video Btw, very entertaining, had a good laugh in some spots, you've missed ya calling their Bro... :-)

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It's one of my favourite things - wish i had more time to do this stuff

Quote TAFKAT:

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One point re drivers , well its not only drivers Mate, one example - the RME FF400 which has all the boxes ticked for many years will not work under Windows 8, and it has nothing to do with drivers ( I don't think ) as the FF800 works fine, its more to do with firmware /revisions of the controller on the unit.

The FW stack has totally been rewritten again in Win8 , Joy , so without the signed legacy mode driver in Win8 we are going to get more and more FW interfaces that will not work to spec in Win8, mark my words.

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Yeah, fair enough. I was at pains to point out that these are the results i got with this gear, this interface and these tests - people shouldn't then assume it's all going to be hunky dory for their gear, but it has been looking good so far. Firewire has never really recovered from XP SP3 - don't know what to do about that really. All we can do is try it out and see. I'm not imagining a fast take up of Windows 8.

I will say though that some of the youtube vids out there bashing Windows 8 are simply ridiculous cases of users being idiots. There's one with like nearly a million views called "Windows 8 - it's almost not terrible" or something and the two guys are basically slagging it off simply because they dont know how to use it and make everything look difficult. Personally i've found it easy and enjoyable to work with and i wanted to demonstrate that to somehow counter some of the weirdness out there. But, you know, it's a personal thing - why use something that causes you pain or offence? There's not enough gain in pure performance to make it a no-brainer upgrade - but also there's innovation and improvements that make it attractive (to me at least). So, you know, fill your boots or don't, i'm happy to work with customers to get either route working. There's a lot of chatter about how unfair it is that manufacturers drop support for their hardware, either by not releasing new drivers or by dropping support for old OS's - so it makes some sense that if you're buying a new system you want it to be as up-to-date as possible on both the OS and the audio interface side. Apps are already Windows 8 only and will there come a time when these are attractive enough to push an upgrade - ipad apps such as the Moog and Korg M20 etc for a couple of quid, on your main PC? Hmmm sounds good to me

Quote Martin Walker:

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Anyone who has gradually loaded an audio project to glitching point (as musicians often do in the real world) will know that the final tally of simultaneous tracks, plug-ins and softsynth voices depends on far more than what any CPU meter is reading

Martin

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Sure, but all you can do is attempt to show something helpful

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Quote robinv:

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I will say though that some of the youtube vids out there bashing Windows 8 are simply ridiculous cases of users being idiots. There's one with like nearly a million views called "Windows 8 - it's almost not terrible" or something and the two guys are basically slagging it off simply because they dont know how to use it and make everything look difficult.

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You are watching too much Youtube

I have not bothered watching anything re Win8 on Youtube past your report , and won't be going back there again for Win8 , so I really couldn't care less what people are saying on there to be honest. Trust me Mate, M.S have more issues to navigate with Win8 past some Youtube rants.

I have spoken to a few local colleagues this week who are not in the DAW industry but service gaming/corporate/educational , and the feedback is enlightening to say the least and gels very closely with my overall view. In short , none of them are touching Win8 with a bargepole either, where possible. With brand notebooks where Win8 has been imposed, reports of staff being abused by customers for not having a Win7 option available for the laptop wanting to be purchased and clients walking out without purchasing anything after being informed it was Win8 only.

The simple fact that Sinofsky ( Head of Windows development ) has been sacked so soon after release of Win8 isn't exactly ringing positive bells , IMO they have realised they have a Vista size problem on their hands again. It will never gain the acceptance they hoped on Desktop, nor should it IMO.

Lets hope they wake up to their senses for whatever the next move is.

V.C

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AAVIM Technology
DAWbench.com

You do what you must, but my Windows 8 Phone arrived today and i'm loving it. But i really don't mind what people want to use - if I can get it working right for music then that's all that matters really - no bargepoles, argy-bargy, abuse or stamping of feet required.

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Quote robinv:

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my Windows 8 Phone arrived today and i'm loving it.

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Not surprised, its an awesome front end on a phone!

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ScanProAudio & 3XS Audio Systems
ScanProAudio Blog

Quote robinv:

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I will say though that some of the youtube vids out there bashing Windows 8 are simply ridiculous cases of users being idiots.

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You are way out of line here. Computers aren't nerd toys anymore, they are consumer items and they simply have to work intuitively. Calling your own customers "idiots" is not a good way to win any friends.

Windows 8 is one step forward and a hundred steps back.

Quote johnny h:

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Quote robinv:

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I will say though that some of the youtube vids out there bashing Windows 8 are simply ridiculous cases of users being idiots.

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You are way out of line here. Computers aren't nerd toys anymore, they are consumer items and they simply have to work intuitively. Calling your own customers "idiots" is not a good way to win any friends.

Windows 8 is one step forward and a hundred steps back.

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Eh? I'm not calling customers idiots, i was referring to some specific (and referenced) youtube videos of apparent "expert bloggers" demonstrating why they hate Windows 8 and they were either being pretty idiotic or deliberately trying to put people off. They were not users grappling with a new OS these were self proclaimed experts. Forgive me but i get upset about bad information. Opinion is one thing but demonstrating how rubbish something is by not knowing which buttons to press is pretty stupid in my opinion. But that's just my opinion and if you don't mind i'll miss out your 100 backward steps and just keep moving forward

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Quote robinv:

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Quote johnny h:

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Quote robinv:

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I will say though that some of the youtube vids out there bashing Windows 8 are simply ridiculous cases of users being idiots.

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You are way out of line here. Computers aren't nerd toys anymore, they are consumer items and they simply have to work intuitively. Calling your own customers "idiots" is not a good way to win any friends.

Windows 8 is one step forward and a hundred steps back.

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Eh? I'm not calling customers idiots, i was referring to some specific (and referenced) youtube videos of apparent "expert bloggers" demonstrating why they hate Windows 8 and they were either being pretty idiotic or deliberately trying to put people off. They were not users grappling with a new OS these were self proclaimed experts. Forgive me but i get upset about bad information. Opinion is one thing but demonstrating how rubbish something is by not knowing which buttons to press is pretty stupid in my opinion. But that's just my opinion and if you don't mind i'll miss out your 100 backward steps and just keep moving forward

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You do that. The main designer of Windows 8 got sacked a few weeks after its launch. Hardly a glowing endorsement of the monstrosity they have created. I have kept an open mind about the whole thing, but it is becoming very clear that this is a huge misstep.

Hi onesecondglance

Windows 8 RT won't let you install standard Windows 7 based apps on it. Only those that are available from the Windows Store.

So therefore I'd love to see is things like the animoog and the new ipolysix re-platformed so they work as an app on Windows RT.

Thanks

Jon

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Sabbs

Quote robinv:

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You do what you must, but my Windows 8 Phone arrived today and i'm loving it. But i really don't mind what people want to use - if I can get it working right for music then that's all that matters really - no bargepoles, argy-bargy, abuse or stamping of feet required.

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FWIW - I haven't abused anyone Mate, can't say the same about the Win8 chorus against me tho.

I am pretty much over all of the hyperbole and ventilation coming from that side of the fence that is trying so hard to justify Win8 , without one clear positive to bring to the table over Win7 for DAW use, not one !

As much as you hated the youtube videos that got up your nose, I am pretty much of the same opinion of all the idiotic fluff pieces by so called tech journo's/shills trying to put down any of us that are not of the same opinion. Its always the same B.S about us being sacred of change, etc, and how we need to give it a chance, etc.

Why ?

I haven't seen OSX attempt such an idiotic change in UI , Ubuntu tried to an extent and lost large numbers of its core user base, the head of Windows was shown the door , and anyone who believes its not over forcing metro onto the desktop is delusional IMO.

So enjoy your W8 phone, Hell I may even have a look see when my Droid contact expires soon, and knock yourself out with Win8 on your DAW offerings, you may just corner the market there , I am not expecting to loose any clients or sleep.



V.C

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AAVIM Technology
DAWbench.com

Quote TAFKAT:

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without one clear positive to bring to the table over Win7 for DAW use, not one

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(groan) just to drag it out for one more beating, here's what i like:
I prefer the look/feel of the desktop over Win7 - w7 feels old and draggy in comparison
I prefer the start screen to the start menu
I like the new task manager
I like the detail in copying files
I like the ribbon on open folders
I like the way new devices appear when attached
I like that my network printer just worked
I like the admin task menu
I like the potential of "touch"
I love how my desktop is separate from the busyness of the start menu - i no longer need shortcuts all over my desktop, i now have somewhere else to put those things - good management.
The Start screen is not as editable as i'd like it to be but i've already found an app for that

All these things feed into my ability to use the system as a DAW and creative tool and i'm certainly not turning my nose at the performance improvements, however small. So yeah, cool

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Quote robinv:

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Quote:

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(groan) just to drag it out for one more beating, here's what i like:

I prefer the look/feel of the desktop over Win7 - w7 feels old and draggy in comparison.

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Double Groan - Wheres the facepalm emoticon when I need it.

Quote:

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I prefer ..., snip...

I like ..... snip

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Snore !

I am not going to bore you with my laundry list of likes and preference.

Quote:

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- i no longer need shortcuts all over my desktop, i now have somewhere else to put those things - good management.

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Who the hell has shortcuts all over the desktop ?

Far better app launches around for those inclined.

Is that seriously the best you can do ?

Quote:

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All these things feed into my ability to use the system as a DAW and creative tool and i'm certainly not turning my nose at the performance improvements, however small. So yeah, cool

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What performance improvements, really ?

Are you talking about your comparative video ?

If there was a consistency to your results , then sure you may have a bee's dick of a point, but there wasn't, also, anything gauged on reading the ASIO meter I totally ignored, as it is IMO , useless.

You also need to step away from using the on-board Plugins and VI's, and broaden the testing to other DAW's. One last point, the DAWbench version you used with the on-board MBC hasn't been used in years, it was culled after 6.0 when they changed the code of the MBC that borked the operation ( unless all instances are in the new "Live Mode" which was added later )

Either way,

We are just going to go around in circles , again, knock yourself out with Win8 as you did with Vista.

I just find it hilarious that you are getting so agitated by it , in the end my principle goal is always in the best interest of my clients , I couldn't care less about M.S and co, and I'll call it as I see it, and what I see is Vista II.

Enjoy your Tiles.

We will find our own truth !

V.C

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AAVIM Technology
DAWbench.com

Quote robinv:

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Quote TAFKAT:

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without one clear positive to bring to the table over Win7 for DAW use, not one

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(groan) just to drag it out for one more beating, here's what i like:
I prefer the look/feel of the desktop over Win7 - w7 feels old and draggy in comparison
I prefer the start screen to the start menu
I like the new task manager
I like the detail in copying files
I like the ribbon on open folders
I like the way new devices appear when attached
I like that my network printer just worked
I like the admin task menu
I like the potential of "touch"
I love how my desktop is separate from the busyness of the start menu - i no longer need shortcuts all over my desktop, i now have somewhere else to put those things - good management.
The Start screen is not as editable as i'd like it to be but i've already found an app for that

All these things feed into my ability to use the system as a DAW and creative tool and i'm certainly not turning my nose at the performance improvements, however small. So yeah, cool

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Give it a good squeeze

Quote TAFKAT:

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Snore !

I am not going to bore you with my laundry list of likes and preference.

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God man, i don't mean to bore you - i thought i was answering a question - geez

Quote TAFKAT:

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Is that seriously the best you can do ?

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I think you're taking this all a bit too seriously

Quote TAFKAT:

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What performance improvements, really ?

Are you talking about your comparative video ?#

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Duh, i'm such an idiot - there was me thinking i would raise the tiniest smile of approval using the DAWBench benchmarks but no, i'm still rubbish.

Quote TAFKAT:

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I just find it hilarious that you are getting so agitated by it , in the end my principle goal is always in the best interest of my clients , I couldn't care less about M.S and co, and I'll call it as I see it, and what I see is Vista II.

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Who's agitated?

Quote TAFKAT:

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We will find our own truth !

V.C

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Yes we do and i'm always happy to share mine

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Quote johnny h:

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Give it a good squeeze

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Oh i see - clutching at straws - hilarious
I think we should start a "don't you dare like Windows 8" facebook group together

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Quote robinv:

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Quote johnny h:

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Give it a good squeeze

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Oh i see - clutching at straws - hilarious
I think we should start a "don't you dare like Windows 8" facebook group together

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Not as hilarious as your unwavering blind loyalty to Microsoft in the face of all evidence.

Quote robinv:

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God man, i don't mean to bore you - i thought i was answering a question - geez

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Give it a rest, what question ?

You simply went off on a tangent without answering anything in regards to the point I made, which was showing one clear positive to using Windows 8 over Win 7 for DAW usage.

That laundry list of yours had nothing to do with what I was referring to, and you know it.

But don't let me stop you from piling on the inconsequential, keep chipping away there Mate, I'm sure there are some that are sympathetic to your Win8 stance.

I'll continue to deliver what I believe is the better option.

V.C

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AAVIM Technology
DAWbench.com

Quote johnny h:

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Not as hilarious as your unwavering blind loyalty to Microsoft in the face of all evidence.

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God, really? Wow.

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Quote TAFKAT:

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You simply went off on a tangent without answering anything in regards to the point I made, which was showing one clear positive to using Windows 8 over Win 7 for DAW usage.

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I thought i had but never mind - i seem to have a communication failure.

It does raise an interesting question (if it's possible to wrestle some discussion back into the discussion) of what makes for a positive OS experience in your opinion?

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Quote Sabbs:

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Hi onesecondglance

Windows 8 RT won't let you install standard Windows 7 based apps on it. Only those that are available from the Windows Store.

So therefore I'd love to see is things like the animoog and the new ipolysix re-platformed so they work as an app on Windows RT.

Thanks

Jon

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i'll let you know if i spot anything like that on there, but i wouldn't hold your breath. the store is as bare as a student's food cupboard.

i bought the Surface as an on-the-go word processor, really - running full MS Office (Word and Excel), thin and very light, and with a real physical keyboard thanks to the Type Cover. it does the job extremely well. what i wouldn't expect is it - or even Surface Pro - to be a replacement for a decent touchscreen ultrabook when it comes to music making.

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hourglass | random thoughts | doubledotdash!? collective

Quote robinv:

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Quote TAFKAT:

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You simply went off on a tangent without answering anything in regards to the point I made, which was showing one clear positive to using Windows 8 over Win 7 for DAW usage.

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I thought i had but never mind - i seem to have a communication failure.

It does raise an interesting question (if it's possible to wrestle some discussion back into the discussion) of what makes for a positive OS experience in your opinion?

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Possibly one that doesn't arbitrarily remove essential, widely familiar functions (start menu). Possibly one that doesn't force you to use an unknown, unpopular mobile phone OS on a desktop format for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

Quote robinv:

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I like the potential of "touch"

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Get an iPad if you want touch - you can already buy software that works with it! You don't have to be excited by the 'potential' of it, or hope that one day, maybe, far into the future, someone somewhere will perhaps make an application which may work...

Quote robinv:

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On behalf of Rain UK and Rain USA here's my answer to that one:
Rain Uk's Windows 8 audio performance testing youtube vid - I share my views on the interface towards the end of the vid.

Or if you want the quick version - yeah, i like it

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Hi Robinv - just to say I just got around to watching your vid. First one I watched about W8 - interesting and helpful, thanks for posting! I like that it wasn't a blatant push for or against W8, pretty much here's the data, and here are my thoughts.

Thanks again!

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Alexis -Cubase 6.5.0/SX3.1.1.944, XP SP2, 4GB RAM (1GB not accessible, but used just to balance the computer so it doesn't tip over); Delta 66 in Omni i/O Studio; Motif8; UAD-1

Oh dear.

I am thinking of buying my son a laptop in a few months (can't afford it atmo') but it looks as tho' the whole Vista scenario will be played out again and I shan't be able to buy a new W7 machine? I shall therefore have to go secondhand/refurbed.

Moot I think? I have just become the proud(?!) custodian of a Toshiba Satellite Pro with Vista on it. I had not used Blista at all before but wow! So slow and SO bloody nosey! Matters are not helped by it having only 1G of memory (Works lappy) and Task Mang' tells me it is using over 700M of that just sat there doing jack!

Now about to see how it perfoms with the Ka6.

Dave.

I haven't read this whole thread....too many words for an ethnic like me. However, has Bill soorted out the permissions issue in W8 and has he reinstated stereo mix in the sound settings?

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

Is the question moot? … I looked around a bit and did not see any new computers for sale withOUT W8 installed …

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Alexis -Cubase 6.5.0/SX3.1.1.944, XP SP2, 4GB RAM (1GB not accessible, but used just to balance the computer so it doesn't tip over); Delta 66 in Omni i/O Studio; Motif8; UAD-1

Quote alexis:

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Hi Robinv - just to say I just got around to watching your vid. First one I watched about W8 - interesting and helpful, thanks for posting! I like that it wasn't a blatant push for or against W8, pretty much here's the data, and here are my thoughts.

Thanks again!

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Thanks alexis, that was the plan

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Quote alexis:

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Is the question moot? … I looked around a bit and did not see any new computers for sale withOUT W8 installed …

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But that's just it alexis - many of the specialist audio PC builders seem to be recommending that musicians stay with Windows 7, or (according to what some of them tell me) their customers are requesting new PCs with Windows 7 installed.

Furthermore, there are a few reports online of people walking out of high street shops when they are told they can't buy a new PC without getting Windows 8 installed in it

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/181884731.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-windows-8-sales-data-is-in-and-its-horr ible-news-for-microsoft-2012-11

http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-8-sales-well-below-projections-p lenty-blame-go-around


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

Quote Martin Walker:

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Quote alexis:

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Is the question moot? … I looked around a bit and did not see any new computers for sale withOUT W8 installed …

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But that's just it alexis - many of the specialist audio PC builders seem to be recommending that musicians stay with Windows 7, or (according to what some of them tell me) their customers are requesting new PCs with Windows 7 installed.

Furthermore, there are a few reports online of people walking out of high street shops when they are told they can't buy a new PC without getting Windows 8 installed in it

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/181884731.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-windows-8-sales-data-is-i...

http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-8-sales-well-below...


Martin

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Right, thanks for that Mr. Walker, I'm guessing our friendly specialist audio PC builder dudes have closets full of W7 to install on their machines, but where do mere mortals buy a computer with Windows 7 nowadays? Can I trade in two XPs and one Windows Me for one W7?

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Alexis -Cubase 6.5.0/SX3.1.1.944, XP SP2, 4GB RAM (1GB not accessible, but used just to balance the computer so it doesn't tip over); Delta 66 in Omni i/O Studio; Motif8; UAD-1

Quote alexis:

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Right, thanks for that Mr. Walker, I'm guessing our friendly specialist audio PC builder dudes have closets full of W7 to install on their machines, but where do mere mortals buy a computer with Windows 7 nowadays? Can I trade in two XPs and one Windows Me for one W7?

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Almost. If you can buy one without an OS you could install your old version of XP onto the new PC, go to the win8 offer site and pay your £25 for Win8 Pro, do the upgrade, extract the licence key and then request a downgrade to win7 pro under the win8 pro downgrade rights offer.



You can still buy win7 with relative ease so you can ask whoever your buying it off to put you OS on choice on there and say it's a condition of them getting your business but I suspect it'll be a tough one.

The problem you have is that going with one of the big box shifters (i.e. HP/Dell etc...) as we've discussed before and those guys only get to sell stuff cheap on the basis that they sell a lot of it.

So for instance HP signs an agreement to take X million a year for the life cycle of the OS.
For example taking that many, perhaps they then get a %30 discount from regular wholesale cost.

Now for MS those first quater figures on each new product launch are the headline grabbers... so you'll find the will also be a contractual agreement on either stock rotation being offered on any OS they purchase or more likely they'll buy the keys and when a new OS comes out MS will go "Here's the new image, delete the old one and use this" and win8 will be rolled out in place of win7 at a factory level.

So you have this issue that the OS will be imaged onto the machine at the factory in a process that takes a few mins. The custom guys will either be hand installed or at the most imaged with a basic image and everything set up on top of the base OS. For a shop to open up a pre-packaged unit and then set around softwaring it... well it's not cost effective when the laptop itself has a £30 margin on it. Perhaps if you buy the OS they'll offer to install it but it'll be a few hours work at £20 an hour so you'll end up spending over £100 just getting it re-softwared.

So err... back to where I was pre-ramble.

If you can get a machine with Win8 on it you can then downgrade it for free to win 7.
Otherwise you need to get yourself a machine without an OS and source your own.
Or just use Win8

http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/pages/...

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ScanProAudio & 3XS Audio Systems
ScanProAudio Blog

Quote Pete Kaine:

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Quote alexis:

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Right, thanks for that Mr. Walker, I'm guessing our friendly specialist audio PC builder dudes have closets full of W7 to install on their machines, but where do mere mortals buy a computer with Windows 7 nowadays? Can I trade in two XPs and one Windows Me for one W7?

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Almost. If you can buy one without an OS you could install your old version of XP onto the new PC, go to the win8 offer site and pay your £25 for Win8 Pro, do the upgrade, extract the licence key and then request a downgrade to win7 pro under the win8 pro downgrade rights offer.



You can still buy win7 with relative ease so you can ask whoever your buying it off to put you OS on choice on there and say it's a condition of them getting your business but I suspect it'll be a tough one.

The problem you have is that going with one of the big box shifters (i.e. HP/Dell etc...) as we've discussed before and those guys only get to sell stuff cheap on the basis that they sell a lot of it.

So for instance HP signs an agreement to take X million a year for the life cycle of the OS.
For example taking that many, perhaps they then get a %30 discount from regular wholesale cost.

Now for MS those first quater figures on each new product launch are the headline grabbers... so you'll find the will also be a contractual agreement on either stock rotation being offered on any OS they purchase or more likely they'll buy the keys and when a new OS comes out MS will go "Here's the new image, delete the old one and use this" and win8 will be rolled out in place of win7 at a factory level.

So you have this issue that the OS will be imaged onto the machine at the factory in a process that takes a few mins. The custom guys will either be hand installed or at the most imaged with a basic image and everything set up on top of the base OS. For a shop to open up a pre-packaged unit and then set around softwaring it... well it's not cost effective when the laptop itself has a £30 margin on it. Perhaps if you buy the OS they'll offer to install it but it'll be a few hours work at £20 an hour so you'll end up spending over £100 just getting it re-softwared.

So err... back to where I was pre-ramble.

If you can get a machine with Win8 on it you can then downgrade it for free to win 7.
Otherwise you need to get yourself a machine without an OS and source your own.
Or just use Win8

http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/pages/...

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Thanks for the roadmap (and the background!), Pete. Much appreciated -

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Alexis -Cubase 6.5.0/SX3.1.1.944, XP SP2, 4GB RAM (1GB not accessible, but used just to balance the computer so it doesn't tip over); Delta 66 in Omni i/O Studio; Motif8; UAD-1

And just to clarify my own ramble, if you want to go with downgrading a pre-installed version of win8 it has to be win8 pro your working with and not home. You can probably specify this with ease on buying a new unit however, so perhaps still the best way forward as you can always upgrade again if you want too.

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ScanProAudio & 3XS Audio Systems
ScanProAudio Blog

Quote johnny h:

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Quote robinv:

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I like the potential of "touch"

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Get an iPad if you want touch - you can already buy software that works with it! You don't have to be excited by the 'potential' of it, or hope that one day, maybe, far into the future, someone somewhere will perhaps make an application which may work...

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Sorry to drag all this up again but i've been playing with multi-touch in DAWs on Windows 8 for the last couple of months and there's a lot to like (imho) as well as a lot that doesn't really work. It was something i was always excited about and i still am
Here's my report, sorry it's a bit long (it's in two 20 minute parts) but there was a lot of ground to cover:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PlzCYF66G0

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's