Computer / Software

In recent months, SOS's online Mac Music forum has highlighted the difficulty with achieving the same number of channels of audio I/O under Mac OS X and Logic that were possible under OS 9. We investigate the problems and provide some solutions.

The Jack low-latency sound server has been ported to OS X from Linux. We discuss its background and implications.

New Cinema Displays, a new operating system upgrade, and a new iPod revision — all in this month's Apple Notes column.

Replies to more of your emails, letters and faxes.

Apple finally announced faster Power Mac G5 models this month, along with a new wireless music technology for use with iTunes — plus the long-awaited opening of the iTunes Music Store in the UK.

Mac OS 10.3 (Panther) has been with us a few months, and has been dissected and evaluated to destruction in the mainstream computer press — but just how useful are its new features for Mac-based musicians and engineers?

The launch of Mac OS 10.4, codenamed Tiger, is just around the corner, but in the meantime there's the 1.1 update of GarageBand to be going on with. We reveal the improvements, as well as investigate MIDI configuration problems in OS X.

Apple had some interesting announcements to make at this year's US National Association of Broadcasters show, including improvements to the eMac and portable line-up.

If you're suffering from kernel panics, if no one else can help, and if you can find a log file, maybe you should hire (well, read, at least) this month's Apple Notes...

We take a look at the newest member of Apple's iLife suite and discover that youthful looks, adolescent attitude and long hair are not required to join this GarageBand.

It's been possible to make music on Apple laptops for many years now, but creating a working mobile system is harder than it looks. Fortunately, one SOS contributor has years of experience to pass on...

Apple continued to demonstrate a commitment to music in January at both the San Francisco Macworld and LA Winter NAMM shows, as well as releasing G5-based Xserve machines. And this month we continue exploring the G5's performance in a musical context.

As more musicians and audio professionals begin to embrace G5 Power Macs, we take a look at quantifying just how much host-based DSP power you can expect. Plus, news of the 20-inch iMac and an explanation of 'Journaling'.

Few products have been hyped as much as Apple's new G5 range of 64-bit personal computers — but how good are they for making and recording music in the real world? We test the 2GHz Dual Processor model...

As Apple's recent Panther operating system upgrade is adopted by the Mac community, the usual problems that accompany such a major change begin to surface. We take a closer look at the issues worth considering before making the jump to Panther, and report on Apple's new iBook G4.

There's plenty to investigate in this month's Apple Notes, from the Windows version of iTunes to the latest major update to OS X.

Legal action by The Beatles' Apple Records caused the iTunes Music Store to hit the headlines recently, but there's no denying it has been an instant success that could change the way music is distributed forever. We look at the background to the Music Store and consider its implications for independent musicians.

The jungle drums are beating once again this month, as Apple begin shipping G5 Power Macs, and we take a closer look at Soundtrack, Apple's Acid-like loop-based music production tool, which is now available as a stand-alone product.

Apple had plenty of surprises at their Developer Conference this year, including new hardware (the G5 Power Macs), and new software (Panther). In this specially extended Apple Notes, we consider the likely effects on the Mac-based musician...

As the Apple Music Store online music experience is unleashed on an unsuspecting world, we speculate on the reasons for the recent reduction in Powerbook prices and take a look at how plug-ins are faring under OS X.

It's history in OS X, but extension management is a subject every OS 9 user has to deal with. Here, we offer some final advice on the subject and see if tweaking extensions really can boost your system's performance.