Computer / Software

Ultra low-cost PC setups are all very well, but can we be sure they'll run everything we need them to? Cutting Edge finds out from personal experience.

INTA Audio's music workstation boasts some of the latest PC technology, including hyperthreading, dual-channel DDR400 memory and Serial ATA, making it one of the fastest systems around.

Many laptop PCs that bear a specific brand name are not in fact manufactured by the company in question — and that includes some specialist music PCs. But does this really matter to the musician?

PC paper specifications can vary so much that it's hard to know how one PC compares to another in terms of its performance with real-word audio apps. Hence the need for tests designed just for music PCs...

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.

The attractions of making and recording music on a laptop computer are obvious, but choosinga laptop can involve you in performance compromises and compatibility problems. Here's what you need to consider if you are thinking of going mobile.

It's a fair bet that many Windows XP musicians don't even know they have a page file, let alone where it is or what effect it could have on their recording. We reveal all.

I've just bought a PC laptop and a MOTU 828. I installed the software and have been using Emagic Logic 5.5. However when I turn off the computer's Advanced Configuration Power Interface (ACPI) it no longer recognises that the 828 is there. Why?

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...

In these days of multi-GHz CPUs, the silent music PC is but a memory, drowned out by cooling-fan noise. But we can have the speed without all that racket, according to a German PC manufacturer...

The advantages of laptop PCs used to be undermined by lower performance and higher prices. Now, however, machines like Millennium Music's notebook are claimed to offer a reasonably priced, mobile replacement for a desktop PC.

Recording with a computer doesn't mean you are tied to sitting right in front of it. Choose the most suitable remote control possibility and you could regain the freedom of your studio.

Could your undesirably high MIDI latency in Cubase SX be the result of unwittingly using an 'emulated' driver? Read on to find out.

Processor upgrades are a great idea for making older computers in general household use last longer. But how well does a processor speed boost translate into improved performance in musical applications on older Macintoshes? We find out...

I've heard that with Windows XP, old versions of Norton Speed Disk do not work and that the latest version of Speed Disk included in Norton Utilities has a number of features removed and is no better, if not worse, than the defrag utility that Windows XP comes with...

Does a standard PC take up too much space in your studio? Red Submarine's Mini-Sub system packs all the performance of a full-sized desktop PC into a diminutive Micro-ATX case.

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.

With big changes afoot for Windows and PCs in the medium term, we get the inside track on what they could mean for musicians.

We survey developments from the recent Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, which brought to light new information concerning the future of the forthcoming 'Longhorn' version of Windows.

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.

We investigate two new technologies from Microsoft that could change the way we use audio and video for entertainment; plus, as video becomes more pervasive in the music technology market, we look at some of the latest announcements from NAB.