Christmas came slightly early this year for Mac enthusiasts, with significant product announcements, including new dual-core, dual-processor Power Mac G5s. But just what do the new high-spec computers mean for musicians?
The 64-bit Windows XP x64 edition is on the shelves, but musicians should stick with their trusty 32-bit OS for the moment. PC Notes explains why, as well as offering some constructive soundcard feature suggestions to manufacturers.
We round up a month of small, yet interesting, product releases from Apple, as well as looking at how the company is making it easy for Linux developers to port audio software to Mac OS X.
If you've had enough of chasing a mouse around your desk, there are many other ways of controlling the on-screen pointer of your music software. We examine some options.
Apple's loop-sequencing application has grown up, with the addition of sophisticated recording, editing and mixing facilities, a powerful waveform editor, and many of Logic's most sought-after effects.
We explore a powerful Audio Units plug-in host application you might not realise you already own, called AU Lab. Plus news of the multi-button Apple mouse and Intel architecture changes...
More news of what's cooking in the world of Windows — but first, why it might be time to ditch Internet Explorer in favour of Mozilla's Firefox browser...
The new PC interfacing standards of USB and Firewire brought with them the promise of 'hot-plugging' and easy interconnection. But some musicians have discovered, to their cost, that the reality doesn't always live up to the promise. We investigate...
As the Mac community looks to Pentium M-based Powerbooks to deliver high-performance, low-power mobile solutions, what if you can't wait until next year and need to purchase a Powerbook right now?
The PCI Express peripheral standard is generally good news for musicians, but some audio problems related to this faster interface and certain motherboard chip sets are emerging. We examine the issues.
Whether you're running a single PC in your bedroom or a bank of them in a professional studio, sometimes a tiny freeware or shareware utility can make the difference between frustration and elation. We round up some of the best and point you to places where you can find more.
Apple users are used to transitions, having moved from 68k-based Macs to Power PC processors, and the classic Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X. Now it's time for the third and most shocking transition of all: the move to Macs with Intel processors.
The Pentium M processor has various desirable qualities, not least its very low power requirement, which leads to a reduced need for cooling and a quieter life for musicians. However, it has always been confined to use in laptops, with corresponding limitations — until recently.
Networking computers is now more straightforward than it used to be, there's a good choice of connection protocols, and Macs can get in on the act alongside PCs. The benefits for musicians can be considerable, as we discover...
As Apple's Tiger finds its way around the jungle of Mac users, there's also some new hardware to consider this month, with faster G5 machines hitting the shelves.
If your PC is beginning to feel a bit tired, even though it's a comparatively recent model, do you really have to abandon it in favour of a new machine, or can clever upgrading restore cutting-edge performance?
The latest version of Apple's Mac OS contains some excellent new features aimed at musicians and audio engineers. Is this one OS upgrade you won't mind performing on your studio computer?
We offer a brief preview of the features musicians can look forward to in Mac OS X Tiger, take a first look at a major new version of Soundtrack, and examine why the iPod Shuffle is hard to resist.