Computer / Software

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.

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.

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?

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.

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...

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...

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Few things are more frustrating than unwanted clicks and pops in your recorded audio. But what are the main causes, and how can they be eliminated?

With the largest screen ever featured on a portable computer, Apple's flagship laptop would be tempting even if it didn't offer lots of musician-friendly features such as versatile connectivity and quiet operation...

Traditionally, SCSI drives give high sequencer track counts while IDE drives are more affordable but perform less well. Can you obtain better Mac sequencer performance and save money by using multiple IDE drives? We present some evidence...

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 offer a few suggestions about using your old computers as stand-alone effects and virtual instrument racks, and look at a utility to remap incoming MIDI velocities.