The Logic Off Topic list

>But luckily for those of us in this particular market, we don't need
>that, we have a much simpler solution coming into view:
>
>   1: Apple release OSX incorporating mLAN support (due this year?)  
>
>   2: Yamaha release the mLAN drivers for Windows (due any time now?)
>
>   3: Companies who write DAW software issue network licenses and
>write a quick set of protocols into their software so that if machine
>A is running a load of softinstruments and is getting a bit choked,
>it asks the user if they want to "autofarm"  and if they click yes,
>machine B (running either the same software or a cut-down "shell"
>version of the same DAW) loads the same softinstrument with the same
>parameters, the instrument is bypassed on A, and the slot's MIDI
>stream is piped to machine B over mLAN, and the resulting audio comes
>back into the slot over mLAN. The user doesn't need to intervene, all
>their editing and saving is done on machine A, and the only
>difference is that the effects stack or instrument or mixer channel
>gets displayed on A with some subtle signifier that it's a "ghost
>instrument" or "ghost channel" that's actually being processed
>somewhere else on the network (the user doesn't care where).
>
>I'm guessing that the most intimidating "nuts and bolts" part of
>getting logic to be able to work like this would be the job of
>rewriting the audio mixer channel code (or writing a dummy
>instrument) so that a slot can be converted into audio and MIDI send
>and return signals that are then linked to a pair of free audio
>ports ...
>... and guess what, that new feature is supposed to be appearing
>under Logic 5.3 next month, on the final cross-platform release.

That is great stuff, it's and it has been discussed by the right 
people, and I have high hopes that that is the way things will go, 
but I would not get your hopes to high of seeing it happen soon.


>
>>  >Cross-platform processing is liable to end up being the domain of
>>  >companies like Steinberg and Native Instruments, who are
>maintaining
>>  >a presence (and investment) on both platforms.
>>
>>  Liable?  E-mapples position is pretty clear at this point don't you
>think.
>
>Well, before July 1st, emagic's public position on cross-platform
>support was pretty clear, too!

Events occur policies change.  Joany decides to marry Billy and tells 
Johnny he is a nice boy but has to bug off now.  That's the way the 
world goes round.

>  Apple might still have the option of
>changing their mind about dropping Windows support (although each day
>that passes makes this more difficult).

I would not be against that at all but anyone who thinks that is 
going to happen is kidding himself.  Apple certainly knew what the 
initial reaction would be to their decision.  The big question mark 
is the long term and that is going to depend on what they come up 
with.    The big obvious and puzzling mistake that they seem to have 
made IMHO is not waiting until they had some big shiny mind blowing 
alternative before they announced they would sell no more LAW.

>mLAN is already on some hardware, and the emagic guys have probably
>already been playing with it. It should show up under Windows as
>conventional MIDI and Audio ports, which logic can already access, so
>I guess its conceivable that emagic might have put in a bunch of mLAN-
>friendly features into 5.3 as a final finishing touch to logic-as-we-
>know-it, and to wind up the features that they had planned for v5.x
>before they move on and start on the next mac-only incarnations.

The next version of Logic is 5.2.  It's too early to guess what we 
will see in 5.3.  I doubt emagic even know.


>I don't know whether its /likely/ or not, but its conceivable! 
>Yamaha aren't saying when their mLAN windows drivers are expected, so
>I suppose we are waiting for an announcement of some sort.
>/Hopefully/ an imminent announcement.
>
>And hopfully Apple haven't struck a deal with Yamaha to get them to
>delay or drop their planned mLAN Windows support, that would REALLY
>piss me off.
>
>
>>  >Unless apple/emagic change their minds about dropping all Windows
>>  >audio product development, I don't see how they can hope to be a
>>  >credible player in this new sort of market.
>>
>>  By making something that works well.  Only time will tell.
>
>Well, Betamax worked well, but Sony refused to allow their superior
>heads to be used in other manufacturers machines, and the publc
>perception of betamax as an "unpopular" format became self-
>fulfilling. It lost critical mass, and VHS (which lots of
>manufacturers could "support" by buying in the core mechanism and
>putting their own box and badge around it) won out.

That's the example everyone flogs.  Digi is the example of 
successfully being stingy with compatibility etc.    There is no 
single strategy for success except to stay abreast and excel and even 
that does not always work.

>Music is a "niche" computing application, and macs are a "niche"
>computer product, by becoming mac-only, emagic is now selling to a
>niche within a niche. That might not be a large enough target
>audience to sustain decent sales, especially since Steinberg are
>going to be able to leverage their new Windows dominance to move
>further into the mac market. Its not just the customers they have to
>convince, its also the music shops who now have to be persuaded to
>continue stocking a product that is now mac-only, and not to try to
>switch sales to Steinberg.

This would be true but for the fact that apple has obviously 
recognized that while music makes up a small percentage of the PC 
market it makes up a far larger more essential fraction of the Apple 
market.   So instead of just leaving it to third parties they are 
aggressively remodelling their company to go after that market. 
Because they have the money to do it right and there is no doubt 
going to be a period of rapid development that will force companies 
on the PC to do the same.   For apple this may be life and death but 
us users this can only be a "win win" situation.


>If "network-awareness" becomes a key DAW feature, and logic's
>implementation only works with macs, and Steinberg's works cross-
>platform, then the Steinberg solution will tend to be the default
>winner.
>
>I guess a lot of this depends on when Yamaha's Windows mLAN driver
>appears, on what features 5.3 has, and on how well 5.3 utilises the
>mLAN remote configuration features (if it does).
>If 5.3 implements some sort of remote control and autofarm features,
>but doesn't do them particularly well, I suppose they could get away
>with a further minor release to tidy things up a few months later, 
>call it 5.3.1, and by calling it a maintenance release for features
>added on 5.3.0, they wouldn't be going against the position stated in
>the July 1st press release.
>
>
>Maybe all of this will take shape in the next ~four weeks, or maybe
>none of it will.

It won't.  But I will tell you I want to see network processing 
happen very much too BUT there are other tricks in the book that are 
not being exploited and there may be some nice surprises from another 
direction soon.