vista or xp :S ?

[Geissler]

Yeah, I've been using the beta with great success. However, I tried the RC and had some latency issues. That's why I'm not making any declarations on win7's audio performance yet -- they may have had time to break things. I've just finished downloading the RTM so I'll be able to comment soon enough.

In all other areas I'm really really happy with windows 7 though. It's vista without the interface problems and with performance the performance of XP. I think it's safe to say it'll be a commercial success, but I wouldn't write off XP too soon. Large companies in particular will want to squeeze all the mileage they can out of their XP setups before dealing with the hassle of migrating.

[midKnight]

Linux FTW!

Really the only point that matters to most is which OS is going to be more reliable (with my hardware), so I can get more done?

In most cases, that's going to be XP every time. Drivers being (arguably) the number one factor in system usability, and XP having the widest number of stable drivers for audio hardware makes the most sense.

If you're really concerned with future proofing your audio station, make a ghost image of your boot drive on an ext hd, and anytime your system crashes in the future, you have an instant backup. You'll be set for the next 20 years.

You can have my copy of XP when you pry it out of my cold dead hands.

[Geissler]

Linux.. aaah... lord knows I tried! I love the pulseaudio engine but the DAWs available in linux (rosegarden?) are pretty sub-par for the moment.. it's all about the programs.

Linux is great for everything else though, unless you're prone to screwing around under the hood it's unbreakable.

re backups, I just keep my OS and data partitions separate, and keep a folder full of all the programs I use. When the time comes to reinstall (pretty regularly) I just wipe the OS partition, reinstall OS and reinstall programs. I do have a CD with my XP drivers slipstreamed but all ghost imaging programs seemed really cumbersome to me..

[srserl]

Originally Posted by Geissler

Linux.. aaah... lord knows I tried! I love the pulseaudio engine but the DAWs available in linux (rosegarden?) are pretty sub-par for the moment.. it's all about the programs.

Rosegarden is not a DAW...it's more a score editor/MIDI sequencer. Ardour is the DAW currently in favour. It seems to be quite capable, and entirely flexible. It allows any number of stereo or mono tracks, combined in just about any way into buses, and any number (up to what your cpu will handle) of effects applied pre and post fader to any track or bus.
The important thing in Linux is to make sure your audio interface does not share interrupts with anything else in the system, because if it does, you will struggle to get low latency.

[Geissler]

Ardour, that's it, my mistake.
I'm sure it's a quite capable piece of software, but I really can't see why anyone would choose linux over windows/OSX for music making when there is such an incredible range of programs available that are superior to their linux equivalents in pretty much every way. Not to mention the hardware issues you already alluded to.

Kudos to you if you manage to make a great recording in linux, I'm sure it's possible but it just seems a little masochistic to me!

[midKnight]

Originally Posted by Geissler

Kudos to you if you manage to make a great recording in linux, I'm sure it's possible but it just seems a little masochistic to me!

Apparently, some people have yet to discover my sarcastic sense of humor. That was a complete joke. I would *NEVER* use Linux for audio purposes.

Also the ghost suggestion was one for the masses, as it's a pretty easy low- number-of-steps-backup process, for the average joe.

[Geissler]

My post wasn't directed at you, midKnight, I know you were joking!