What makes this particularly frustrating is that Windows was catching up with the Mac in the audio realm, as this quote from mid-2006 indicates:

… last year, I went to the Apple store and bought a G5 with my own money. I use a Mac at home for my own music work. I’ve been recording music on Apple machines since 1992. I also work in parallel on music on Windows machines. I live in both worlds. Until late 2001, there was not sufficient will (read: defensible business justification) within MS to address Windows audio and video performance, quality, fidelity, latency. We are now in a different landscape.

In my self-acknowledged, kool-aid driven view, it is the beginning of new era for Windows Audio and Video. Perhaps more precisely, it is also the beginning of a new era for Windows users (consumers, prosumers, and pros) who wish to work and play with audio and video in their daily lives. Certainly, we also still have a long, long way to go. Perhaps, not as long as we think if you believe Ray Kurzweil. But what a great time to be alive and working in this medium.

--Steve Ball

Create Digital Music

This gibes with what I've gathered from poking around that 75-85% of audio professionals currently use Macs, because of XP's reputation for clicks and other audio glitches that can really ruin your day. But Windows was making headway.

I use my XP laptop as a musical instrument. On it, I compose original music. On it, I have a virtual symphony orchestra to perform my compositions. Or a jazz quartet. Or a garagaband, as Apple calls the free software it has included with all new Macs for the past couple of years.

For just a couple hundred bucks, I have assembled a suite of software tools that give an individual like myself incredible power to create music, perform music, and record music - tools that just a few years ago would have required tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars of studio equipment.

I should also correct what I've written elsewhere in this thread to note that ASIO and DirectSound each has a direct route to what I believe is called the hardware abstraction layer in Vista, and these channels are not encrypted.

Perhaps the issues I've experienced will be addressed and corrected, and perhaps Vista will eventually allow the individual to once again control the computer and have the power to do what I've been doing with XP, what Mac users can do quite simply, and what may even be possible with Linux.

I'll be taking a look at that today.

S