Is Windows 8 the biggest news in touch apps?
It seems to me that Windows 8, with touch input, will be the biggest news for touch-enabled music software when it arrives later this year. Let me say why I think so:
- Mac OS X will not have touch input anytime soon
- iPhone and iPad are too limiting for DAWs because you can't have plugins from different vendors
- Android has severe latency problems (issue 3434)
- Existing Windows DAWs and plugins will all work on Windows 8.
Caveats:
1) The Windows software will have to be adapted to touch-input. However, I believe this will happen fairly quickly.
2) You need to run on an Intel touch tablet. Windows 8 will come in 2 versions: Intel and ARM (ARM has better battery life). Existing software and plugins will not work on ARM touch tablets unless they are recompiled first. (Having said that, recompiled versions for ARM could appear pretty quickly.)
What will happen when Windows 8 touch tablets arrive? Take Nanostudio for iPad as an example. There is already a Windows version, available free as a demo. If they upgrade it for Windows 8 touch input and add VST support it will have a huge advantage over the non-plugin iPad version.
Or Ableton could do a version of Live for Windows 8 with built-in touch support. Or Bitwig could beat them to it.
What do people here think?
PS. Please don't just reply "Windows is shit, Mac/Android/Linux/Whatever rules" unless you have arguments to back it up. I'm not saying Windows is better, or even as good, at everything. What I am saying is that Windows 8 touch tablets will create a big stir in touch-enabled music software which will likely leave iOS/OS X/Android software having to catch up.
Windows is shit, BBC Basic rules.
You do know that ALL os'es currently support capacitive touch screens, right? Just that Win8 will be slightly more friendly for the OS? They're interpreted as mouse interaction and work perfectly well.
Touch isn't new. And you're making some big assumptions about people shifting the focus of their DAW development from the studio to the stage. Ableton will be quick off the mark, granted, but don't expect a speedy release of anything.
Last edited by ANeutron; 25th February 2012 at 09:23 PM.
Originally Posted by Sporky_McGuffin
Don't know much about computers but I read the rhunes.
My limited information about W8 is that it will concentrate on super fast boot ups and probably power control which (as it is in the latest laptops) might be detrimental to high level audio handling?
Msoft have never been seen to be "audio industry friendly" the Vista SNAFU shows that but W7 seems very good, and it could be that Win 8 will be no better or even worse.
Then the computer audio industry moves at pace that would shame many a land mollusc. Where are the usb 3.0 or Thunderfart AIs? FCS only a couple of manufacturers have every really extracted the digit and made usb 2.0 work as well as it always should have done!
Touch screens? Most of us would like really big monitors so as to get in all the tracks plus the "buttons" and maybe a score on screen as well. That means a 32 incher say and that needs to be well beyond arms reach. Son runs a 22" wscreen LG and you wnt to be 700mm from that with a keyboard and mouse a comfortable 300mm from gut.
Dave.
Nah, Dave - not detrimental.
I run 2x27'' and quite a lot of studios I've been in don't even have that. A tablet-sized screen will be useful for live performance but little else.
I did not say the touch screen facility would be detrimental per se, just that it will be difficult in some (many?) audio setups to reach it!
I meant that IF Win 8 has leanings toward portable applications, more so than W7, that MIGHT impinge detrimentally on the ultimate audio performance?
But as I said from the top. "Me no PC guru. Me mostly solder".
Dave.
Ah, I was replying to this:
...which looks to be suggesting that the way fast startups/shutdowns are performed would somehow have a detrimental effect on audio. It won't.
It's funny I have not even considered getting into a OSX Windows debate ever since Win7 I just get on with, Win7 works.
cheers
SafeandSound Mastering
music mastering
audio mastering
I am going to store that statement on 3 hard drives and burn it to a DVD my particulate friend and come back and haunt you with it ! ......Maybe.
Heh!
Dave.
If you're interested, they blogged about it last September. Warning: there's a fair bit of nerd spoken here, but I think there's enough plain English that you'll have no trouble understanding if you're not geeklingual.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2...windows-8.aspx
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