[LAU] bitwig announcement

[David Baron]

OK, my two cents.

I prefer FLOSS because of the huge freedom of choice. If only all of this 
stuff were interoperable, this would be utopia, but alas ...

A commercial package will usually (!!) be more of a finish product because the 
authors have (more of!!) an incentive to make it nicer, easier to use for non-
geeks, etc. I miss the old Cakewalk Home Studio (Sonar's little sister and a 
lot of bang for the buck) but my Windows-98 is dead.

So I have several packages with similar work-flow: OOMidi (I have yet to get 
that one working, however), Ardour, QTractor, all have SOME of the ease of use 
and difficulties of their own. So now, enter Bitwig. I want to try the beta, 
see how it does. Maybe I will spring for it in the end (if I do not get it 
free for the beta-testing bother--I have several Windows programs on this 
basis!) if I really love it. I start out with Windows MIDI tools that work 99% 
with wine but need a package to put it all together, digitize, record live 
parts and mix down. Ardour3 or Qtractor might do it. Rosegarden is also a 
venerable and old alternative as well.

(I also miss my rusty-trusty old dman2044 4 in-4 out sound card with its 
chunkly, proper breakout box, rue the day of those mini-connectors!)

No reason not to accept really good proprietory software and not reason to 
accept a FLOSS solution that does not work for you. The object is the music.

I also love geeking and tweeking, but that is another hobby/profession :-)