Windows 8

[peterp]

Working with a laptop loaded with windows 8 (dev preview) testing imaging workstation software.

So couldn't resist trying some BR applications

BR Wave converter works out of the box!

BR800 software/drivers install just says unsupported OS when you try to install it,
then windows automatically tries to do a compatibility install. Might let that run through on the weekend after some real app testing is completed.

And unfortunately BR Explorer 104 just blows up with
Access violation at address 0043F358 in module 'BRX.exe' Read of address 00000208.

Oddly it then seems to continue and start up normally, so far keeps telling me no BR card found.
Guessing drivers need fooling with a bit.

Haven't had time to try loading up Reaper, Hydrogen or Audacity yet.

Windows 8 itself seems to boot up and get you to the sign in screen very fast, and it does seem to be quicker than the other versions.
I've also been unable to crash it!

However the new Metro GUI interface is for the birds.
Clearly designed for touch-screen smartphones and pads, on a normal workstation with a mouse it is a pain in the arse to navigate.
It seems Microsoft when out of their way on this release to make it next to impossible do disable Metro and Aero.
So might be stuck with it for them that want to upgrade when the time comes in October..

[64Guitars]

And unfortunately BR Explorer 104 just blows up with
Access violation at address 0043F358 in module 'BRX.exe' Read of address 00000208.

Oddly it then seems to continue and start up normally, so far keeps telling me no BR card found.
Guessing drivers need fooling with a bit.

The latest version is 1.05 which you can download here:

https://songcrafters.org/64guitars/BR/BRX/index.html

But I think you'll still get that startup error. It appears in Vista and Windows 7 too but I'm told that the program still works just fine after you close the error window. I don't have access to Vista or Windows 7 so I've never been able to fix the bug. Although, I think it comes from a Borland DLL which I can't change anyway. Works fine with Windows XP and Windows 98 SE. Does Windows 8 have an XP compatibility mode?

However the new Metro GUI interface is for the birds.
Clearly designed for touch-screen smartphones and pads, on a normal workstation with a mouse it is a pain in the arse to navigate.

Yep. Why are software companies trying so hard to abandon the desktop computer? They'll never succeed. Sure, they might convince a bunch of home users to ditch their desktop computers for new tablets or phones, but do they think businesses will do the same? No way! Businesses need desktop computers with big screens and fullsize keyboards. They won't use a dorky operating system that's designed for a phone. And neither will I. I predict that Windows 8 will be an even bigger flop than Vista. Microsoft recently reported a $492 million loss. The failure of Windows 8 could hurt them.

[peterp]

Yes but it is automatic at least in the version of win8 I have, if an app fails to run a few seconds after it closes you get a popup asking if you want to try in compatibility mode. But it gives no options.

Does Windows 8 have an XP compatibility mode?

Agree I could never see myself buying it for home use.
Even with all the supposed improvements and speed, that poor excuse for a user interface drives me nuts.

Yep. Why are software companies trying so hard to abandon the desktop computer? They'll never succeed. Sure, they might convince a bunch of home users to ditch their desktop computers for new tablets or phones, but do they think businesses will do the same? No way! Businesses need desktop computers with big screens and fullsize keyboards. They won't use a dorky operating system that's designed for a phone. And neither will I. I predict that Windows 8 will be an even bigger flop than Vista. Microsoft recently reported a $492 million loss. The failure of Windows 8 could hurt them.

If anyone actually wants to try it and has a free hard drive space there is a consumer preview available here
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/release-preview
I think it is good till October when the full product is supposed to be released.

[bruno]

Windows 8 is appalling - need to wait for Windows 9 or switch to Mac OS.

[64Guitars]

Windows 8 is appalling - need to wait for Windows 9 or switch to Mac OS.

Try ubuntu. You'll love it, and it's free!

http://www.ubuntu.com/

I've been using it exclusively for several years now and will never go back to Windows.

[bruno]

Am tempted - I grew up on Unix, so don't find it at all scary Ubuntu is a linux kernal isn't it?
I'm pretty much abandoned windows - as its so bloaty now!

[Rata-tat-tat]

64 I've seen a few posts that you've mentioned Ubuntu... I would love to give this a whirl, but I'm not a real expert with setting up OS's on computers. Do you have a thread that gives you a step by step on installing this software (The do's and don'ts)... Also I'm a cheap bastard... so free really speaks loudly to me!!! LOL

Also do you need to run Antivirus software on this OS... I'm leaning towards MAC just to get away from that crap. It's bogging my system down pretty badly to the point I'm ready to take the plunge... But I'm also worried that my software will not be compatible. Right now I'm running Cubase AI vers. 5... as well as Audacity... along with the MBR WAV converter...

I'm pretty familiar with Cubase but don't want to spend a fortune for a decent DAW that will work with this platform.

Any info you have would be greatly appreciated.

Windows 8 is appalling - need to wait for Windows 9 or switch to Mac OS.

Try ubuntu. You'll love it, and it's free!

http://www.ubuntu.com/

I've been using it exclusively for several years now and will never go back to Windows.

[64Guitars]

Am tempted - I grew up on Unix, so don't find it at all scary Ubuntu is a linux kernal isn't it?

Yes, ubuntu is a Linux distro. I strongly recommend that you give it a try. One great thing about modern Linux distros like Ubuntu is that you can burn it to a CD and boot your computer from the CD. That way, you can evaluate Ubuntu without affecting your Windows installation in the slightest. So you've nothing to lose by trying it. Naturally, it runs fairly slow from the CD (though not as bad as you might think). But it's more than adequate for evaluation and gives you full access to the included apps (Thunderbird email, Firefox web browser, full office suite, music and video players, etc.). After you decide to install Ubuntu permanently, you can do so from the same CD, either replacing Windows or as a dual-boot environment which lets you keep Windows on a separate disk partition. I did the latter when I first tried Ubuntu, but soon relaized I didn't need Windows anymore. So, when I bought a new computer, I installed Ubuntu as the only operating system and haven't looked back. It's great.

And there are lots of great apps available for free from the Ubuntu Software Centre which is included with Ubuntu. Some examples of native music apps available are Audacity, Hydrogen, Rosegarden, Ardour (full-featured DAW), LMMS (like Fruity Loops), Bristol (synth emulator), TuxGuitar (like GuitarPro), JAMin (mastering), rakarrack (guitar effects), and much more.

There's a suitable linux app available to replace just about any popular Windows app. And in the rare cases where there isn't or you just can't part with a particular Windows app, you can use Wine to run many Windows apps under linux. It's available (free) from the Ubuntu Software Centre. I use Wine to run my BR software (Roland's BR Wave Converter and BR Rhythm Editor, and my BR Explorer and BR Song Librarian).

The following page tells you how to download and install Ubuntu. The links at the right of the page even tell you how to burn the CD in Windows or OS X.

http://www.ubuntu.com/download/help/install-ubuntu-desktop

There are other evaluation options too. For example, instead of booting from a CD, you can boot from a USB stick (aka "thumb drive"). Or you can even install Ubuntu under Windows just like any other Windows software. That way, you don't need to create a disk partition for Ubuntu. Instead, the installer creates a big file whose size you specify (2GB, 4GB, etc.) and treats that file like a virtual disk drive, in which it installs Ubuntu.

http://www.ubuntu.com/download/help/install-ubuntu-with-windows

[peterp]

Agree give ubuntu a try, it is very good.
I've been using a RHEL (RedHat Enterprise) or ubuntu for several years on my own machines.

And if you really need windows you can run it on Linux inside a kvm window.
With the Gnome or KDE desktops you never need know you are running a Unix variant under the hood.

Virus checker ?? That is a windows thing, though I see Symantec is trying to sell a version for Linux guess they want more money.
Should be easy to write: "Check OS, if Linux then no virus, exit, bill user, repeat".

Macs are good, but to me mac=expensive and way overpriced for what you get.

[64Guitars]

64 I've seen a few posts that you've mentioned Ubuntu... I would love to give this a whirl, but I'm not a real expert with setting up OS's on computers. Do you have a thread that gives you a step by step on installing this software (The do's and don'ts).

Hopefully, the post above and the links in it will answer your questions. I'd recommend trying it first from a CD, USB stick, or the Windows installer so you don't have to worry about messing up your Windows installation. It also allows you to learn a bit more about Ubuntu so that when you finally do decide to install it permanently, it won't seem quite as strange. If you have an old computer kicking around that you're not using, you can install Ubuntu on it exclusively (wiping out whichever Windows version is on that computer) so you can really try it out properly. One of the great things about Linux is that it uses a fraction of the resources that Windows uses, so it will run quite well on an older machine that's way too slow for Windows. I have Ubuntu installed on my 15-year-old Pentium III. It's not blazingly fast, of course, but it's perfectly usable.

Also do you need to run Antivirus software on this OS... I'm leaning towards MAC just to get away from that crap. It's bogging my system down pretty badly to the point I'm ready to take the plunge...

Viruses are almost exclusively Windows programs. As such, they won't run in linux so they can't do any damage. There are some anti-virus programs available but they're mostly used to prevent you from inadvertently e-mailing a Windows virus to your friends and associates. Most linux users don't install any anti-virus software because there's no need.

Also, Windows began as a single-user operating system (DOS) which was eventually hacked to allow multiple users and connectivity. So security was an afterthought, as it isn't an issue in a single-user system. But linux is based on unix, which was designed from the start as a secure, multi-user operating system. Security has been built-in from day one. Unix has also been around longer than either Windows or DOS, so it's a mature, refined operating system.

But I'm also worried that my software will not be compatible. Right now I'm running Cubase AI vers. 5... as well as Audacity... along with the MBR WAV converter...

I'm pretty familiar with Cubase but don't want to spend a fortune for a decent DAW that will work with this platform.

Audacity is available as a native linux app, so no problem there. It currently doesn't support VSTs because they are a Windows standard. But, otherwise, it's just as good as the Windows version of Audacity. As I mentioned above, I run BR Wave Converter and other BR software designed for Windows under Wine. It works just fine.

Cubase might work under Wine, but somehow I think there will be some problems. If it's not feasible to run it under Wine, there is another option that will work. You can install a virtual machine under Ubuntu and run any version of Windows in it. Then you can run any Windows app you like in the virtual machine under Windows, so there are no compatibility issues. A popular virtual machine that's available for linux free is VirtualBox.

And you might find that you don't need cubase anymore once you've tried some of the native linux apps that are available for free. For example, Ardour is a full-featured DAW that you can download from the Ubuntu Software Centre. I have it installed on my system but I haven't used it much since Audacity is adequate for my needs. But Ardour certainly looks impressive.