alex = adam?

plainclothes · Post by **plainclothes** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:10 am

My subject heading is a little pointless, as I am not really suggesting that they resemble each other too much, except that they both wrote/write great posts. .

I've been around here since v.2 (under another name) and not to sound overly nostalgic, but does anyone ever wonder what happpend to Alex Reynolds, who used to post here everyday on a somewhat pro-Mac slant? I mention AdamJay because he seemed to appear after Alex disappeared, and both seem to resemble one another, at least in terms writing good, useful posts, although Alex was fond of referring to PC users as 'Trolls'.

I found Alex's website but it seems to have no updates after last year....Kind of sad I think, if he has given up music, but I have to wonder if anyone knows why?

Jonathan

anti-banausic · Post by **anti-banausic** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:18 am

Alex Reynolds has actually started posting again since the announcement of LIVE5.

We definitely go through eras of who is posting the most, and the most informative posts on the site.

I find that both of those guys are really great for this site. They offer a lot of information, and help us in our endeavour to be ever better.

Cheers to them...

plainclothes · Post by **plainclothes** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:46 am

Cheers squared to Alex and Adam, I know for a fact that their opinions have led me spend my chump change far more wisely.

Would be nice to hear their simultaneous, and perhaps somewhat similar, opinions on our MacIntel future...

j.

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 7:55 am

plainclothes wrote: Would be nice to hear their simultaneous, and perhaps somewhat similar, opinions on our MacIntel future...

well, firstly thanks for the compliments and cheers

re: MacIntel...

if you don't mind i'll paste some of the remarks and thoughts i had on this on OSXAudio.com's forum a few days ago....

<begin paste>
At first i was apprehensive, then i was worried, then i felt betrayed, and then i was excited, and now i am simply amazed at this.

XCode 2.1, Rosetta, and the 3.6ghz development kit shows that Apple truley does care about its developers. The cornerstone of Apple innovation has always been the software. The next few years will be bumpy, exciting, informative, and exciting again! But i cannot wait.
<end paste>

to elaborate... I have to say that from the standpoint of a PowerPC owner, i'm not afraid of the transition. I think in 3 years time while many apps will be compiled for both PowerPC AND Intel, the majority will still be PowerPC compiled. We can expect a good 5 years of PowerPC compatibility. The smaller (non-audio) developers are going to be relying on the faster machines and Rosetta to keep their apps working if they simply can't afford to alter their code and compile for Intel until a couple years after the transition.

from the stanpoint of a future Intel powerbook owner who makes music i am not afraid either. the audio software industry is one that requires technology to make tomorrows dreams today's realities. the same goes for the video and gaming fields. So i expect audio developers to be among the first to go towards these universal binaries that are compatible with PowerPC and Intel.

Thats the great thing about the audio software industry i think. Developers understand the importance of supporting legacy hardware and software (Ableton supported OS9 until a couple weeks ago. and OS9 died 5 years ago), but at the same time the desire towards innovation is just as present. and if innovation requires migration/transition to not just a "different" architecture, but rather a new OS/Architecture combination... then so be it. The past is supported, while we thrive to utilize the technologies of the future.

One would think that Ableton, whose software has generally run better on x86 hardware, and who doesn't have to surgically remove any altivec optimizations from its code, would be among the first to welcome and proceed with the transition. And the other good thing about the audio software industry is the vastness of cross-platform developers who should theoretically find the transition easier than if they had been tied to only one platform.

I worry for MOTU, and i worry for AudioEase whose code heavily utilizes PowerPC and Altivec instruction. Other than that, i think the transition will definitely have its bumps but overall should be much smoother than OS9--->OSX. remember that Rosetta won't really be a worthy option for realtime applications such as DAWs and their plug-ins. Certainly all the third party plug-ins won't be recompiled in the next 2 years. And some may require an upgrade fee. But we should certainly be able to make music on a Macintel within a month or two after the first model is released.

If you were planning to buy a G5, don't let the MacIntel transition prevent you from doing that. the Powermacs should be among the last to get Intel processors and will definitely see 1 (possibly 2) IBM cpu revisions before they do go the Intel route. a G5 purchased today should last anyone at least 4 years until the day comes where either a DAW update is only compiled for Intel, or the next big "whoah momma" (read: Ableton-esque product) is released that will require it as well.

In the end i don't think the announcement of the transition to Intel processors should alter anyone's buying habits or make them worried or reluctant to invest in any software or hardware. The unique thing Apple has done here isn't so much the transition itself, but the fact that they have finally given us an insight to what we can expect from them in the next 3 years. This should do nothing more than make a person excited, not worrysome.

robin · Post by **robin** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 10:12 am

i'd say the above is fair comment.

so the thing i'd like to know is:

will ableton have to move to xcode (so universal binaries are more readily buildable) or do they already use it?

i suspect for commercial reasons that the abes will avoid answering this one but it's worth asking on the off-chance

FORMAT · Post by **FORMAT** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 1:37 pm

I've a very good feeling about the future of Live on those Intel chips as the app runs fast as hell on current Windows computers. Can't wait for my Intel Powerbook

Rahlo · Post by **Rahlo** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 2:13 pm

FORMAT wrote:I've a very good feeling about the future of Live on those Intel chips as the app runs fast as hell on current Windows computers. Can't wait for my Intel Powerbook

Me too! I'll be getting a MacIntel pb soon after they hit the shelves! To get the performance windows users get while using the Mac OS is the ultimate! That is, if you dig macs and powerbooks as much as I do.

robin · Post by **robin** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 2:15 pm

i'm with you rahlo and format.

alan* · Post by alan* » Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:03 pm

Im in, was thinking of uprading my 12" pb but think I will wait ...hopefully not too long ?

Apocrypha · Post by **Apocrypha** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 4:07 pm

Adam,

Check your PM's. I sent you a PM under 2 different screennames on accident. Just reply to the screenname: Apocrypha. Thanks

plainclothes · Post by **plainclothes** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:32 pm

Hey Format,

To slightly echo Adam's thoughts --

I spent my first weekend with a new iMac G5 (2 Ghz), and also as an owner of a TiBook 867, I am happy to report that I was suitably blown away, and Live seems reborn to me. Sure, it is no 3.6 Ghz, but for the most part, maybe the 'future is now'....

Jonathan

smutek · Post by **smutek** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:51 pm

I have been wondering where Alex Reynolds got off to as well. He was one of my favorite posters.

I started a thread a while back "wherefore art thou Alex Reynolds" or something to that effect but there was no response.

I wonder if he is still writing for Grooves? Haven't been able to pick that mag up since the local "cool" record shop stop carrying it a while back.