Life span of computer based hardware vs stand alone gear

[njh]

For me this thread viewtopic.php?f=1&t=201136 is a testament for the computer based studios longevity vs a hardware based studios of the past.
I think it has become obvious that the gear you buy today that needs a computer to run will have problems running in 10 years on a current computer with a current os.
Hardware manufacturers of computer audio equipment purposely kill off products and drop support E.I.wont write new drivers for their "older" products/throw them in legacy status after a short period of time)

I was looking at buying a Presonus sound card used until I realized that they completely dropped support for it and replaced it with a version which wasn't much different from the one I was looking at.

Sadly XP is still the basis of my main DAW, as I have hardware I use a lot & love, which only runs on XP.

[njh]

Just want to note that if you bought a mac g3 or a pentium 3 based computer back in 2000 with some software and a midi controller, odds are you don't use it anymore. If you do use that setup you would have a hard time integrating it with your current system.
If you bought a couple of Korg electribes back in 2000 there really is no reason you cant still be making music with them completely integrated in your setup.

[memes_33]

yeah, i got burned when i bought a nord modular to find out i couldn't use it with OSX, at least not without a buggy version of the software.

this is the only reason i have not bought a DSI mopho

[njh]

Unfortunately you really have to investigate when you are buying something used. Its not like when you used to be able to buy a synth and know that it would work with any midi interface.
If the gear you are buying needs a computer to run in anyway then the life span of that gear is going to be cut way before its usefulness is over.

Look at all the Pro tools systems out there now that cost thousands some less than 10 years ago and are almost useless because Avid kept them tied to old operating systems by not releasing an updated driver. This right here is a case for open source software. I feel if a company does not want to update the software they should at least give out the source code so some one some place can release something new.

Its a manufacturer created scam when it comes to music gear that is tied to a computer. They know the equipment you bought is still good unless it is broke so they do their best to break it without going into your house and smashing it with a hammer.
I feel a law should be made that if you are selling a product tied to a computer you need to release drivers for that product for at least 20 years or make the driver or software open source.

[yur2die4]

So true. You can grab a retro percussion machine from an old organ and it'll always have a fun potential aspect of permanence. It does specific things, and unless it is broken, it'll never stop doing those things.

No one wants to turn on their old windows 95 computer.

[doghouse]

Been there, done that...

I will no longer buy an instrument that requires a computer to operate any feature. I might not be happy losing editor support years down the road, but at least it's not DOA.

I only update my computer OS when I have no other choice, putting off hassles with compatibility as long as possible. Currently my main music computer is running Mac OS 10.7 (32 bit), I also have two laptops one running Mac OS 10.6 the other WinXP...all three are "obsolete" OSes.

I now only buy third party plugs that I find really useful to stay off the endless upgrade treadmill. I have already been stiffed by Propellerhead, NI and IK plugins I paid hundreds of dollars for...I'm not interested in paying a few hundred more every few years to keep using them.

[Khazul]

This is the reason I will NEVER buy anything computer related form yamaha again. (mLan).

The bastard responsible for killing off driver support should be publicly flogged, then hung drawn and quartered!

[alpertt]

I feel a law should be made that if you are selling a product tied to a computer you need to release drivers for that product for at least 20 years or make the driver or software open source.

+1

[kitekrazy]

For me this thread viewtopic.php?f=1&t=201136 is a testament for the computer based studios longevity vs a hardware based studios of the past.
I think it has become obvious that the gear you buy today that needs a computer to run will have problems running in 10 years on a current computer with a current os.
Hardware manufacturers of computer audio equipment purposely kill off products and drop support E.I.wont write new drivers for their "older" products/throw them in legacy status after a short period of time)

I was looking at buying a Presonus sound card used until I realized that they completely dropped support for it and replaced it with a version which wasn't much different from the one I was looking at.

Sadly XP is still the basis of my main DAW, as I have hardware I use a lot & love, which only runs on XP.

When W7 was in beta people were testing them on older systems like AMD socket A and were impressed. W7 and W8 work fine on older systems. As for DAW hardware, that's the part that sucks. I have a Yamaha SW1000XG that can't work on anything that came within the last 8 years.

BTW what Presonus model were you looking at?

[njh]

^ I seen the firepod on ebay pretty cheap and thought something must be wrong with it since it had so many ins/outs. After looking into it I seen that the firepod along with a lot of Presonus gear doesnt run on the latest operating systems.
I felt if Presous gear could run on the last gen of operating systems then it could run with this gen but Presonus are purposely killing the hardware by not upgrading the software hoping that you will buy the newest thing.
This all has the opposite effect on me, if a company pulls a dick move like this and kills hardware that was only six years old I refuse to buy anything from them.

There are still classic pieces of equipment in the audio world that not only hold their value but increase. Current gear holding its value will never happen with anything that has a usb port because its useless a few years.
I feel that most people who post pics of rooms full of midi controllers on here are going to be left with useless plastic.
Who buys a guitar or a mixer that will be useless in five or six years? When you buy a traditional gear you expect it to last a very long time.

I feel the same way about software though. Software is always decreasing in value and it has even a shorter life span than computer hardware.

[jestermgee]

It is for all these reasons above I still own an intel 233Mhz PC with 16MB ram and windows 98

Every time I do a new PC rebuild or switch to a new OS I take out the OS HDD and install a new one so I can keep all my working production stuff in tact. Software and hardware has a life span and becomes obselete. This should always be a consideration when making any decision. Like many I need to keep a working rig and if I decided to do a rebuild to use a new OS and had a project come in I would dread that call that I couldn't make the deadline because I don't have a working DAW.