Logic pro, Qbase and sequencing/video editing- some questions for discussion

General Discussion
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Hi Linuxians, before I go on to start this discussion, I want to say that I’m only a basic computer user- internet surfing, creating documents etc, so I haven’t the knowledge of you excellent computer guys here. And this is thread is also not meant to create any discord. I am asking some questions as you guys here know a lot about computers, which I don’t.

I was at my brother’s flat this afternoon ( not long got back) and he uses Apple for everything- Macbook, tablets, i phones etc. He also has a digital piano and uses Logic pro.

I was playing his piano and showing him the pianoteq demo and he showed me how to use it- which is great. (We have had some discussion on this on another thread, as I’m learning how to try out the demo).

We got onto some technical subjects and he was telling me about Logic pro and Q Base. He said that what these software do is only possible with Apple. Now,I am not that familiar with such technical things, so I cannot say- but he said that in the movie/media industry these are used because they have the technology that no other OS has. He said this coding ( or something) has cost millions to develop and isn’t available outside of Apple.

He said there is some virtual systems being developed with this stuff that again, no other OS has.

I responded that I’m not very technical, so didn’t really understand all this, but that Linux is constantly developing and that what is out there now, doesn’t reflect upon what will be possible in a few years’ time.

He said that Open Source could not possibly develop this stuff Apple is due to the cost- I responded that Linux is developed in a different way and doesn’t necessarily need money- just the knowledge!

It’s a shame I hadn’t someone from my local Linux user’s group with me, as I’m sure they would understand what he was telling me, and in turn be able to tell him how Linux could develop their software etc.

I’d be really interested in what you guys here know about this topic.

I apologise if I haven’t explained it very well- I did have trouble grasping what this technology is all about!

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There’s nothing special about Apple hardware … in fact since OS X Apple hardware is just a bog standard x86 PC in a white shiny box.

Neither Cubase or Pro Logic were originally Apple products (Cubase still isn’t) … they both really started out on the Atari computers of the 80’s but have obviously come a long way since then, Pro Logic was bought by Apple (so is obviously OS X only software now), Steinberg’s Cubase has always been both Windows and OS X.

Sure those 2 applications are currently market leaders in audio production and MIDI sequencing … but to say that won’t/can’t move to other OS’s is plain silly … I’m sure there were a lot of Atari users saying the same thing in the 80’s :wink:

As there were Microsoft fans saying Microsoft Office would never be available on anything but Windows, and Linux would never get any big title games … wrong on both counts

It’s “software” … software (like money) follows the market … As Linux continues its rise you can be sure audio production software will come, as graphics software is starting to, and games are…

There’s ZERO technical barrier to these applications being ported to Linux (or something else to take their place)… it’s purely a numbers game, but the numbers are changing, currently most software development effort is going into “device” computing (and Android is winning in that particular arena).

Anyone that thinks the future of software is written in stone really hasn’t followed computing history :wink:

Personally I remain convinced Microsoft will drop Windows altogether as device computing continues to eat away at more traditional PC sales until Windows is no longer a viable product, then they’ll continue as a SaaS company … Apple will continue as a niche PC builder and to relegate OS X as second to iOS … and as a wise man once said, “what will be left is Linux, but it may not be Linux as we know it today”.

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There's nothing special about Apple hardware .. in fact since OS X Apple hardware is just a bog standard x86 PC in a white shiny box.

Neither Cubase or Pro Logic were originally Apple products (Cubase still isn’t) … they both really started out on the Atari computers of the 80’s but have obviously come a long way since then, Pro Logic was bought by Apple (so is obviously OS X only software now), Steinberg’s Cubase has always been both Windows and OS X.

Sure those 2 applications are currently market leaders in audio production and MIDI sequencing … but to say that won’t/can’t move to other OS’s is plain silly … I’m sure there were a lot of Atari users saying the same thing in the 80’s :wink:

Thanks Mark- that was very interesting. I know, you see, that you know a lot about computing history. I told my bro about Linux specialists and the knowledge they have (people like yourself) but I don’t think he quite gets that. ::slight_smile:
He almost got a bit cross with me when I said that Linux has been around quite awhile, and if I am rightly remembering this, wasn’t there a sci fi film ( I think Space Odyssey) that used Linux/Unix because at the time nothing would do what it could do?

Who built Atari? What was its operating system based on?

As there were Microsoft fans saying Microsoft Office would never be available on anything but Windows, and Linux would never get any big title games .. wrong on both counts

Yes, LOL!

It's "software" .. software (like money) follows the market .. As Linux continues its rise you can be sure audio production software will come, as graphics software is starting to, and games *are*.....

That is what I tried to point out- there were computers and systems way before Microsoft and Apple!

There's ZERO technical barrier to these applications being ported to Linux (or something else to take their place).. it's purely a numbers game, but the numbers are changing, currently most software development effort is going into "device" computing (and Android is winning in that particular arena).

Anyone that thinks the future of software is written in stone really hasn’t followed computing history :wink:

Yes, again I tried to point this out. But he seemed stuck in the view that the knowledge was only known to Apple. I said it only takes one Apple person who knows that stuff to go to Open Source and develop for Linux- am I right?

Personally I remain convinced Microsoft will drop Windows altogether as device computing continues to eat away at more traditional PC sales until Windows is no longer a viable product, then they'll continue as a SaaS company .. Apple will continue as a niche PC builder and to relegate OS X as second to iOS .. and as a wise man once said, "what will be left is Linux, but it may not be Linux as we know it today".

Yes, it is not quite possible to see how things will go. By looking at computer history things have developed in ways people could not have envisioned back in 1980!

The pianoteq guys obviously value Linux as a viable OS- and from all accounts from Linux users on their forum it works very well on Linux- just as good as Apple. In fact a few folks on there seem to favour Linux in general over Microsoft!

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Who built Atari?

Erm … Atari :slight_smile:

What was its operating system based on?

The operating system for the Atari ST range imaginatively called “The Operating System” or TOS, was Digital Research Inc’s GEM GUI running on GEMDOS (a disk operating system with it’s roots in both CP/M 68k and MS-DOS)

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Ahh, GEM - now that’s nostalgia :slight_smile:

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Given that Mark has addressed the hardware aspect hinted at in the above statement… this leaves us with the software side of things… you might like to point your brother in the direction of:-

Essentially:- UNIX ( as a trademark ) is allowed “for certified operating systems compliant with the Single UNIX Specification. Among these is Apple’s OS X,[5] which is the Unix version with the largest installed base as of 2014.”

So, OS X is Unix, And…

“Many clones of Unix have arisen over the years, of which Linux is the most popular”

In other words, porting the OS X software to Linux should be eminently possible, and I might contend, disproves the quoted statement above.

Clearly, availability of the source code from Apple, ( if it were necessary ) might require, shall we say, a bit of time… but if the software is from a third party, then, following the numbers, it is at some point in the none too distant going to make economic sense to do the work…

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If Bitwig and Renoise are now doing Linux versions…