there's something about your post that i'm not getting... your trying to cheap out on new software (still running OLD sonar) on what i'm assuming is equally old hardware... but want to compare it to new mac alternative.... the one thing which a jump like that will NOT be is cheap... fwiw with most prog's now you can install on mutiple puters and carry the dongle from mach-mach nothing new there... and get used to copy protect schemes..(be they dongle or whatever) FWIW... i would hold off on making any assumptions about vista too... while it's true that there are driver issuses all over the place right now that should clear up before too long... and from what i've read there are a few things in vista that could potentially impact (for the better) the way our machines work...

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you are asking if you switch to a Mac, can you still steal software?

Tracktion:
http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion2/index.html
http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion3/splash.html

Its very powerful and flexible, very affordable, cross-platform, and one license gets you two machine numbers, ie: you can legitimately install it on 2 computers at the same time (a mac and a PC perhaps?).

And no dongle is required: its a simple C/R method. 8-)

Hey! Thanks for your replies.

there's something about your post that i'm not getting... your
trying to cheap out on new software (still running OLD sonar)
on what i'm assuming is equally old hardware... but want to
compare it to new mac alternative....

Yeh, I'm like that. I absolutely rely on my system so I need to keep it stable. I do quite a bit of multi-track recording with many tracks, so once I get the system stable so that works without dropouts I don't mess with it. I don't need the new Sonar, see I don't upgrade. It's my approach and I'm sticking to it. :)

I'm reasonably happy with the idea about a big upgrade.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you are asking if
you switch to a Mac, can you still steal software?

What???? No fool, I'm asking you what software I should BUY. If I was looking for pirated software, it would hardly be on this forum. :x

Tracktion:

Now we're getting somewhere. Wow, thanks for the pointer, this looks like a decent tool. I'll give the demo a run. Seems way too cheap to be any good though??? Seems pretty good - I'll approach this with an open mind.

and get used to copy protect schemes..(be they dongle or
whatever) FWIW...

I'm old fashioned. It just seems wrong. I have to ship up with more than a dozen microphones and stands and all the cables and all that - I have to remember enough stuff as it is, without having to drag the dongle into this.

I'm happy with copy protect schemes. I use Ableton and Sibelius and they seem fine. When they insist I have to plug bits of hardware in my machine, I'm inclined to thing they've gone wrong somewhere in the design stage.

Hey! Thanks for your replies.

there's something about your post that i'm not getting... your
trying to cheap out on new software (still running OLD sonar)
on what i'm assuming is equally old hardware... but want to
compare it to new mac alternative....

Yeh, I'm like that. I absolutely rely on my system so I need to keep it stable. I do quite a bit of multi-track recording with many tracks, so once I get the system stable so that works without dropouts I don't mess with it. I don't need the new Sonar, see I don't upgrade. It's my approach and I'm sticking to it. :)

I'm reasonably happy with the idea about a big upgrade.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you are asking if
you switch to a Mac, can you still steal software?

What???? No fool, I'm asking you what software I should BUY. If I was looking for pirated software, it would hardly be on this forum. :x

Tracktion:

Now we're getting somewhere. Wow, thanks for the pointer, this looks like a decent tool. I'll give the demo a run. Seems way too cheap to be any good though??? Seems pretty good - I'll approach this with an open mind.

and get used to copy protect schemes..(be they dongle or
whatever) FWIW...

I'm old fashioned. It just seems wrong. I have to ship up with more than a dozen microphones and stands and all the cables and all that - I have to remember enough stuff as it is, without having to drag the dongle into this.

I'm happy with copy protect schemes. I use Ableton and Sibelius and they seem fine. When they insist I have to plug bits of hardware in my machine, I'm inclined to thing they've gone wrong somewhere in the design stage.

bigbunch wrote: I'll give the demo a run. Seems way too cheap to be any good though???

Don't be fooled by the price! I grew up with Cubase but now use Tracktion for everything... version 3 is due out any day now however, so you may want to wait for that.

And if you want to learn it quickly you should consider buying my video tutorials: http://streamworksaudio.com/?page=products&prodID=2&catID=7 or http://streamworksaudio.com/?page=products&prodID=1&catID=7 (sorry for the shameless plug!)