You're right. I was saying that only those companies would be capable of achieving such a treat, but they're focus seems to be else where these days. I'm not totally unsatisfied with Apple. I really like the software and the overall reliability of it. However, that doesn't stop me from judging their current priorities - which is the portable devices, namely phones and tablets.
I just read on the news that Microsoft will release another windows 8 version later this year for the same reasons: most of their costumer base weren't happy with the more oriented towards touch devices interface. They're actually being punished for doing what Apple's been doing, successfully, so to speak.
I think this companies, like you say, are interested in creating "highly proprietary devices" and that doesn't help the user community in many cases. I was also stressing the point that there's a big marketing hype surrounding some products like "high end computer workstations". You need those, plus all the other equipment to release the computer from the "inside the box" form - like another jail - so as to be able to use it creatively.
For graphics you need a graphic pen, for audio you need plenty of stuff. For such a big buck, you'd expect a system with a proper audio card at least. And this card I keep talking about is just another way of saying: I feel there's room for more innovation that would hopefully become a standard. Standards are good for one thing: they mean the vast majority of people gets to use these. The music industry in general fears this massive expansion of people using more serious tools to give life to their own creations and being able to present those online with the same level of presentation and to the same standards that only a few studios could a just a few decades ago. I think of that as evolution, it's good that more people are able to be creative. I don't even care that some people feel they can't make revenues like the rock starts used to. So less ego, and more community. While we see that where you have a community working you get good results: think of how MAX has expanded the usability of Live to the point they've decided to integrate it fully to their software. They know, just as we do, that some hobbyists can actually bring more value to their product. Same goes for Reaktor.
I remember you saying these are not "native" languages. But implementing new hardware with an open language that could be used by any developer out there - and the hobbyists - for bringing more demanding audio (maybe not just audio...) applications to life would be great. If this was shared across all the digital audio workstations out there, a new standard like midi, perhaps, they could all through a big part of their plug-ins processing power to that board and thus produce a big performance boost to all audio workstations. What's wrong with that?
Read on the latest issue of Music Tech's mag - dedicated to Logic Pro - that they'll update their Audio Unit format in ways VST3 already has. This is a double effort for the same thing taking place, another of the sub products of this ego/brand centered economy we live in that also doesn't help the user much. Moving on, another point mentioned is they're aiming for better thread distribution among the cores. That's good of course!
You developers go ahead and tell me. I think our CPUs aren't being used to their full potential just as well, right? It's all good and great if you listen to the marketing hype: 4x more performance in everything gets you thrilled quite fast. But how do these new features in CPU technology being translated into actual performance for the user? Many times it takes some time. One of the reasons I don't jump on the new OS as soon as it shows up: they have this nasty tendency to dive to new features while leaving others behind them, just after they got to the point where they're working properly for the first time ever. I'm not basing this on any detailed draft of information, just on my own subjective experience with computers.
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