I think this "highly polished" visual first - usability second approach has cognitive overload for the user. In my view desktop interface must be designed around mouse pointer interaction which is precise and demands clear separation of UI. Here we have clear focus on content area which is in harmony with touch based interaction. There are two options in my mind: 1. Design team follows marketing brief - do it like iDevices ASAP. 2. Apple will introduce touch as a part of desktop experience in near future. Personally I don't find this design appealing or easy on the eyes, but I am interface designer and obviously I have personal bias.
Thanks for valuable information. I am planning to make a little home studio for me and my friends, would you be so kind to give me advice in which DAW to invest my time, and what are alternatives on linux regarding support of thunderbolt or usb interfaces. Is windows the only future-proof and viable option for producing music nowadays? Thanks in advance.
My impression is that most Hollywood work is now done with Pro Tools on Windows. For example, I know for sure that Expendables 3 was mastered this way.
For classical music and bluray mastering, I hear the most from Nuendo users on Windows. Their cheaper variant Cubase is popular for audiobook production.
For music production, BitWig and REAPER are currently the rising stars. Both are popular on Linux:
BitWig especially fits in with the hacker spirit because you can modify and script almost everything.
They also have many features for live shows and / or DJing. That market used to be squarely owned by Ableton on Mac, but the latter has recently fallen out of favor over plugin compatibility issues with newer effect VSTs.
For broadcast, meaning TV shows and live sports streaming, I heard that BBC and the likes are using LAWO which are custom integrated hardware+software solutions capable of loading Linux VST plugins.
Design never loses. Write it down. Remember it. Simple truth is that in digital age, some computer operators with a little bit more of a visual culture are perceived as a designers. Nope. I am learning visual artistry from 6 years old. First started at school, then from old masters by serving them like a dog, then when digital era started i learned more about the medium, then learned about the business by risking it all, than learned about the psychology of perception, culture impact, age differentiation, then learned to think from user perspective, to measure reaction and get critical design data from it.... Now when i am almost 40 years old i can say that i can make a good design. Not only because of a talent, intuition or experience. Mostly because my life is a direct result of my design. And when i am designing i am a servant of people's needs. And i always learn. Write it down. Design always wins. Vanity always loses.
