Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?

Subject: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 03:53 PM

A young friend who is a singer/musician has asked me what programs might work with VISTA, preferably shareware. I don't have VISTA, so don't have a clue. He said he tried Sonar, but it was not compatible. Any of you have any experience with VISTA?

Thanks,

kat

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 04:01 PM

"music programs"???

to do what? Play music, edit music?

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 04:03 PM

Oh, sorry! As a musician, to record, edit, etc.

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 04:14 PM

I have yet to find many programs that I've used much in the past that don't run on Vista. (The one notable exception was an old CD/DVD burner program - a older Roxio version - that Vista disables, probably because of the way it accesses the drives. I can install the program, and it appears to run just fine, but at the next boot (or sometimes before) Vista informs me that it has "disabled" the program.)

Problems are likely to be more frequent with freeware/shareware, I suspect, and most of the programs I've carried over have been "main line" stuff. (My 1978 DeLorme US highway map program works just fine, except for still not having half the main roads on it.)

A very real problem is that Vista will not run any .hlp files, which is the the format used for Help files with many older programs. Although lots of people have never learned to RTFM at all, for a program that requires an occasional "look up" to get the right key-stroke or two, it effectively prevents doing anything useful, even if the program does run perfectly. It's a special barrier for any new program where one needs a little bit of "HELP" just to get started using it.

The .hlp "reader" is not included in Vista, and info in Vista files implies that Vista will disable it if you add it from an older Windows version. A few programs may have .pdf help files you can substitute, and that would be one thing to look for if considering something that isn't clearly "cert for Vista."

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 04:16 PM

It is my understanding that most serious programs either will work, or will soon be modified to work with Vista. If one owns a program that worked with XP, it is usually just a matter of writing the company, getting a (usually) free update.

If one goes to Google Groups and does a search on "vista compatible" + editing + music, I expect answers will abound.

   That being said, Microsoft seems to be moving toward a totally web-based system sometime in the future, where YOU don't own a program, but only access it online. Which is why many are heading toward MACs or LINUX....

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 04:21 PM

Kat, it is a great coincidence that you brought this up. I asked the very same question on the folk-dj list the other night.   I currently use Cool Edit, but I am looking at getting a new PC (the one I am currently running is a Studebaker that barely runs on Windows 98!) and I am concerned that Cool Edit won't work with Vista. It is also a program that is no longer available as Adobe bought the company.

A few people have recommended Audacity, which is freeware. You can do a search and find it. I can't vouch for it yet, but the folks who have recommended swear by it (as opposed to at it), and one person played me some samples of an album he recorded with multiple tracks - all using Audcatiy. Sounds good to me.

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 04:22 PM

"That being said, Microsoft seems to be moving toward a totally web-based system sometime in the future, where YOU don't own a program, but only access it online."

I can see why that would upset some people, but I also see some great advantages to that. A lot of issues to be worked out, but it could make programs more accessible and less problematic.

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 04:24 PM

Audacity IS wonderful freeware....it will do many of the tasks the average user needs, but it is not the professional thing with all the bells & whistles that some musicians need. It may help while looking for other things.

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 06:34 PM

Thanks, fellahs!

I have audacity, but not VISTA, so I didn't even think about it working with it. As Bill says, though, I'm not sure it would do what my friend wants it to.

Thanks,


kat

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: Nick
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 07:12 PM

Audacity is a wonderful program but...

Try Reaper knocks the spots off it for recording.

I have no connection at all with it personally but it has most of the features you would want as well as being VISTA compatible and can do everything I want so far.

It will DEFINITELY see them way past the stage of exploration and probably up to the point where you understand why people who sit at desks with knobs debate the merits of Nuendo against the latest Cubase offering

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 07:52 PM

There are some programs that won't work with Vista, but most do. You may sometimes have to change the compativility settings to get a program to run, but usually that's handled automatically in the installation process if it's a major-name program. You may not be able to read 32-bit *.hlp files from within the program, but you can download WinHlp32.exe from Microsoft, and it works just fine. Windows Vista does run 16-bit *.hlp files.

In short, it's not all that difficult to get things to run in Vista, but certain things sometimes have to be tweaked.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 08:47 PM

Joe O -

When I tried to open a .hlp file in Vista, I got a popup that invited me to click to find "why doesn't my help file run." It emphatically stated that WinHlp32.exe was purposely omitted and should not be installed.

It appears that one may expect, with Vista, quite a few instances of separate lies out of each of the other side(s) of the Microsoft face(s).

Since my main use of Vista thus far was on a laptop in a "remote" location where there was NO POSSIBILITY of a web connection, I can certainly support the argument that "web served programs" ARE NOT A SATISFACTORY ANSWER for at least some of us, all the time, and probably for most of us some of the time.

I also found Word 2007 running under Vista so bad that some of my notes were made in text files using Command prompt:

COPY CON > filename.txt

(At least that still works.)

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: soliloquise
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 09:07 PM

Cubase LE will work with vista but you have to download a patch.

Subject: RE: Tech: Music Programs that work with VISTA?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 02:46 AM

People tell me I have Audacity, but I can't find it on my PC...


Leaving now!