Mastering strategy - opinions please

I'm getting ready to do final mixdown/mastering on some projects. In order to get the best level on the final export I was thinking that I should set the master volume slider at maximum and then play with the other variables - individual track levels, compression etc. in order to make sure it's not clipping.
Is my thinking correct on this? Feel free to share any helpful hints you may have. Thanks.

i think you should just use your ears to make the mix as musical as possible.
you will ultimately have to look at meters... yeah .. but it's more important to use your ear for the judgement.
if it's going to red that's not good as 0dB area is typically at yellow/green area.
then at the mastering stage you can boost/compress+boost signal if you think that will make the sound better.
there are alot of records that actually sounds so much better without boosting levels.
"loudness" can make you think that it's sounding better.. it's just that you are hearing "more" sounds. it's not necessarily "better"
but yes there are no rule. i just like music that makes me breathe.

Similar Messages

System Stats opinions Please - WORKLOAD vs. NOWORKLOAD?

Dear Experts,
Bit of a background - We've a big (10TB) 10.2.0.5, 5 node RAC system for a big Oracle eBusiness Suite (R12 - HRMS/Payroll) implementation and at the minute we are running on some old (2 years old) gathered NOWORKLOAD system stats and since then a significant underlying IO infrastructure change has gone in and we are planning to upgrade the underlying server infrastructure from IBM P5 to IBM P7 soon as well (which introduces significant CPU changes etc.) and me personally think its the time to let Oracle know about all these changes under the carpet by updating the System Stats and since its likely going to be a significant change as potentially all the plans will be impacted (and few/some might go in an unintended direction) so want to know your opinion on these questions about it please :
1. Shall we just update the Noworkload Stats and leave it as it is (db_file_multiblock_read_count in left unset i.e. left for the system to set automatically).
OR
2. Shall we go for the WORKLOAD stats instead? If we go this way then I am planning to go by the brilliant strategy mentioned by Christian Antognini in his lovely book 'Troubleshooting Oracle Performance' for stability point of view.
3. We are planning to go 11g (11.2.0.2+) in the 2nd half to next year as well - is better to leave this evil till then if 11g introduces or improves the system stats mechanism significantly? An opinion favoring this is also that we'll get better and more robust testings done if we pile it on 11g project so may be a bit safer approach (and better for work/human resources planning as well).
Out of the 5 RAC nodes, 2 are dedicated to OLTP stuff, 2 for Batch (Payrolls etc.) and 1 for (low priority) Reporting so obviously there are concerns around getting to a setting that's going to be the best fit for all of them and since thats not easy to achieve the risk is higher.
I am sure I am not new here and some of you'd have come across these questions as well so am wondering if I can get some opinions or advices please? Particularly from the people who have gone from NOWORKLOAD to WORKLOAD (preferable eBusiness suite and even better HRMS/Payroll) please and also from the people who've distributed workload like we have on difference RAC nodes- if they can share their experiences on how did it go for them - that'll be good please? (Obviously everyone's system is different and so is everyone's workload but if 8 out 10 say its been good for them or even bad - then that gives a bit of a feel about it).
Or are most people still running on 'safer' NOWROKLAOD stats please becs WORKLOAD is deemed to be a bigger change?
Also, in the end - I've heard some not so great stuff about IBM P7 as well - just wondering if there are people out there with some experience on these as well please?
Thanks in advance.

pdthedba wrote:
3. We are planning to go 11g (11.2.0.2+) in the 2nd half to next year as well - is better to leave this evil till then if 11g introduces or improves the system stats mechanism significantly? An opinion favoring this is also that we'll get better and more robust testings done if we pile it on 11g project so may be a bit safer approach (and better for work/human resources planning as well).Be careful about gathering system statistics in 11.2.0.2. Why? Well there is a bug.
Workload System Statistics Bug in 11.2
However, as of earlier this year there is a patch to fix it: 9842771.

Problem with my release strategy (PR), Please help

Folks,
I have designed a release strategy with three characteristics:
This is what I entered in characteristic
1.PRQuantity with table name MEREQ3211GRID and Field :MENGE
2.PRmaterial # with table name RMMG1 and Field :MATNR
3.PRPlant with table name RMMG1 and Field :werks
the value for PRQuantity is >= 10000,000.
Also, I have set the indicator for (allow interval) in characteristics
Classes, procedure with classification, Release startegies are all proper.
I am getting the Release startegy tab in PR, but the problem is when I adopt a PR to create a PO with PO quantity >=10000, the release starategy gets picked up, which is perfect but it is also getting picked up with PO Quantity <=10000.
I dont understand why is it getting picked up for <=10000..Please suggest!!
Thanks in advance!!
Megha

Megha,
In your original post you said,
"1.PRQuantity with table name MEREQ3211GRID and Field :MENGE
2.PRmaterial # with table name RMMG1 and Field :MATNR
3.PRPlant with table name RMMG1 and Field :werks"
Per documentation I have seen, the table you should use for your characteristics for PRs should be CEBAN and CEKKO for POs. Here are some links to SAP notes you may find useful.
[365604 - Release strategies in purchasing|https://websmp230.sap-ag.de/sap(bD1lbiZjPTAwMQ==)/bc/bsp/spn/sapnotes/index2.htm?numm=365604]
[493900 - Release Strategy|https://websmp230.sap-ag.de/sap(bD1lbiZjPTAwMQ==)/bc/bsp/spn/sapnotes/index2.htm?numm=493900]
[672719 - Release strategies in the service|https://websmp230.sap-ag.de/sap(bD1lbiZjPTAwMQ==)/bc/bsp/spn/sapnotes/index2.htm?numm=672719]
Note 365604 may be by far the most descriptive of how to set up the entire process. Hope this helps if you are still having problems.
Regards,
Paul

Macbook pro case splitting. Need opinions please!

So my laptop case has been splitting near the screen and it also seems to swell at random points. I have never dropped my laptop, I take great care with it as I need it for school. Last time I went to the apple store they told me it was a cosmetic issue and id have to pay around $800.00 to get it fixed. This time I decided to call the national apple line. They told me they think it should be taken care of, and that some one was being dis ingenious in the store (did I get screwed maybe because some one's boss told them to stop giving customers replacements? I have no idea). So Now I am taking this to the apple store tomorrow.. anyone have any similar experiences? What do you think I should argue? I think since I have a 3 year protection plan, I should get at least my entire case replaced, if not a refurbished macbook pro/ or an upgrade. As I was writing this, I can no longer close my macbook pro because than by opening it the bottom part of the screen cover pops out on the right side. Ugh.
Opinions/help welcome
[img]http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/729/photo3q.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/6144/photo2qvh.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/1679/pic2ipp.jpg[/img]

Hi Olude,
I'd present the machine to them, explain exactly what you've stated here in this topic. You do not believe the product to be operating within specification and do not believe that it's condition was caused by accidental damage, rather as a defect in manufacturing and wish to have the repair covered by your Applecare protection.
The technician will evaluate the product and based upon what they see, and what they're trained to look for in determining coverage eligibility (by Apple) will then present you your options. This is where, you're on your own. No one here will be able to tell you what they'll say, why they'll say or what standards they use to come to their conclusion.
I personally don't feel comfortable making a stance in either favor, simply because I don't have the machine in front of me, I wasn't with you when the machine began to look like this and I'm no position to comment on Apple's policies and procedures on evaluating coverage on a product. Based on their response (the technician's) you're certainly justified if you want a second opinion, especially if their answer is not to your satisfaction.
From my experience, I've always been treated with courtesy, respect and appreciation when dealing with members of my local Apple Retail Store. But I've also had them tell me bad news, deny coverage on a product and charge me for repairs when I believed otherwise. Regardless, though, I was always pleased with the way they've handled me and my business. So I hope that the same appreciation is had by you at the conclusion of this experience.

Laptop Case for 17 unibody. Opinions please

I was hoping a few here might be able to recommend a laptop case for the 17 MBP.
I would like a case that i can work out of and basically leave the computer in the case most of the time if thats possible. Ive Looked at the mactruck by radtech as maybe 1 choice.
My use requires alot of moving the computer from one spot to another so the thought of taking it in and out of case would shorten the life of the computer. I could literally take the computer in and out of a case 5 times in one day alone.
Any links or advice be greatly appreciated.

Please do a search we have lots and lots and lots of threads on cases here.
With a mac, it doesn't matter how many times you take it into and out of your bag during the day -- so that should be the least of your worries. Whatever you get, makes sure it surrounds your laptop on all sides, including the top -- some trendy messenger bags for laptops for example don't cushion the top at all.
Good luck with your bag search. You will get lots of opinions. There isn't one single option that works for everyone, and some of us have spent our mac portable lives seeking the perfect bag and still don't have the one that fits all needs....
Companies that particularly cater to Mac portables include:
Timbuk2
InCase
Brenthaven
SFBags.com (waterfield bags)
Booq

Strategy 89 Please help

Hello Guru's,
we are using strategy 89(Assebly planning with characteristics planning) in this scenario we need to maintain Strategy 70 and 59 for the Stockable and Phantom Assemblies respectively of Finished product
We have one Configurable material which appears twice in BOM, one is phanton and other is normal in BOM
what strategy should be assigned to this material so that it should act in both ways.
Please let us know the possible solutions,
Thanks and Regards
Sathya

Hi
I dont think we have a strategy that will combine both phantom and planning with final assembly- Please look into both 59 and 70 from config point of view and see if you can create a new one with both but this needs to be investigated. If you can provide more information we can try to help you.
Thanks

HD I/O card opinions please

I'm brinking a purchase of an HD card for my Quad. In the immediate future it's to handle DVCPROHD projects, as everyone and their wife/husband/partner/pet seems to want to shoot with the Varicam these days, but obviously I'll consider other formats fair game too. I'm interested to know the community's opinions on the cards.
Context: Offline editorial mostly, not much finishing. But I'd like to be able to finish and deliver occasionally. So I don't need humungous hardware acceleration of compositing timelines. Monitoring flexibility would be good, so I don't always need HD monitors. I'm (currently) only working with Firewire drives. Yes, contemplating a SATA RAID.
It seems I'm looking at (in order of cost):
DeckLink HD Pro PCIe™
Aurora Pipe HD
Aja Kona LHe
Aja Kona 3
Obvious and pointless answers like "the Kona 3 is the best" or "h4xx0rs want Pipe, it's teh snappy" will be rudely dismissed. In fact, since the Kona 3 is the obvious winner already, maybe it's only about the other three cards. Ladies and Gentlemen, cast your ballots please.

DVCPRO HD does not require a capture card to capture nor work with. FCP has been able to capture that format via firewire ever since FCP 4.5 (the reason it got the moniker 'FCP HD').
BUT...you will need a card to output your finished product to other tape formats, as I do not know of one place that takes a DVCPRO HD master tape. Or, you can output to DVCPRO HD tape and take that to be dubbed at a post facility.
OK...the Kona 3 is the king. Just to let you know, the Aurora Pipe HD has not been released yet, so really it is between the Decklink Pro HD 4:2:2 (or 4:4;4) and the Kona.
Shane

Opinions please: Is Wireless N worth it??

I really am curious?? is wireless N routers the best way to go for Gaming, i saw a Gigabit router that supposively is made for gaming, just curious if i should just go Wireless n and getit out of the way, knowing that one day i will probably.
But please post opinions on Wireless N routing and gaming.
I have 360, Wii, DS and Laptop i use for gaming

I know for a fact the wireless xbox360 adapter can do 802.11a, but unless your using any of these devices for streaming, you don't need it.
The fact is that the N specification is not scheduled to be ratified until like September of 2008 still, so you could very well purchase N devices that will be worthless in a year if they can't be flashed to fit the final specification later. So if you don't have an immediate need for it, it's not worth it.
Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 (openwrt firmware)
Linksys 600n
QNAP TS-639 NAS

A135-S2326 replacing hard drive (bad sectors) Need advice and opinions Please

Hi, (note pic below of my computers actual specs from this morning)
I have a Satellite A135-S2326. It has the max memory at 2GB, it came with 512 and I upgraded to 2GB. It runs Windows Vista Home Edition...
Anyhow, it accidentally fell off my bed a few days ago (darn dogs) and damaged my hard drive. Boot problems, errors, bad sectors, etc. I have tried everything to fix and to no avail. While I am currently using it I know I need to replace the hard drive ASAP before I can't turn it on at all one day... I am now saving all my files and stuff I need off of it to an external drive. The laptop did not come with a windows Vista restore CD so I am using Acronis software to make an image of the hard disc, hopefully it will work and I won't have to purchase my own copy of windows Vista.
Some questions I have are:
1.) Is it possible to upgrade the hard drive to a faster one / better one when I replace?
     The hard drive that came preinstalled is a Hitachi HTS541680J9SA00 80GB, which I believe from spec's documentation is a 5400RPM Serial- ATA ???
     What is the max size I can get for replacement and what is the max RPM, or do I HAVE to use a 5400RPM???
     What do you suggest?
2.) I have a copy of windows XP Professional w/SP2. Is it possible to put this windows XP Pro.w/SP2 on a fresh hard drive in the Satellite A135-S2326? If so, is there a different hard drive that I must have to do that? Also if an XP install is possible on a new hard drive, which drivers must I have for this laptop when I do it??
3.) And finally, could this laptop handle windows 7 business? Only asking because I can get a VERY cheap copy of windows 7 business from my school...I'm in college at DeVry and can get a copy of Windows 7 delivered to my door in 2 weeks for less then $30.00. So thought that MAY be an option....??? Not sure if my other spec's can handle it though???
4.) What would you suggest I do with the options I have, what is best thing to do in your opinion??
      Please see pic below of my actual computers specs from this morning, using Belarc Advisor...
Thank you in advance
Any help is GREATLY appreciated
Urgently waiting replies,
Tina from Florida
(tinafromflorida)
Computer Profile Summary
Computer Name:
Beanersputer (in MSHOME)
Profile Date:
Monday, September 21, 2009 9:29:54 AM
Advisor Version:
7.2x
Windows Logon:
nello
Operating System
System Model
Windows Vista Home Basic Service Pack 2 (build 6002)
TOSHIBA Satellite A135 PSAD6U-01800D
System Serial Number: 37334232K
Enclosure Type: Notebook
Processor a
Main Circuit Board b
1.60 gigahertz Intel Celeron M 520
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Board: TOSHIBA IAYAA 1.00
BIOS: TOSHIBA V1.20 03/06/2007
Drives
Memory Modules c,d
78.45 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
13.51 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
MAT**bleep**A DVD-RAM UJ-850S ATA Device [CD-ROM drive]
Hitachi HTS541680J9SA00 [Hard drive] (80.03 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2204SGCULZ6E, rev SB2OC7DP, SMART Status: Healthy
1918 Megabytes Installed Memory
Slot 'J401' is Empty
Slot 'J400' has 2048 MB
Local Drive Volumes
c: (NTFS on drive 0)
78.45 GB
13.51 GB free
Network Drives
None detected
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local user accounts
last logon
nello
9/21/2009 9:17:22 AM
(admin)
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(admin)
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9/12/2009 1:14:34 AM
Marks a disabled account;   Marks a locked account
Adobe PDF Converter
on Documents\*.pdf
Microsoft XPS Document Writer
on XPSPort:
Send To Microsoft OneNote Driver
on Send To Microsoft OneNote Port:
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IDE Channel [Controller] (4x)
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ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M Series [Display adapter]
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Bus Adapters
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ENE CB1410 Cardbus Controller
Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
ATI I/O Communications Processor USB 1.1 OHCI controller (2x)
ATI I/O Communications Processor USB 2.0 EHCI controller
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TOSHIBA Software Modem
6TO4 Adapter
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isatap.domain_not_set.invalid
isatap.gateway.2wire.net
isatap.launchmodem.com
isatap.
Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #2
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Generic volume shadow copy

You can use ANY 2.5" SATA hard drive of any size in that system. I would recommend one of the Western Digital Scorpio BLue's as they are reliable and offer good performance.
If it runs Vista it will run Windows 7. I would wait a bit before trying Win7 though as Toshiba hasn't released all of the Windows 7 drivers yet.
As for Windows XP, while it is possible to install XP on that system (and quite easily for that matter) Toshiba doesn't provide any of the XP drivers needed to get it to run properly. You could determine all of the various chipsets the system uses and go to each chipsat manufacturer's support site to see if they provide an XP driver to get it working, but I don't guarantee that they have all of the needed drivers. If you do decide to go ahead with this let me know and I'll post the directions for installing XP onto a SATA hard drive that doesn't ahve a floppy drive.
Right now your best choice is to replace the old hard drive and restore the system from your Acronis image. When ALL of the Windows 7 drivers become available you could install it in a dual boot configuration to determine if you prefer it or not. It is both a step up and a step back from Windows Vista. Some people will like it while others won't. Only you will be able to determine which you prefer.
If you don't post your COMPLETE model number it's very difficult to assist you. Please try to post in complete sentences with punctuation, capitals, and correct spelling. Toshiba does NOT provide any direct support in these forums. All support is User to User in their spare time.

Opening App in own new Window - Opinions please

Dear Community!
I would like to invite you to share your opinions on this idea - foremost in terms of user experience, but also technical implementation:
Like anybody I always have a number of browser-tabs open, but as an apex user (not developer) I probably have only one apex-app running. So my ideea was, to give the user a stronger experience of working with an Application rather than a website, and therefore open the app in a new window.
Once in a new window all apex functionalities, navigation etc. work as usual. Only the user can concentrate more on the content and is not distracted by all the other browserstuff around. (After all it's not just "some web site"... ) Also he has full independent controll over the window.
I have build this in a test scenario and invite you to try everything out.
With a cookie-controlled checkbox the user can determine, wether he wants it in the first place or not. (Then once allow popups for this site.)
Now it gets weird:
I want deeplinking to be possible, so the functionality for the opening process in contained in the page template.
Also I want, when the user accidentally or willingly returns to the initial browser, and the new window comes out of sight, there should be a button to bring that window back to the front.
For that, javascript has to store the window object on the page, that opened the new one, so it should stay active. But since to user "doesn't want to use" that "old" window in the browser tab, I have created an overlay region, to cover that entire page up - on the condition, that a new window is beeing opened. Just be feeling this is probably a pretty weird solution, but its working so far (see example above).
Javascript on every page::
var newwindow;
$(function(){
// when app-page is opened the first time, open new window. after that P0OPEN will be empty:
if ($v('P0OPEN') === 'Y') {
    var href = 'f?p=&APP_ID.:&APP_PAGE_ID.:&APP_SESSION.::::P0OPEN:',
        winw= window.innerWidth, winh = window.innerHeight;
    // cosmetics for positioning etc.
    var options = 'scrollbars=yes, width='+(winw*.8)+', height='+(winh*.8)+', top='+(winh*.1)+', left='+(winw*.1)
    newwindow = window.open(href, '_blank', options);
    // the button to bring the new window back to the front:
    $('#P0BTNFOCUSW').click(function(){
       if (newwindow && !newwindow.closed) {
           setTimeout(function(){ newwindow.focus(); },100) ;
       } else {
           // if window was closed, start new session:
           window.redirect('&LOGOUT_URL.');
Maybe its better to have an extra page just for that purpose, but how can I combine that with deeplinking AND the necessity to store the javascript-window-object?
Another problem unsolved is, that when the user logs out in the new window, that should certailnly disapear. Also, in that case: the window open in the initial tab should change too, that is: redirect to the login screen.
And probably there are a few more things to be considered...
So I will be very glad to hear all your oppinions and suggestions of any kind.
Thanks and greetings,
Tobi
(omg!! how can you get the formating for code??) (ok, thanks...)

Well, nothing wrong with trying and experimenting of course! It'd be interesting to have things react a bit more as a desktop app, but there is not really enough power to do so and that is mostly because of security reasons. Just like the popupblocker. Personally I'd rather not have to tell anyone to fiddle with a (any!) popupblocker. I think you can have a good looking 'app' without it though, and design (or, UI) helps a lot in that regard. I don't mean to place Google on a pedestal here, but I like the simplicity of the browser splashscreen for example. "Here are your app links. Want to open one? Cool, right away!". Want multiple? No issue, hold ctrl and click away. That's just plain basic browser usage and it leaves me the option. They could've also placed the target=blank tag in their anchors, but they didn't. And that's fine.
I wouldn't necessarily make it more complex than that though - like with auto-popup screens after a login, screening of a window from interaction, dealing with deeplinks.
I've seen some nice "app"-approaches for apex. I think the coolest are where there is a master app, with icons which open up the other applications. The authentication cookie is shared, the authentication scheme is subscription based. You can deeplink apps but if you don't have a deeplink you go to the splashscreen.
If you deeplinked then you meant to go there, and not first the splash which pops up something else. If you want to go there then there is a button in each app which will open up the splash app (and if you add target blank in there, in a new window).
I'd say there is a lot of room for innovation, and anything web is possible. But be careful with those things like popupblockers
And It's just one opinion of course. I'm sure there are wildly differing ones out there. (Who don't react) You could always try some more UX-UI oriented forums for some feedback in this regard!

Mac IRC clients--which is better--Snak or Ircle (opinions please)

I don't know too much about IRCs and I was hoping to get some opinions on which of the two Mac clients (Snak or Ircle) is better...and why.
I'm especially interested in which one is better with DCC. I have Snak right now and it seems to be kind of hit-and-miss on whether I can connect with other people. I know this is probably related to my router, but I wondered if maybe Ircle worked better than Snak w/ routers or just with DCC in general.
But if there's any other factors besides DCC that I should consider in choosing which IRC client to use...by all means tell me about it.
I would really appreciate a few informed opinions.
Many thanks!

You should get more responses if you cross-post over in the iChat AV 3 Forums. That is where the IRC users hang out.

Is it Time.....this is the Question? Opinions Please

Is it time...this is the question?
Every 3 or 4 months since the release of Leopard I ask myself this question. I've been using Apple's Tiger operating system since it was released and I've been extremely happy with it and more to the point so has my aging iBook G4. "Circa Mid 2005" I've had almost no problems running Tiger, it's the most stable OS I've ever used and for the most part the only issues that have ever given me grief or frustration has been 3rd party software and plug-ins for Safari. However recently I've started noticing that more and more software developers are not offering OS 10-4 updates and their new software versions will not work on the Tiger OS and/or require an Intel processor. It annoys me when I read about some great new software I'd like to try only to find out it won't work without Leopard.
I guess my question is two fold really, will upgrading to the Leopard OS give me a better computing experience on an older machine, or am I going to be held back regardless because my laptop still uses a PPC processor? At this stage I'm not really considering buying a new laptop as this one is perfectly fine and until now has been bulletproof! What is the experience/opinions of other Mac users who upgraded their older machines to Leopard? Was it worth the hassle and after the initial interest in a new operating system wares off would you recommend upgrading?
So is it time.........or should I wait until this machine dies and makes this question a mute point?

Hi Raymon!
The kind of question we are all faced with at some time! Bear in mind that the following are only my opinions, as this is all very subjective!
It annoys me when I read about some great new software I'd like to try only to find out it won't work without Leopard
The main reason why I upgraded to Leopard was to run iLife 9. The other reason was that Leopard is likely to be the final OS upgrade for a PPC Mac.
will upgrading to the Leopard OS give me a better computing experience on an older machine
Define 'better'! I have only run Leopard for 2 weeks but so far, as in Tiger, I have had no crashes of any kind. BTW, updates to Quicktime 7.6 and security update 2009-001 are vital. The real answer depends on the speed of your Mac. Leopard is a bit more resource hungry than Tiger, but I have noticed no changes in operating speed, and certainly no slow downs. Leopard has a lot of eye candy: using all of it uses extra resources, but they can all be switched off! But I like the new versions of iTunes and Front Row.
Was it worth the hassle and after the initial interest in a new operating system wares off would you recommend upgrading?
See above! But it was no hassle. Use the Archive and Install method for upgrading. Best of all, clone your entire system to a bootable external drive before upgrading, then if all else fails you can always go back to good ol' Tiger.
The one thing you WILL notice is that repairing permissions on Leopard takes at least half an hour! On Tiger it takes 2 minutes!
Just in case you forgot: check that your Mac meets the minimum specifications for Leopard, and you need a minimum of 1GB of RAM despite what they claim!
Good luck!

Preamp racks/Firewire interfaces - your opinions please

For some time now I've been looking at getting the MOTU 896, as it appears to be a great deal and of great quality. However, the more I look at the forums I've noticed that everyone seems to love their presonus stuff a whole lot.
So now for your opinions. . . does anyone have any good info or experience with either one of these? Which do you guys like better? Or are there any other interfaces that you'd pick over either of these two? Thanks a lot.

Its tough, and its all about budget. I wanted to record 16 channels in a live setting, so I went with two firepods. So far, a pretty good experience, though i've had some problems with digital artifacts at random times. Tech support has been pretty good, but we haven't fixed the problem. I've recently discovered that it might be the longer fw cables i bought a while back, not sure yet.
That said, I'm planning on purchasing an Ensemble once it ships with working drivers and someone has tested it. This way, I'll have 4 apogee pre-amps, 4 line inputs (one firepod in hardware mode will feed this) for a total of 8 apogee A/D convertors, then daisy chain my other pod for an additional 8 channels, also clocked by the Ensemble w/ SPDIF. It should make the pods sound even better.
From what I've read on these boards, I would definitely go with RME, Metric halo, or possibly the Ensemble. Haven't heard good things about the 896 pres.
Regardless, you will probably need more pre-amps if you are recording drums, so something like the Presonus Digimax FS or LT will probably be the cheapest option. It really depends on how many pres you need exactly.

Opinions please: Multiple libraries

Hi,
Please give me your opinion if you have some experience of libraries
What's the best solution for multiple libraries. I can see there are a number of solutions.
I have not the money to buy them all or spend ages trying them all out, and I don't know even if I should use them. Should I stick to iTunes only options?
Some involve buying software allowing user menus, but I would like to know any disadvantages that anyone has come across.
Here's my requirements:
All libraries stored on my NAS unit.
I want to create a library containing all my music.
From this I want to create 4 libraries that are subsets of the main library which will allow me to simply select aone library at a time for my iPhone.
Finally my wife has her music on her laptop. Can I copy her protected files into my library and get her to authorise it - or is there a better way?
Thanks
Flobbyblob

+"Finally my wife has her music on her laptop. Can I copy her protected files into my library"+
Yes.
+"...and get her to authorise it"+
I don't know; that is between you and her. But if you want to play protected tracks, the computer must be authorized to the account from which they were originally purchased.
+"...or is there a better way?"+
Yes. Don't buy protected tracks and then you will not need to worry about authorization at all.

PC users Opinions Please

Since there are lots of PC users on this site, I would like to get your opinions on the soon to be released Sandy E dual socket computers. I have had an ongoing dialog with Eric at ADK that has peaked my curiosity. How do you anticapte it will impact use of PrP?

ok going to try to put this as simply as possible and try to not ruffle Jasons feathers at the same time
1) dual vs single processor does NOT equate to 2 times the processing power never has and probably wont ever even with the best of multi-thread software.
there are a few linux based programs that do come close (server app type stuff)
too much to explain. its usually more like 25-40% increase. and this depends on how well both the OS and the program can handle threads.
(apple OS is one of the worst sadly and is odd considering its unix based, which yes is different from linux. its needs a complete re-write @ this point like win7 was. with all the $ Apple has i dont know why they dont do it..
oh wait yes i do they have little concern anymore over pro level clients and are more concerned with consumer goods, i this and i that )
2)Dual Xeons have thier place but most have no need of them and this includes Apple. in fact the dual vs single over time has become far less needed than ever before even with software becoming more mulit-threaded.
Part of this is that GHz is still is vastly more important than core count for the most part at least within the same architecture.
for example it takes a Dual 2.8GHz 12 core to come close matching a single 980/990 or 2600/2700
http://www.adkvideoediting.com/benchmarks.asp
while older ( i keep forgetting to update with newer numbers) its pretty sad a system thats 2 times or more the cost cant keep up!
it takes a 12 core 2.93GHz or higher to beat the single systems in normal editing even with heavier red 4k.
animators and uncompressed heavier codecs would need a dual Xeon and one like the absurdly priced Juggernaut.
several of our animator guys actuslly will use smaller more affordable systems and have several of those rendering rather than buying 1 big nasty box..
trying to think of an anlogy that works. (man i am going to sound like i am from KY)
got a dodge durango truck and a big dodge 350 truck towing a small 21' boat. (avergage editing of most) both are flying down the highway @ 75 with no issues.
now we have the same trucks but towing a 40' (uncompressed) boat the little dodge can barely get it going, 50 is its max speed without overheating but the big truck has no trouble cruising @ 75 still.
most people own a 21' boat.
i know not the best analogy
its my job to keep people from buying that Dodge 350 when they only need the durago and knowing when someone may need that big one..
as far as Apple i almost always recommend a single 3.33GHz (buy a used 2.8Ghz and swap out the CPU yourself) if you have to stay on Apples OS.
as apple does not even offer the 3.46GHz dual Xeons much less running @ 4GHz.
as to what is the best option on our site? the 3900 with the new Sandy E unless you need the big dodge.
Scott
ADK

Mastering strategy - opinions please

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