Will digidesign.com ever comply with Web 2.0?

[Monaco]

*From the forums, to the store to support and download, I find this site rather difficult to navigate... digidesign.com is probably the most difficult website I have tried to master.

*Don't get me wrong, there's some amazing Flash and Javascript design, but the site doesn't follow a standard protocol. On top of that, I'm having several issues staying logged into my account and just finding basic information is an entire production all in itself. Every time I use Digidesign's search, I get 500 results of the same thing. WHY?

*How many links does one have to click to get to the the PT compatibility chart? (7) Even then, you'd have to know where it was to download it. It took me a week to find the Pro Tools Manual and I found it only because someone on the forum was nice enough to tell me where it was.

*I just found out today that Structure is free for download. No, Digidesign didn't tell me, I read it on some forum. I think that qualifies as a "Feature Download", don't you? I wonder just how much more stuff I'm missing out on...

* THE ICING ON THE CAKE is that I've purchased Digidesign products that I can't even use.

* This forum could go. Replace it with vBulletin. Not because VB's better, but because the majority of the world can navigate it. It's the industry standard.

Personally, I wish every website worked like Apple.com, but that's just me. I don't know what I'm saying, and NO, I don't want to preview my post...

[Monaco]

I've been looking for that page that tells you all the Pro Tools Energy settings and System preferences you need to configure for over an hour.

[77pro]

* THE ICING ON THE CAKE is that I've purchased Digidesign products that I can't even use.

Wow. That must really suck, but you've got my attention. What products are you unable to use??

[will the moor]

and NO, I don't want to preview my post...

classic. I gotta agree that it gets annoying but generally speaking, I'd say forcing preview is a good idea. In a world where you can edit your post afterwards, it is of questionable value but valuable none the less.

I agree, the main site's Information Architecture is a train wreck. Obviously a talented front end team but it's a shame to see how intensely the site fails without javascript on. I mean, not even an error - just blank content area and no navigation. it's also sorta silly that they're still using tables for layout.

Other javascript woes are all over the place. as an example, on http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?...&categoryid=27 the little revealed content areas are hidden with css and revealed with javascript. terrible. they should be hidden with js so that if some one comes to the site without js on, they can at least see the content. Sure, most people browse with JS on but the number of people who do not is comparable to the number of people who use safari. that's enough to at least be concerned with giving them navigation and access to the content.

I wonder if digi is so big that they don't really need to worry about search engine rankings. that massive nav could be after the content and obviously a search bot can't learn anything from index.cfm?navid=139&langid=100&itemid=25509

I could geek bitch forever but the two things that really need some love are the search results and clean urls. clean urls being first as it would help the search results! Seems like the site is being run by a CMS and perhaps that CMS is part of the problem. anyone know which CMS it is? smells like ektron to me. stooopid ektron. it can be made to serve clean urls via severe CF/IIS beatings.

wow. whatageek.

will

[will the moor]

oh yeah, and "comply with web 2.0" is a really empty statement. I think you mean 'work the way I think most modern websites work'.

[Monaco]

Wow. That must really suck, but you've got my attention. What products are you unable to use??

A version of Pro Tools that's not compatible with my os and a plugin pack that I cannot seem to register. But understand that I'm not too concerned my little purchase as I am with Digidesign's welfare. I don't want to see my platform get left behind.


I'm a veteran, I've been on Pro Tools since Deck. So I have developed a logical second sight for all of this. I recall a time when Steve Jobs praised Pro Tools at an Apple keynote as "the best", but at the last keynote he stood behind Logic. Apple sent me a music software bundle and they want my endorsement and I must admit that this Garage Band thing is looking mighty tempting on my Dock...

BROKEN RECORD COMPANY
No one should spend more time online than on the console. Agreed?
As an pro tools guru, I could spend hours reading manuals and searching online, but as a producer, school's out and it's time to PRODUCE. Well, I was a former Pro Tools guru, but since upgrading to 7.3, I've been in a world of chaos. I've had to uninstall/reinstall both my OS and pro tools, lost a session or two, my plugins stopped working and I had to learn all these new pointless settings. In the middle of this mess, I swapped the MacPro in studio A with the G5 in Studio B, while my engineer determined the he too, was no longer a Pro Tools guru.

SOFTWARE
Now that I've semi-mastered 7.3, 7.4 is released. I'm guessing Avid thinks I'm going to pay to destroy my studio again. Fool me once...

Plugins are a mess all in itself. My mastering engineer has always hated plugins and now I see where he's coming from. He's already been through what I'm going through now. There's just so many of them, it's overwhelming. I only need 25 reverbs.

I'M DONE
I finally managed to married my console with my studio and I'm never changing it again, EVER. I've been waiting 10 years for a mobile Pro Tools solution. For 10 years I have dreamed of editing my sessions on the plane or in the park. Now Apple comes along claiming they can give me that freedom and they're backing it up by sending me software. So until PT can do that, I'm done. No more consoles, no more plugins, no more upgrades. I'm sticking with Pro Tools 7.3 and OS 10.4 until Digidesign FORCES me to upgrade. Elastic time... Whoopdie-doo.
pro-tools-with-elastic-time.gif

[Phil O'Keefe]

the two things that really need some love are the search results and clean urls

Amen. Unfortunately, searching the DUC is far more difficult than it should be.

[Monaco]

I wonder if digi is so big that they don't really need to worry about search engine rankings.

Digidesign can ignore it, but I watched history in the making as Adobe Illustrator ate Quark for breakfast in a matter of weeks.

Digidesign is starting to look so much like Windows Explorer that it's blatantly annoying. It's as if they're trying to monopolize and leave Pro Tools users with only one choice: To purchase more. Want to export an MP3? Pay up. What, you thought you could just buy Pro Tools and it would function out of the box? No, you need more. More plugins, more upgrades, more tech support. They should study the Mozilla business model. FireFox meets the demands of frustrated Explorer users and listens to the cries of the community.

"when there is a system available that is better than Pro Tools, we will change our recommendation in an instant." -Recordproducer.com

I'm only saying this because I care. Digi needs to get on the ball. Apple Computer is not a stupid company and they're very serious about music applications. They have the resources to nuke Pro Tools at the drop of the hat. If Apple gave away Logic for a few months, they would own the market share. But they don't need to do that. Their strategy lies in the youth of America...

[Stiff]

Apple Computer is not a stupid company and they're very serious about music applications. They have the resources to nuke Pro Tools at the drop of the hat. If Apple gave away Logic for a few months, they would own the market share. But they don't need to do that. Their strategy lies in the youth of America...

I keep hearing this and every time I ask myself "if this was true, that Apple could take the lead or even wipe out Digidesign altogether, then why don't they?". There are only two answers that I can think of: "They can't" or "they don't want to". Logic is still far from replacing Pro Tools.

But yes, better website. Two thumbs up for that. I saw a much improved stability in 7.4, so I'm happy. I've been bitching about that for a long time. I think Pro Tools is more stable than ever for me. I don't recall many issues with 5.x either, but my mixes weren't nearly as heavy back then. I don't really understand the learning curve you're talking about though. It's not like every new Pro Tools works in a completely different way, it's added features that you have an option to use or not to use.

[Monaco]

Apple's in the process of it. They're doing is the smoothest way possible without pissing people off. Makes me wonder if Digidesign has accepted their fate and that's why they don't put in any effort.