PTFree-OSX : now it's really time

[Simon666]

Yes I've searched out all the related posts and know that you can't use PT free in OSX or Classic mode .....

And yes Digi, you've probably shifted some extra M-Boxes as the Free users you picked up in 2000-2001 move onto OSX-only macs. Great marketing, great product and all admiration etc etc.

But we're getting pretty far down the track of the world of OSX-only macs; Apple have bought Logic and are sure to release a scaled-down free competitor; and other free tools are appearing.

EDIT : Five months after this post, one week into "Garage Band". Do you guys get it now? *slaps useless marketing department*

Surely it's time to pick up a new base of users, even from your own financial perspective ? Same goes for the Win98/XP jump (even more so, in fact).

Any plans? rough date, give or take a few months ?

p.s. just to give my perspective on this one - taught Protools for the last ten years at an art school : PTFree on basic lab computers with Dig-001s on a few, also 3 studios with HD systems, M-Boxes and Digi001s once they've learnt the basics. Turned hundreds of students onto Protools (both mac and pc) and saved them from the push-button Fruity Loops path. So i guess reliant on PT Free for the large labs. Computers turning over in six months so no more Free.
Watching two things :
1. Students not taking an app seriously that only runs on OS9 or Win98/ME
2. Trying to work out how to run courses next year. Going to have to go to drastic number reductions or possibly start to replace Protools altogether with Logic or something - including the HD studios (the hardware of which will be able yto pick up Logic. But then again free Apple/Logic isn't ready yet either ...

[Simon666]

well didn't think I'd get any answer ... but it's always worth a try [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[BHeller]

Yeah, I've got exactly the same problem as an educator. I've made a lot of exercises for the edit modes, tools, routing, etc. specifically for PT Free with screen shots, and now I'm not sure what I'll be able to do with them-- It was a lot of work.

HOWEVER, I read in the fine-print of EM this month that PT Free for OS X has "been announced but not released." Where would this annoucement be?

[stlaurent]

I completely agree with this topic. I'm an audio teacher and it was very useful to get a free pro-tools software on Mac Os 9. After the course, some students bought a complete Pro-Tools version. It is impossible now with the new mac system (OSX). It's a bad thing i think.

[Milamber]

Here is a post a made in the Windows Pro Tools FREE forum:

I think a version of Pro Tools FREE for Mac OS X and WinXP would be very useful to both users and to Digidesign.

A lot of people would like to have a recent version of PT that I could run on a laptop, without special hardware. A new version of PT that runs on Mac OS X and WinXP would help address that need.

Also, an up to date version of PT FREE could influence more people to buy a PT system. For example, after playing around with PT FREE I was convinced this was the system I wanted to use. So, I bought a Digi 001 and later an HD|3 system.


Mark

I agree that a Pro Tools FREE update for OS X would be great for students and for other users. After buying both Cubase and Logic, I realized that I spent more time messing with then or trying to get them running correctly on my computer than actually composing and recording music. I read a lot about Pro Tools and decided that before buying another DAW, I would take a Pro Tools class at a local city college. In the class they used PTLE on AMIII cards and I was able to do all my assignments at home on my Mac with Pro Tools FREE. This was great! After completing the course, I decided that PT was what I was looking for so I bought a Digi 001. As my needs grew, I sold my 001 and bought an HD|3 system and I'm happily running PT 6.1 on OS X.

I could really use PT FREE for OS X right now. Yesterday, I installed OS9 and PT FREE on my wife's iMac so I could record MIDI and trigger Mach Five from our Clavinova (which is in another room, far from the PT|HD system). Going back to OS9 and PT FREE has been very painful. Mach Five keeps crashing because of out of memory errors and OS9 just isn't as intuitive for me as OS X is.

If you have a beta version of PT FREE for OS X, I'd love to try it.


Mark

[Simon666]

HOWEVER, I read in the fine-print of EM this month that PT Free for OS X has "been announced but not released." Where would this annoucement be?

Could you possibly give me a ref for the EM quote ? Is that from the online version?
Thanks,
Simon

[Milamber]

Simon,

I did a search on EM's site and found the quote here:

Electronic Musician, Aug 1, 2003 - "Too Much Good Stuff - Mac"

Pro Tools Free 5.01 (Mac OS 9, Win; freeware)
Web www.digidesign.com
This version of Digidesign's workhorse audio editor offers up to 8 tracks of audio, 48 tracks of MIDI, real-time plug-ins, and many other pro features. An OS X version has been announced but has yet to be released.

Mark

[Simon666]

Thanks for that Mark. Wish there was an actual quote from Digi to be found.

So what are all of you guys above and other teachers doing in the absence of an OSX PT free version ?
There's no way we can go into 2004 without a full switchover to OSX in our labs - the computers are at the end of their lease, and i've held us back on OS9 as long as possible.

At the moment i'm looking at Audacity as a basic audio editing tool for the beginners, keeping the M-box/HD/Digi001s in the studios - means the students will have to learn two systems though. As soon as Apple inevitably release their cut-down free Logic version, if there's no PT Free announced, we'll look at switching over - Logic, of course, can use HD software.

I don't like Logic nearly as much as Protools (my software of choice for ten years) , but there seems to be no other options, and Digi's refusal to answer these threads must mean that they're not even near "announcement" stage.

I really can't understand what Digi's take is on this at this stage of the game, surely they realise how many people they're losing this year ? My guess is there must be some tech problem, because business-wise, any idiot could see that they're digging a hole for themselves.

[kmshroom]

So what are all of you guys above and other teachers doing in the absence of an OSX PT free version ?

At the moment i'm looking at Audacity as a basic audio editing tool for the beginners, keeping the M-box/HD/Digi001s in the studios - means the students will have to learn two systems though. As soon as Apple inevitably release their cut-down free Logic version, if there's no PT Free announced, we'll look at switching over - Logic, of course, can use HD software.

..and it happened. Logic Fun;

http://www.emagic.de/education/downl...rm.php?lang=EN

[Simon666]

I meant "Logic can use HD hardware of course .....

Grrr ... I don't like Logic, but i guess i'm gonna have to learn it now that we're going OSX.