EQ Magazine - February 2008 - (Page 4) Talk Box “IT’S GOOD ENOUGH”—OR IS IT? For those into computers as a spectator sport, Microsoft’s Windows Vista has provided plenty of spectacle: It was hyped for years, delayed, had features cut back, then limped into a marketplace where not only had Windows XP become accepted as a reliable standard, but one where a resurging Apple was regaining traction. To further muddy the waters, Vista had one foot in the 32-bit world, and another in 64 bits. The new OS was greeted mostly with yawns; some computer manufacturers even rejected Vista altogether, and shipped new computers with Windows XP . No, you’re not reading PC World . . . there’s a larger issue here. I think Vista, while not for everyone, has considerable merit. It’s not the paradigm shift Microsoft had promised, but as XP’s successor, it delivers quite a few new and compelling features. And regarding 64-bit operation, I’ve used Sonar 7 and several interfaces with excellent results (both WDM and ASIO). Yet it seems a growing trend is to feel the status quo is “good enough, and people see no need for Vista because ” “XP is good enough” (and for most people, it indeed is). Similarly, while some use 96kHz sampling rates, for most people 44.1 or 48kHz is “good enough. And sure, while PCIe sound” cards are faster, PCI ones are usually “good enough. ” But we need to be careful not to let “good enough” keep us from implementing genuine improvements. Consider the audibly superior SACD format: The standard Red Book CD, and MP3s suitable for loading into portable players, were “good enough” and as a result, we’re stuck with lower quality. VHS was “good enough” compared to the better Beta format, and American cars were “good enough”—until the Japanese showed us they really weren’t. There’s no need to embrace new and different technology just because it’s new and different (“if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”). But in the process of being rightfully skeptical of every “latest and greatest” thing that comes along, be careful not to reject something that does have value. It’s important to look at, say, Vista with an open mind to determine whether it offers features you might find useful, then weigh the pros and cons (and there are plenty of both). Ditto 96kHz recording: Try it, and if you can’t hear a difference, no harm done. But if it does sound better, then it’s worth the extra hard disk space, computer resources, and time spent vetting which plug-ins work well at higher sample rates. The bottom line, as always, is “don’t believe the hype. ” Just remember that sometimes, the hype really is true. www.eqmag.com Vol. 19 No. 2 February 2008 Executive Editor: Craig Anderton, canderton@musicplayer.com Editor: Matt Harper, mharper@musicplayer.com Managing Editor: Debbie Greenberg, dgreenberg@musicplayer.com Contributors: Merrick Angle, Moses Avalon, Bruce Bartlett, Hal Cragin, Devine Evans, Cliff Goldmacher, Roberto Martinelli, Jay Matheson, Shane Mehling, Michael Molenda, Brian Murphy, Phil O’Keefe, Greg Reynolds, Michael Ross, Jake Wood Art Director: Paul Haggard, phaggard@musicplayer.com Asst. Art Director: Damien Castaneda, dcastaneda@musicplayer.com Staff Photographers: Paul Haggard, phaggard@musicplayer.com, Craig Anderton, canderton@musicplayer.com Publisher: John Pledger Associate Publisher & Advertising Director, Northeast: Gary Ciocci gciocci@musicplayer.com, 603.924.9141 Advertising Director, Northwest & New Business Dev.: Greg Sutton gsutton@musicplayer.com, 925.425.9967 Advertising Director, Southwest: Jon Levy jlevy@musicplayer.com, 818.994.3800 Advertising Director, Midwest: Jessica Sullivan jsullivan@musicplayer.com, 661.255.2719 Advertising Director, Southeast & NY: Grace Newman gnewman@musicplayer.com, 631.239.1460 Specialty Sales Advertising Director: Mike Montgomery mmontgomery@musicplayer.com, 650.238.0307 Specialty Sales Assistant: Allison Smith asmith@musicplayer.com, 650.238.0296 Production Manager: Amy Santana MUSIC PLAYER NETWORK Group Publisher/VP: John Pledger Editorial Director: Michael Molenda Senior Financial Analyst: Bob Jenkins Production Department Manager: Beatrice Kim Group Project Manager: Lauren Gerber Web Director: Max Sidman Web Editor: Lania Cortez Motion Graphics Designer: Tim Tsuruda Marketing Director: Christen Pocock McFarland Sales and Marketing Coordinator: Molly Corman Marketing Designer: Joelle Katcher Systems Engineer: John Meneses Associate Circulation Director: Cheri McElroy Circulation Promotions Manager: Maribel Aleman Fulfillment Manager: Rosario Perez NEWBAY MEDIA CORPORATE President & CEO: Steve Palm Chief Financial Officer: Paul Mastronardi Vice President Web Development: Joe Ferrick Circulation Director: Denise Robbins Marketing Director: Nancy Gregson HR Manager: Ray Vollmer IT Director: Greg Topf Controller: Jack Liedke Please direct all advertising and editorial inquiries to: EQ, 1111 Bayhill Dr., Ste. 125, San Bruno, CA 94066 (650) 238-0300; Fax (650) 238-0262; eq@musicplayer.com Please direct all subscription orders, inquiries, and address changes to: 800-289-9919, outside the U.S. 978-667-0364, eqmag@computerfulfillment.com Back Issues: Back Issues are available for $10 each at 800-289-9919, 978-667-0364, eqmag@computerfulfillment.com EQ (ISSN 1050-7868) is published monthly by NewBay Media, LLC 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066. EQ is a trademark of NewBay Media. All material published in EQ is copyrighted (©) 2007 by NewBay Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in EQ is prohibited without written permission. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EQ., P.O. Box 232, Lowell, MA 01853. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork. All product information is subject to change; publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. All listed model numbers and product names are manufacturers' registered trademarks. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Bruno, CA, and at additional mailing offices. 4 EQ FEBRUARY 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com
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