What's the point in staying legit?

Oskar · Joined: Jul 29, 2004 Posts: 1751 Location: Norway

I have a lil' ol' Pro Tools LE running on my lil' ol' Mac G4 800 MHz; All legit and proper. Yeah, yeah, I know I KNOW, what an idiot who doesn't use craked versions, okay, fair play to anybody who can point that out to me.
Anyhow, I stupidly decided to test a Cubase version (a non-commercial version to put it nicely), and since then I cant get me PTLE back in line, as every time I try to start it, I get a message that says "Digidesign hardware is in use by another application (-1133)"
Balls! I've erased all "irrelevant" software I've been able to hunt down on my Mac, un-installed and re-installed PTLE and CoreAudio several times, going both to version 6.7 and 6.9, but I still get that annoying message. This from a company that would have you believe that theirs is the best software and hardware you can buy. Tried to get support from the good people at Digidesign, but I apparently haven't registered my ProTools. I have, but not the correct way, so now they view me as a criminal who must be treated as scum of the earth. Fair enough, but I'm just about to give up on the whole computer based recording lark - you have to be a boffin, and I'm just an idiot who plays a few instruments to a reaonably high level. Bah! Humbug!

seraph · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 1:57 pm Post subject:

Dear Oskar
I guess you'll have to reinstall your operating system because the "non-commercial" version of Cubase f***ed up your computer (core midi/audio) big time Exclamation

I am sorry to tell you about it but I am quite sure I am right Crying or Very sad

Stein, what do you think?

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 2:05 pm Post subject:

I am fairly sure this can be fixed. I have seen this reported ( I know more about the symptomps than what Oskar posted here ) on some lists. This has mainly to do about PTLE and not Cubase.

Oskar, first of all, create a new user, log in.. start PTLE and see what happens. We can look into this on tuesday? Bring the box and all your install CDs and codes and shit.

Oskar · Joined: Jul 29, 2004 Posts: 1751 Location: Norway

Cheers! As always there's someone with a clearer head than mine. This was meant more as a bellow of reage against ALL manufacturers operating in the field of electronic music making, though. They insist on making sure you stay within THEIR clearly defined boundaries, and you must not stray from that. I don't understand why they insist on such rigid demarcation - if you work in Cubase you can only use vst, if you work in logic you can only work in au, if you work in ProTools you must work with RTAS (rat arse for short) and so on. BAH! HUMBUG! Evil or Very Mad

When I play, I like to mix and match (on a good night I make ABBA songs sound different - a sort of acoustic blues-punk-karaoke version with a dollop of unintentional atonality), but that's mucho mal in the world of DAWs. During the first few years of MIDI, I naively thought thta the musical instrument industry and outlying regions would continue working in such a way that you could buy pieces of gear from different manufacturers and make them work together (relatively) painlessly. Nowadays, with the logic of the computer world well and truly embedded in the musical world, it's each company for themselves, and you'd be lucky to be able to even share MIDI files between different applications.
Tossers, the lot of them! Clever tossers, by all means, but tossers al the same. Evil or Very Mad

seraph · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:20 pm Post subject:

mosc · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 4:30 pm Post subject:

I'm amazed computers are as popular as they are. You bring up a couple of points.

In general, I have regretted using cracked versions of software. I usually get burned with some technical problem. About 15 years ago, I decided that if I'm going to seriously use a software product, I would buy it. I do this primarilly because:

1) I have a vested self-interest in the company staying in business.

2) When I need support, I need it immediately.

There are other reasons including that I try to live with as much integrity as possible.

I also made a decision that if I am going to seriously use a software product, I would keep current with the latest releases. I have found that when you call for support, the first question is "what version are you running?" and if the answer is not "the latest" then invariably their answer will be "upgrade and call us back".

These two rules, "Pay and Upgrade", combined with my inherent cheapness keep my software environment relatively simple and robust.

Kassen · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 6:27 pm Post subject:

I do the same, except that for some purposes (mainly playing live) I´ll use the last verion I know for sure is stable instead of the latest per-se.

mosc · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 9:08 pm Post subject:

Yes, I guess it's an art form knowing when to actually use the new version. Sometimes, when the new verision is released, it can motivate one to stop seriously using the program.

Kassen · Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 8:20 am Post subject:

I dunno, I don´t that much software. New Live´s will be anounced on the board there, there are email newsletters, etc. I occasionally check for new drivers.

dmosc · Joined: Jun 23, 2003 Posts: 298

you know, this underlying problem of their being a point when the tool is simply too complex to be at all useful was very clear to me after Amy Newburg (sp)'s tech talk. I mean, she had stuff up there that could easily have been done "better" on a laptop but when she started explaining the level of reliance she had on "this being here" and "starts when I hit this" just made a computer next to impossible.

The level crap we put up with is amazing. This only works with this version, on this service pack of this program when it's overcast and between 30 and 32 degrees!

Oskar · Joined: Jul 29, 2004 Posts: 1751 Location: Norway

jksuperstar · Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:17 pm Post subject:

At least every full moon, I kill two chickens and swing them over my head. Aside from the wonderful paint job I now have, I am also fairly demon free.

I wish some programs could take lessons from Engineering software, which is to say: There is no self-updating & modifying code. Any version is a complete stand-alone system, allowing one to install many versions side-by-side. Hard drives & storage are cheap these days-- time, however, is not. You can stick with what's working as long as you like, and if you come across a bug, you can run the "latest & greatest" just to see how it goes. If you still have a bug or misunderstood feature, by all means, call support. I also like a single configuration file (non-registry!!) that can be saved, edited, and chosen during program start. This is key to re-installing a system and getting it back the way you once had it. This should also be pointed out in any manual or help file the program may have.

Kassen · Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:39 pm Post subject:

dmosc · Joined: Jun 23, 2003 Posts: 298

who said they were useless? No, computers are definately the greatest tool humanity has ever seen, but they do have their limits. Mass distributed hardware/software can only do so much though.

v-un-v · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 8:46 am Post subject:

paul e. · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:49 am Post subject:

aren't computers made up of billions of little wheels... ? hehe

v-un-v · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:40 pm Post subject: