I've been thinking about crafting an entire operating system with all composers' tools in it after install. I hope to gather here some ideas on what should and shouldn't be included in this OS.

Why?
I first saw UbuntuStudio, which was great, and then KXStudio, which was the best I've seen since then. The problem with these builds, I find (their unmatched flexibility aside), is that it doesn't appeal to the end-user, as these OS seem to be geared towards very tech-savvy people. Users don't want to be connecting wires in JACK or PatchBay, configuring for a full day before finally composing; they want to begin immediately while ideas are still fresh in their minds.

Introducing the AIO OS
Hence I propose the idea of an all-in-one Windows OS... built for composers.

Features for the Moment

• Kontakt 5 pre-installed
• 33GB of kontakt libraries
• REAPER latest version
• Ableton latest version
• FL Studio
• Cubase 5
• Max 6
• Traktor 2
• Resolume Aveneue

Other Tools

• DIrectory Opus (File Management)
• Sublime Text 2 (coding stuff)
• Everything (Mass searches)
• Eset Internet Security
• SRWARE Iron for Secure Browsing
• Paragon HFS+ for Hackintosh
• EXT2FSD for Linux users

Installation
I am looking at a number of options, all requiring the user to "recover" their Windows to a drive. Though I have only conducted limited research, it appears that I can create an image in Acronis Backup; I've also heard of DiskInternals. If anyone else knows of a good back-up/recovery solution, please post here. I am still looking into the best solution of distributing this OS.

FAQ

Indeed, but start times are lightning-fast, and for the composer this is essential. Getting the idea onto the "score" is vital. But yes, beware it can crap out on you. But that's the very point of having this "recovery disc", because you just restore when that happens.

At the moment, the best solution I can think of for this is using multiple discs. It may be possible to install via another hard drive, but that would likely require formatting the hard drive. I hope to learn more about this as posts come along.

I'm not sure at the moment, but depending on this pitch's popularity, it may be here before Fall.

Final Notes

• All content proposed should be entirely legal, as audiosex does not host warez
• Windows 8 will expire in the Fall
• This post is merely to gather input and feedback on this idea; in no way does this guarantee such a release.

 

"All content proposed should be entirely legal, as audiosex does not host warez"

-----
Features for the Moment

Kontakt 5 pre-installed
33GB of kontakt libraries
REAPER latest version
Ableton latest version
FL Studio
Cubase 5
Max 6
Traktor 2
Resolume Aveneue
------

errr......

 

i m sorry bro,but i think users will skip directly from windows 7 to windows 9 when it is released,i doubt any serious musician will ever use w8.much beeter keeping on using w7 until microsoft comes out with something that s not stupid

 

Windows 8 Consumer Preview is faster and slightly better for professional audio than the already impressive Windows 7 (I ran and tested first the developer preview and then the consumer preview first hand). The Metro UI (if one doesn't like it) can be disabled with a number of free apps from Deviantart.. takes about 30 seconds.

What on earth is 'stupid' about using Windows 8?

 

I would love to see a scaled down, efficient version of Windows 8 optimized for audio applications. The jury is still out regarding Windows 7 vs Windows 8. It's really impossible to tell until hardware drivers for Windows 8 are available.

 

Thanks for your feedback. This is true about Reaper; however, the entire goal of the recovery is to be able to have a comprehensive starting tool. Yes, professional composers will have their own templates, and that's totally fine. They would simply have to download the entire thing, only selecting the parts they wanted. Otherwise, what's the point of just recovering to 5-6 applications? It may not have been established earlier, but I think the target audience for this "OS" is starting composers.

Once again, to re-iterate the installation process: users will have to install Windows 8 manually themselves. Following the installation, they will have to install Acronis Home, using the trial (or paid version), and restore to a backup, containing all of these programs and features.

 

I don't get the point of it. It sounds like packaging together a bunch of daws and some Ui modifications, and disabling some windows options/programs. The UI changes wont matter much since most people full screen their daws, and no one should use a studio computer for normal internet activity, not to mention anti-virus/malware etc can eat away at resources needed for audio production. In the end I think you better just putting together your win8 transform kit with a tutorial and that's it. No one really wants to download a bunch of DAW's when they only use 1 or 2 and the kontakt libraries are a crapshoot. 33g could be taken up by 2 kontakt libraries or just be a bunch of worthless ones that are specially for 1 genre of music.

I can tell you have a big idea in your head but I think you lacking the practicality of it all. Not to mention the unneeded additions that venture past legalities.

 

I've been thinking about crafting an entire operating system with all composers' tools in it after install??
Good for You ! Next

 

i think this is irrelevant...

better to use whatever windows do you like and install whatever you like in it

 

Sibelius 7 And finale 2012 are essentials on this windows composer's distro, and the installation of sibelius should be connected with kontakt libraries.

this programs are essentials in this windows composer's distro. that is a great idea.

sibelius 7 y finale deberían estar presentes en esta versión de windows para compositores, ya que son programas usados como complementos en la tarea de composición. el sibelius 7 seria genial que se instalara ya programado para que corra con las librerías del kontakt, ¡ESO SERIA GENIAL!. es una gran idea sacar un paquete de windows con estas características, ya que son muy útiles.

Saludos desde Colombia, a la espera que el proyecto se consolide!. *yes*

 

i bought win7, it still crashes. i use xp for producing. win 8..sounds ok..

 

w8 is far from being thought as a desktop OS,and i challenge anyone with a last generation pc to notice performance differences between 7 and 8.
why should someone use third party apps from deviantart to change a brand new OS?

 

Don't get the point of this eighter.. like why to get millions of megabytes of something you have no use? Rather craft the operating system itself from the producers point of view by removing unnecessary processes and services. Other than that, seems like a bloatware.

 

That's simply not true. Microsoft are attempting to greatly expand the reach of their OS, not just change it to suit a market where they are years behind Apple and even Samsung . . that would be business suicide and they know it. Desktop systems are Microsoft's bread and butter.

Windows 8 is already faster and lighter than Windows 7 and unless something goes terribly wrong between the Consumer Preview and the imminent official release then the final version will be optimised even further.

I definitely notice the boot time decrease.. the system footprint is smaller and memory management is better.. minor things taken alone but they definitely add up to a larger whole as anyone who has worked with computers should know! System DPC latency seemed to be even less than under Windows 7.. very good for professional audio! Not to mention the new file system ReFS which I won't waste space talking about here, suffice to say that it brings a lot to the table for data storage performance and reliability. You can check that out here: blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/01/16/building-the-next-generation-file-system-for-windows-refs.aspx

Well I wouldn't personally, but it removes what seems to be the only criticism I've seen of the Windows 8 OS: the Metro UI. Given that the Metro UI can be disabled in less time than one would spend wiping their own arse and that you don't seem to have any genuine criticisms of it as far as I can tell (other than "it's stupid") then I fail to see what the issue is..

As far as drivers go I've had no problem installing Windows 7 drivers as of yet and have based my impressions of the OS on my experience using these existing drivers.. I imagine performance and stability would only increase with drivers optimised for Windows 8.


As far as the actual topic here goes I think the idea is cool but the AIO OS is way too 'heavy' as it stands. IMHO you want something like this to be as slim as possible, I think ArticStorm said the same thing.. but everyone's going to have different opinions so you may as well just do what you want, it's not too hard for someone else to do the same thing with their preferred programs..

 

This is a bad idea because you're imbedding soon to be obsolete software in an OS. It would be a matter of time before you have to trash that whole Win 8 OS because some old embedded software becomes totally incompatible with some new or future piece of software the user tried to add. There's nothing worst than having old outdated obsolete software built into your OS.

And if the old software could be deleted from the OS when needed why put it in there for the user anyway when he could do it himself?

This idea wouldn't work for including software that becomes obsolete in 6-12 months.

 

Taking into consideration the poll results, I will be moving forward with a Windows 8 release... but on two conditions:

1. It will be released with the FINAL version of Windows 8. Users expressed a lot of concern regarding the solidity of Windows 8. I, myself, have encountered a number of issues using my RME FireFace 400. Once Windows 8 is released, RME will have to support Windows 8, resolving the existing bugs.
2. The samples themselves will be included in a separate "package", in the form of a backup.

As per the issue of "outdated software", I feel it's the user's responsibility to update the software. Once Windows 8 is released, it will be the software companies' responsibility to maintain compatibility with Windows 8.

I thank you all very much for your comments and suggestions. I will post as I complete this AIO OS.

 

Well said.. take other's suggestions but trust your own judgement in the end.

 

Hey everyone.

I am now looking into moving forward with this project. Once I can test my RME device working with Windows 8, free of bugs, I will move forward. I'm just dealing with RME right now, working out some compatibility kinks for their Windows 8 support for their devices. Hang tight. We need to wait for more devices to be supported, and the least I can do is make sure my interface works.

Also, I've mostly crafted the library, but I'm still in the process of moving instruments around/configuring multis for optimal use (grouping Kontakt instances, freezing instances, etc.).

I will post as the project nears release.