Back in the mid-'90s, when I was editing Music & Computers magazine, we got an equal number of letters from Mac and Windows users griping that we were giving too much coverage to the other platform. So I figured we were doing something right.

Today, with computers cheaper than ever, it's not uncommon to use multiple operating systems. I split my music-making time between a Mac tower and a Windows Vista laptop, for example, while also dabbling with standalone instruments and recorders. And there are even options like Studio To Go that include a complete operating system and music apps on a disc. Pop the CD into your computer and the machine boots up with a whole new personality. (Though STG seems to be on hiatus now.)

Still, I'm curious what operating systems you're using, and why. What's the one creativity application that makes you stick with Windows, Mac, Linux, or something else? Please leave a comment after the poll.

What's the one creativity application that makes you stick with Windows, Mac, Linux, or something else?

Logic Studio.

Good call. I've also heard of a lot of composers running Digital Performer on a Mac and triggering multiple PCs running GigaStudio, so it is possible to mix and match.

After being stranded when my original sequencer didn't make the leap to OS X or Windows, though, I settled on a cross-platform DAW (Ableton Live), which is running happily on my Mac and my Vista laptop.

Thinking more generally, there are way more freeware VST plugins for Windows than Mac, but I'm happy that one of my favorites, Delay Lama, runs on both. I even spied its smiley interface in a demo of Spectrasonics' upcoming Omnisphere.

Digital Performer on the Mac (+many others)

Also, the huge investment in software for only the Mac Platform and the general fluidity and reliability of the Mac OS and hardware. Although I also have a PC, the cost of switching software between platforms (not to mention the time it would take to re-register and re-install) greatly outweighs the cost of the hardware itself. Even just one or two pro-level apps or music libraries can cost more than the hardware. So it always surprises me how many people focus on the relatively small difference in hardware prices.

I do greatly appreciate companies that sell software licenses to the individual user and not the computer or platform. Its very liberating to purchase software and be free to use it on your platform of choice, or whatever hardware you happen to be working on at the time. I tend to find graphic software companies offer this choice more often than music software companies for whatever reason (probably they have a larger market thus making it more cost-effective to develop for both platforms). Companies such as Luxology or E-on let me use software on either platform. Other companies (which shall remain nameless) want me to purchase their software twice if I wish to use it on another OS platform which seems rather restrictive to me.

This post has been edited by Gregory D. Moore: Mar 11 2008, 08:51 AM