Mandolin Picker

"Saving Grace" - Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver

One other thing I'll throw out in this discussion. But let me preface this first by saying I love Cakewalk, have been using it close to 20 years, was one of those who originally paid cold hard cash for the program. I think its very good and use it almost everyday. However, Cakewalk (like most other Windows based software) is moving more and more to Windows 10 and compatibility with Windows 7 and 8 is no longer guaranteed. I understand the reasons and advantages of doing this. However, for me I will not be moving to Windows 10. I have too many issues with Windows 10. Instead I currently use Linux Mint for most everything I do on the computer (except audio). Have been using Linux for nearly 10 years now. Why do I bring this up? One thing that REAPER has that Cakewalk does not have is a Linux version. Cakewalk is very much a Windows product. REAPER can be used on Windows, Mac and Linux. If I create a template in Windows it transfers just fine to the Linux version, and vice-versa. One thing to be aware of is that REAPER for Linux is still considered experimental. But they do have versions for i686, x86-64, AARCH64 and ARM v71. Just something else to think about.

Here's a bit of uplifting news about the fires. A 5 year old sent a baby Yoda doll to the local fire fighters donation center. "A 5-year-old Oregon boy and his grandmother delivered a toy version of the pointy-eared Force user to a donation center for firefighters on Sept. 12 along with a note that read: “Here is a friend for you in case you get lonely.” Since then, Baby Yoda has been to four wildfires in two states, ridden in helicopters, checked people’s temperatures for COVID-19 symptoms, and even used “the Force” to move a firefighting tool known as a pulaski." Full article at https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/2020/10/01/spreading-force-baby-yoda-provides-boost-western-firefighters/5881512002/ There is a Facebook page to see all the places Baby Yoda has been "helping out". https://www.facebook.com/Baby-yoda-fights-fires-105042248019357/

Don't be surprised if you need to reinstall drivers (audio and video) and check all your settings. 2004 also had a nasty habit of deleting files and folders. I maintain a Windows 10 laptop for our church tech crew and 2004 hosed the laptop. I ended up having to do a fresh install to get everything back up and running.

That's the issue I have with the laptop that I maintain for our church. After an update it may take a week (or longer) to get it running stable. If I could keep it like that we would be fine. I push back updates as far as I can (I think it is like 45 days you can delay). But after that time period it will update, like it or not, and I usually have to spend another week putting settings back and getting it to run stable again.

Agree that all Window OS prior to Windows 10 had issues. However, Windows 10 changes the dynamic in a major way. Prior to Windows 10 you could watch the tech sites and tell if there was an issue with an update. There are always those who want to be on the cutting edge. They would find issues, report on the problems, and if available, any work-arounds. However, you could always wait until an update was stable before you installed it. That option is no longer available in Windows 10 (yes I know Enterprise edition allows that, but it is not realistic for the "average" user to pay the expensive price for the Enterprise edition). The best you can do in Windows 10 is "delay" the update. Even when you set up a delay it doesn't always work. I have had Windows 10 (with the delay properly set) update in the middle of a church service. You can't stop it. It takes over the machine. That is different - in a big way. I personally own one machine running 7 (its a Compaq that is about 10 years old but still does the job) and one machine running 8.1. I use the 8.1 machine for my audio work. Everything else is running Linux Mint. When CbB stops working on the 8.1 machine, I'll probably transition over to REAPER on Linux. Its not perfect, but it works. But there is no Windows 10 in my future. Keeping up the church's tech laptop is aggravating enough.

For some reason Amazon apparently thinks that I have started a new hobby of furnace humidifier collecting after we purchased one a month or so ago.

Which I believe goes back to the basic premise of the original posting and in fact validates the original posters question. Most technology things given away today have something else that pays for the product, and as you said it is typically your data. Its not unreasonable, especially if one is not familiar with the company, their business practices, etc. to look at "free" software with a skeptical eye. Open source (or Free as in freedom not free as in beer) software helps take some of that skepticism out of the equation because you can see the source code and compile it yourself. A review of the source (if you have the ability, or dependent on others who can) can reveal such issues. Closed source doesn't allow that type of scrutiny, so I didn't think the basic premise of the question (as I understood it) was unreasonable. And I think the responses about how BandLab is using the software and what they are getting out if was explained well.

One thing is for sure - Google, Facebook, Twitter and many others in the Tech industry have made billions of dollars giving away "free" stuff. Free search, free storage, free office software, free interactive discussion software, etc. There is plenty to be made by giving away the "right" free stuff.

And while some folks see that as a weakness, I tend to think of it as a strength. By the same token, its not for everybody. Some of us buy a car from the dealer with the options installed that we desire. For 4 (8, 10, 15) years we do nothing more than put gas in it, change the fluids regularly, and repair the stuff that breaks. Then there are the other folks who buy a car and commence to make it their own. New wheels, special paint, modifications to the engine, etc. Some vehicles are better at being "forked" into something different (I can get far more add-ons and accessories and regular parts for my 98 Jeep than a lot of other vehicles that are not near as old). Is it for everyone - nope. But for those who enjoy it, they can make something that is truly fascinating, unique and meets their needs.

One of the things I've noticed is that open source software seems to work best when it starts out as open source. LibreOffice/OpenOffice started as a commercial product (Star Office) years ago, and was subsequently released as open source. It took years to decipher and clean the code base. Today the product is very good, but it took a long time before they could even try to move forward.

The Original Avengers

Citizen DJ is a new website offering free samples from the US Library of Congress. The Library of Congress is the US’s primary library and contains more than three million sound recordings. It’s also part of the US Copyright Office; this is significant because it means that you can be confident that anything you download from Citizen DJ can be used for free and without restriction. The library is divided into collections of everything from free music to government films, speeches and interviews. The project is scheduled to run until September 2020. http://citizendj.labs.loc.gov.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/?l11_uid=66666