Reaper is not an ugly duckling anymore !

[Bevoss]

MOST people when putting software on a different computer do NOT just transfer an entire file structure over. MOST people will do a fresh install on the new computer. They transfer their settings over, sure. But I have not seen very many people in my life, nor have I seen the purpose in doing so, who 'move' software from one computer to another.

Pffft...let's see. Off the top of my head, how about using someone's laptop to record a live gig or rehearsal? How about using a spare computer at a pro studio or friends house? It's MUCH easier to copy 2 small folders to a hard drive than do an install and setup of most software, and it's non-invasive of their registry (one registry entry? Sheesh, you're splitting hairs mate ). And since Reaper fit's on a USB stick, it's easy to take that functionality with you, or even just run the program off the stick. I'm sure there's other scenarios, but that should suffice.

You can keep saying how it's not a useful feature to you, but there's certainly others that value that ability, me being one. I don't feel a need to convince you though.

[Tronam]

The registry isn't evil, but it's certainly not necessary and has grown to become one of the most bloated, convoluted hierarchical databases in all of computerdom. I love self-contained applications that don't depend upon the registry to function (key word, "function", not a random uninstall key). I like the fact that I can rename the application folder after I've installed it and it doesn't break a thousand pointers. Or, I could nuke & pave my OS partition, reinstall Windows and launch the application without having to worry about any lost registry settings. Yes, with lots of experience rooting around in the HKCU and HKLM software keys, you can usually archive most vital settings for an application, but what if you have 50 programs that you want to back up settings for? Ugh. The registry is a carry over from the Win95/NT4 days. Oh, if only MS would phase it out or reduce it down to the most basic functions... i.e. file extension associations and windows metrics.

[koolkeys]

I'm not going to even begin to say that the registry shouldn't be necessary. Surely there are better ways. That's not my point. My point is that if a program DOES write to the registry, it doesn't make it a bad program. Again, MOST people will not have a need to just drag a couple folders over. Most people will be able to install the program on the different machine. Obviously using somebody else's machine is a situation where it could be used, but I would never dream of using some random machine from somebody else to do work that I personally will be working on.

Bevoss, you find use in it, and that's fine. So do others. But I would suggest that you are in the minority. And obviously there is NO way to prove either way, so it's kind of useless going on about it.

I'll say it again though. If you watch over your registry and don't install software from people you don't trust or know, then 99% of all registry problems will never show themselves to you. I've been running several machines for years on end and never once had a problem with the registry. I do keep my registry trim. And I do prefer applications that remove their own registry entries. THAT is an advantage for me.

Regardless, it's really useless to argue, and I'm not expecting anyone to agree with me. That's what opinions are for! But the last thing that I will use to determine what software I buy is whether or not it writes to the registry. For me, if I'm going to be doing any kind of professional work, I'm going to either use my own machine, or use what the studio has, or install what I need on the studio's computer. But most of the time, a simple export and import between machines is standard.


I'll let you in on a secret. I like Reaper. I really do. It doesn't do everything I need, nor will it be replacing what I use any time soon, as it adds no value for me at this time. But I do like working with it for some things, regardless of the downfalls for how I work. But I just think that putting any emphasis on the fact that it's portable is surely secondary to the more important features. The fact that the FIRST feature listed is that it is portable makes me just wonder who Justin is trying to reach. Obviously people will read the rest of the features, but really, is that the feature you want to set your sights on first? Surely that has to be WAAAAAAYYYY down on the importance list of features?

For me, it's not a selling point, but just rather, an added bonus for the few who will actually USE that feature in a real setting instead of just running around saying "lookee here, I can run my studio from my flash drive".

Then again, what I say really doesn't matter here, so I'll shut up now.

Brent

[hoffy]

If Reaper can be run off a USB flash disk...

Why is it that whenever anyone who uses it is near a computer they are obliged to make a post about it instead of using the fuckin' software?

I mean... Half the Reaper posts are just cut and pasted from it's own internet site anyway.

It's not like Sonar or Pro Tools users find every positive post on their respective forums and then just post them here.

28 pages... f**k. And the point is...? Some idiots think Reaper isn't ugly anymore.

If your eyes weren't damaged from typing on forums all day you'd realise that it actually is fuckin' ugly.

[guitarzan]

28 pages... f**k. And the point is...? Some idiots think Reaper isn't ugly anymore.

Well, you could spend your valuable time reading what some other idiot thinks about another lame KVR topic. The original point of this thread was to show that REAPER is fully skinnable now - it can look pretty much any way you want it to. The topic has gone everywhere since then.

I agree that the USB thing probably shouldn't be the main selling point - to me the main selling point is that it is by far the most intuitive DAW I have used and it is uncrippled unexpiring shareware that only costs $40 to register for personal use - then if you ever make significant money using the software you are only expected to pay the difference for the commercial licence (+$160, total $200 for the commercial license). That has got to be the absolute coolest business model of all time, and it is actually turning a profit from what I've read!! Pay when you get the cash....Amazing!!

Don't fear the REAPER.

[Tronam]

There's no need to proclaim that what you say "doesn't matter", koolkeys. That isn't true. If nothing anyone said mattered, then there's no way this community could function at all (though I suppose everyone's idea of "function" might be different). I must have missed the previous portion of the discussion on whether or not 'self-contained' vs. 'registry using' should rank high on the feature list. I would hope that most rational folks consider Reaper's non-reliance on the registry as simply a bonus or perk (unless you actually *prefer* registry dependent applications). Anyone who has used and depends on Windows for any length of time eventually has to come to terms with the registry. It's huge, it's memory resident, it's here to stay, and it gets used a *lot*. All you have to do is run regmon sometime to realize that keys are being read and written to 100s of times a second and that's just when the system is idle. But I digress.

I like programs that hang out in their own folder because I'm a neat and tidy computer geek. Most folks couldn't care less and while I don't particularly like the registry (especially after 7 years in corporate IT tech support), I grudgingly use it all the time. It certainly wouldn't be a significant deciding factor in whether or not I install and use an excellent application though. That would strike me as really over-the-top-anal-form-over-function.

[Bevoss]

I agree that the USB thing probably shouldn't be the main selling point -

But it's not the main selling point at all! That piece was buried down the bottom of the Reaper page, until Lawrence, a Cubase user who also uses Reaper, gushed about what a unique selling point that was...so now it's been placed at the top of the page. I'm pretty sure Justin is more concerned with coding new features, squashing bugs, and getting the mac version up to speed, than the order of the Reaper page.

It must be useful though, I know Pipeline and Art Evans both take Reaper with them on a flash drive, in case they need to use it.

Registry smegistry, I keep mine clean with Registry Repair Wizard, but I can guarantee Reaper will never be a problem EVER.

[koolkeys]

That's the thing. If you actually pay attention to what you put on your computer and clean the registry every so often just in case, you will NEVER have problems with the vast majority of applications. I never have, and I was just talking to my friend the other day about this, and he never has.

Same as people who don't connect their DAW to the internet. Heck, every DAW I've ever owned has been connected, and I've never had the problems that those people are supposedly trying to prevent.

It's just a matter of me caring about the machine that makes me my money.

Brent

[shogger]

For me, it's not a selling point, but just rather, an added bonus for the few who will actually USE that feature in a real setting instead of just running around saying "lookee here, I can run my studio from my flash drive".

I think that Justin doesn't see the portability as the most important feature. On the video that showed him recently demoing Reaper at a "show" the last sentence was about Reaper running of his stick. So ...

Shogger

[koolkeys]

Well, I was referring more to the fact that it's the first thing listed on the reaper site, and the fact that it seems like every other day I hear another user bragging about this 'feature', when in the grand scheme of things is just an added bonus and not nearly as important as the routing or anything else.

Brent

[Art Evans]

If you'd just spent about two hours downloading and installing a typical sized DAW app, and you read that Reaper is a couple of Mb and can run off a USB drive, then reading that might make you realise the style of the thing, regardless of whether you actually want to do it.

Portable apps seem to be the next big thing. Many USB hard drives are now being targetted at users who no longer take their laptop to and from their home and place of work - which might just be a studio! - just take a drive loaded with your portable software and data (readily backed up at either end) and leave the laptop warriors trying impress people on the train with their knees getting hot. No need to worry about perhaps having to reinstall Windows every so often when it gets tired (something I always thought was a waste of time till I recently did it...) and then reinstall all those apps - if you can find the installers and serial nos - no, with portable apps things get soooo much easier.

I mean, if portable apps had been invented first, would anyone think that installed apps represented an advance?

Yrs, Art, from Firefox running on a portable drive.

[tamoore]

I'm just going to mention one way in which I think that the 'USB install/no serious registry entry' thing could be used very effectively, and can make that feature very worthwhile...

Now, I'm not a Reaper user, or fan. I have the demo installed on two computers, and every once in a while I'll fire it up if I have a question on how it does something. Generally, I'm impressed by its quality, but I still think even at it's slim price point of 40 dollars, a 99 dollar copy of Tracktion 3 is better in many aspects, but that not really what I want to talk about, and YMMV....

Right now, I have my last album 99% mixed, but I like to have an engineer friend of mine listen over the raw pre-mastered mixes, so he can give me his seal of approval. One of the problems with doing a 100% self produced album is that your ears are the only ones to hear the stuff for six straight months, so it's a good idea to get someone else's input.

Since I use Tracktion, I have to have my friend come to my studio so he can listen to each mix so I can make changes to things in real time as he listens. The downside is he's monitoring on my monitors, in my room, which he is really not accustomed to at all.

If my mixes were done in Reaper, and I had a 4 gig USB drive, I could take my whole recording project, on my USB drive, plug into his machine, and have my native work files in his studio to do real time mix updates, while he monitors on his equipment in his room, which he knows infinitely well.

This is a CLEAR benefit of this type of installation power, and one that can not be glossed over. It's huge, and I'd use it tomorrow if that was my native host....

[aMUSEd]

MOST people when putting software on a different computer do NOT just transfer an entire file structure over. MOST people will do a fresh install on the new computer. They transfer their settings over, sure. But I have not seen very many people in my life, nor have I seen the purpose in doing so, who 'move' software from one computer to another.

Pffft...let's see. Off the top of my head, how about using someone's laptop to record a live gig or rehearsal? How about using a spare computer at a pro studio or friends house? It's MUCH easier to copy 2 small folders to a hard drive than do an install and setup of most software, and it's non-invasive of their registry (one registry entry? Sheesh, you're splitting hairs mate ). And since Reaper fit's on a USB stick, it's easy to take that functionality with you, or even just run the program off the stick. I'm sure there's other scenarios, but that should suffice.

You can keep saying how it's not a useful feature to you, but there's certainly others that value that ability, me being one. I don't feel a need to convince you though.

It's a question of user rights - that's why programmes that can be run from USB stick are so useful if you want to carry around a portable studio. People doing this do not tend to install running a full setup because unless they have admin rights they will potentially get it blocked at some point. So an audio app being able to do this is a good selling point (as is it's small size). There is a growing trend of people carrying a whole studio/office on their USB key - I do that myself. Reaper has tuned into that.

[djsubject]

just thought i would chip in on page 28 after not reading any of & say your all wankers




PLZ go make some music

Oh, & my host is far better than yours :p

[tamoore]

just thought i would chip in on page 28 after not reading any of & say your all wankers




PLZ go make some music

Oh, & my host is far better than yours :p

Ummm.... WTF are you doing here posting, mr. music making man?

And, did you not see that I said my album was 99% complete...