Future of Windows in pro audio

[audiojunkie]

All we know for sure right now is the next Windows update (the current Windows preview) no longer allows users to create local accounts during setup. An online Microsoft account will be required. Microsoft accounts require periodic online validation, like Roland Cloud accounts.

This gives Microsoft the power to force you online, deliver ads directly to your Start menu, lock you out of your desktop, or delete your account. 365 accounts are completely cloud-based, and, for example, if you have an email account through Outlook 365, you will lose all of your emails if the account is deactivated, as they aren't stored locally, even if you have the Outlook client installed on your computer. This is what the future of Windows looks like.

If I hadn't jumped ship to Linux years ago, hearing this would make me jump ship! But some people simply don't care................

[audiojunkie]

Future of Windows is on my audio desktop. Why would I want to change to slower audio stack, like on mac, or one which craps out when you move a pluginwindow/window on a DAW/desktop, linux.

I dunno...

I don't know what you've been hearing or even worse trying, but I don't remember hearing about any of the problems you describe in Linux. It has certainly not been my experience. I haven't had a linux problem in years actually. My guess is that it's hearsay, and if it's something you actually experienced, then it's probably something you did wrong. Linux is incredibly stable and problem free.

[jamcat]

All we know for sure right now is the next Windows update (the current Windows preview) no longer allows users to create local accounts during setup. An online Microsoft account will be required. Microsoft accounts require periodic online validation, like Roland Cloud accounts.

This gives Microsoft the power to force you online, deliver ads directly to your Start menu, lock you out of your desktop, or delete your account. 365 accounts are completely cloud-based, and, for example, if you have an email account through Outlook 365, you will lose all of your emails if the account is deactivated, as they aren't stored locally, even if you have the Outlook client installed on your computer. This is what the future of Windows looks like.

I am curious how this fits the EU regulations.

Like this
Microsoft is more powerful than the EU.

[CrystalWizard]

I'm on my way to Linux. Put it off for too long. Mint for daily driver, not sure about audio (with five fully functioning windows machines i may not bother much). I think my noise making systems, modular rig, bass guitar with outlast my body. Microshaft account? I think not. The Cloud, another way of saying someone elses' computer. Not saying that it doesn't have its' uses, but, i wouldn't rely on it.

[lfm]

This gives Microsoft the power to force you online, deliver ads directly to your Start menu, lock you out of your desktop, or delete your account. 365 accounts are completely cloud-based, and, for example, if you have an email account through Outlook 365, you will lose all of your emails if the account is deactivated, as they aren't stored locally, even if you have the Outlook client installed on your computer. This is what the future of Windows looks like.

If using POP3 for email, all mails should be local on computer. If using IMAP you need storage online.
- I have all email in/out from 20 years back in computer
- very practical for many purposes

Your prediction pretty much happened on Xbox a couple of years ago.
- the entire Xbox Store first page is suddenly on everybody's home screen in Xbox
- all your own groups created on home screen are gone and only two allowed
- home screen cluttered with lots of promo stuff you never asked for

So I don't use home screen at all since then. I do everything from Games & Apps.

I stopped all updates with Windows Update Blocker
- on windows 10 laptop online writing this, since 6 months
- to avoid some bloat they might add as WU were announced to stop
- on daw W11 computer stopped since over a year, and only online at all for install other softwares
- still run 23H2 on W11

If it works, don't fix it.....

[keys_au1]

I've been thinking for a while to get W11 to fully working, all my DAW apps and audio/midi interfaces set and then totally disconnect it from anything. BUT, Microsoft make sit sooooo damn difficult to remove anything these days, it's probably almost not worth it!

There is still a few too many "gotchas" in Linux (particularly audio and USB device operations) to make a switch. Tried it several times, and at times for many months, but always seem to get back to Windows because of some insurmountable reason

[audiojunkie]

I've been thinking for a while to get W11 to fully working, all my DAW apps and audio/midi interfaces set and then totally disconnect it from anything. BUT, Microsoft make sit sooooo damn difficult to remove anything these days, it's probably almost not worth it!

There is still a few too many "gotchas" in Linux (particularly audio and USB device operations) to make a switch. Tried it several times, and at times for many months, but always seem to get back to Windows because of some insurmountable reason

I would argue that audio interface options are pretty good these days (if that's what you are referring to when you refer to "audio and USB device operations". Almost any audio interface that is compatible with Apple will work on Linux due to its supporting of Class Compliance.

Linux has DAWs and Synths well covered. The only thing that I would argue is lacking would be deeply sampled realistic instruments with lots of articulations--think Kontakt libraries, for lack of a better example at the moment. Once we have a UVI or a Orchestral Tools or Soundpaint or Kontakt in native format, there is nothing else that Linux needs.

[keys_au1]

I've been thinking for a while to get W11 to fully working, all my DAW apps and audio/midi interfaces set and then totally disconnect it from anything. BUT, Microsoft make sit sooooo damn difficult to remove anything these days, it's probably almost not worth it!

There is still a few too many "gotchas" in Linux (particularly audio and USB device operations) to make a switch. Tried it several times, and at times for many months, but always seem to get back to Windows because of some insurmountable reason

I would argue that audio interface options are pretty good these days (if that's what you are referring to when you refer to "audio and USB device operations". Almost any audio interface that is compatible with Apple will work on Linux due to its supporting of Class Compliance.

Linux has DAWs and Synths well covered. The only thing that I would argue is lacking would be deeply sampled realistic instruments with lots of articulations--think Kontakt libraries, for lack of a better example at the moment. Once we have a UVI or a Orchestral Tools or Soundpaint or Kontakt in native format, there is nothing else that Linux needs.

Nah, not that....Try and use Windows hardware editing apps that require the USB port access to get to the attached hardware. WINE (or any of the others as they are based on WINE) will allow you to access the USB port the hardware instrument is on! That the low level access missing, is probably the single biggest reason I ditched Linux. And from what I have read at WINE they have ZERO intention of improving that situation!

And in "standard" operations, the WINE emulation adds to many artefacts to low latency live play!

[legendCNCD]

I stopped all updates with Windows Update Blocker
- on windows 10 laptop online writing this, since 6 months
- to avoid some bloat they might add as WU were announced to stop
- on daw W11 computer stopped since over a year, and only online at all for install other softwares
- still run 23H2 on W11

If it works, don't fix it.....

I have Win11Pro's on all, GPO'd to not to check updates on two, rest check but I download when I want to. No onedrive either as I use it from Edge tab, no defender, no store - at install stage at all, they can be added later if needed. Its a massive performance difference, defender is a pig hog, but not as bad as clownstrike. Except I do not like the way Win11 explorer (shell) does transparency, so thats off.

No problems.

"If it works, don't fix it....."

I did think about ARM Apple laptop, when they came, but then I would have to use OSX.. macos? and Finder Then again, this would be only audio machine, I could prolly stand it as long as Ableton was open on it and would treat it also not updating, keeping it as stable as possible. I know some people have no problems on either OS, but I just won't do it

[audiojunkie]

I've been thinking for a while to get W11 to fully working, all my DAW apps and audio/midi interfaces set and then totally disconnect it from anything. BUT, Microsoft make sit sooooo damn difficult to remove anything these days, it's probably almost not worth it!

There is still a few too many "gotchas" in Linux (particularly audio and USB device operations) to make a switch. Tried it several times, and at times for many months, but always seem to get back to Windows because of some insurmountable reason

I would argue that audio interface options are pretty good these days (if that's what you are referring to when you refer to "audio and USB device operations". Almost any audio interface that is compatible with Apple will work on Linux due to its supporting of Class Compliance.

Linux has DAWs and Synths well covered. The only thing that I would argue is lacking would be deeply sampled realistic instruments with lots of articulations--think Kontakt libraries, for lack of a better example at the moment. Once we have a UVI or a Orchestral Tools or Soundpaint or Kontakt in native format, there is nothing else that Linux needs.

Nah, not that....Try and use Windows hardware editing apps that require the USB port access to get to the attached hardware. WINE (or any of the others as they are based on WINE) will allow you to access the USB port the hardware instrument is on! That the low level access missing, is probably the single biggest reason I ditched Linux. And from what I have read at WINE they have ZERO intention of improving that situation!

And in "standard" operations, the WINE emulation adds to many artefacts to low latency live play!

Ah, you are referring to running Windows apps and not Linux native apps. Well, that’s something that gets better year by year, but it certainly isn’t perfect. If you absolutely must use certain Windows apps, and current compatibility layers don’t support those Windows apps, then Linux may not be for you at this time.

[zerocrossing]

I've been thinking for a while to get W11 to fully working, all my DAW apps and audio/midi interfaces set and then totally disconnect it from anything. BUT, Microsoft make sit sooooo damn difficult to remove anything these days, it's probably almost not worth it!

There is still a few too many "gotchas" in Linux (particularly audio and USB device operations) to make a switch. Tried it several times, and at times for many months, but always seem to get back to Windows because of some insurmountable reason

I would argue that audio interface options are pretty good these days (if that's what you are referring to when you refer to "audio and USB device operations". Almost any audio interface that is compatible with Apple will work on Linux due to its supporting of Class Compliance.

Linux has DAWs and Synths well covered. The only thing that I would argue is lacking would be deeply sampled realistic instruments with lots of articulations--think Kontakt libraries, for lack of a better example at the moment. Once we have a UVI or a Orchestral Tools or Soundpaint or Kontakt in native format, there is nothing else that Linux needs.

Nah, not that....Try and use Windows hardware editing apps that require the USB port access to get to the attached hardware. WINE (or any of the others as they are based on WINE) will allow you to access the USB port the hardware instrument is on! That the low level access missing, is probably the single biggest reason I ditched Linux. And from what I have read at WINE they have ZERO intention of improving that situation!

And in "standard" operations, the WINE emulation adds to many artefacts to low latency live play!

Ah, you are referring to running Windows apps and not Linux native apps. Well, that’s something that gets better year by year, but it certainly isn’t perfect. If you absolutely must use certain Windows apps, and current compatibility layers don’t support those Windows apps, then Linux may not be for you at this time.

This is what keeps me using Windows, which I admit isn’t exactly optimal, but with the right settings, is acceptable. Apple? Too many, “is x plugin compatible with the latest operating system?” complaints.

If there was some magical event that made all my software work natively in Linux… I’d probably switch, if there was a performance benefit. In general, the only time I think about this is when you start talking about it on this forum.

[jamcat]

Apple? Too many, “is x plugin compatible with the latest operating system?” complaints.

If there was some magical event that made all my software work natively in Linux… I’d probably switch, if there was a performance benefit.

Those Apple complaints are illegitimate in 2026. Any plugin that has been in active development within the past 5 years is compatible. The issue you’re talking about was temporary and way overblown, mostly by haters, due to Apple’s massive and hugely successful effort to move the entire ecosystem over to ARM. That work is done now, and the road ahead is sunny and smooth, as Apple is now positioned for the next 25 years. Microsoft has yet to make the hard decisions that will be necessary for a post x86 world.

So there was a magical event that made all of your software work natively in macOS, and there is also a performance benefit to Apple Silicon.

[audiojunkie]

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Ah, you are referring to running Windows apps and not Linux native apps. Well, that’s something that gets better year by year, but it certainly isn’t perfect. If you absolutely must use certain Windows apps, and current compatibility layers don’t support those Windows apps, then Linux may not be for you at this time.

This is what keeps me using Windows, which I admit isn’t exactly optimal, but with the right settings, is acceptable. Apple? Too many, “is x plugin compatible with the latest operating system?” complaints.

If there was some magical event that made all my software work natively in Linux… I’d probably switch, if there was a performance benefit. In general, the only time I think about this is when you start talking about it on this forum.

I understand. And it makes sense. If it weren’t for the fact that I enjoy using Linux so much, I would probably be like you guys. I admit that there are several sample libraries that I wish were Linux native. The good news for me is that I’ve largely found everything I need in native Linux apps. I only “need” my Musiclab guitar plugins from the Windows world, which work fine with WINE. So for me, I’m just fine. But other people have different needs, and I understand that completely. The good news is that more and more developers and companies are supporting Linux with every year that passes.

[zerocrossing]

Apple? Too many, “is x plugin compatible with the latest operating system?” complaints.

If there was some magical event that made all my software work natively in Linux… I’d probably switch, if there was a performance benefit.

Those Apple complaints are illegitimate in 2026.

But what about 2027? 2028? Why would I trust a company that has consistently shown its willingness to ignore backwards compatibility?

Any plugin that has been in active development within the past 5 years is compatible.

So what about my plugins that work perfectly well but have not been in active development?

The issue you’re talking about was temporary and way overblown, mostly by haters, due to Apple’s massive and hugely successful effort to move the entire ecosystem over to ARM.

I’m old enough to remember when they did the same thing with the abandonment of the PowerPC processors. What happens when they abandon ARM and backward compatibility with software that needs to run on it?

That work is done now, and the road ahead is sunny and smooth, as Apple is now positioned for the next 25 years. Microsoft has yet to make the hard decisions that will be necessary for a post x86 world.

I’m old enough to know that there is no such thing as a totally “sunny and smooth” road. I also know that Apple doesn’t really make a PC for me. I like a machine that I can easily trick out with more RAM, PCIe cards, etc. I can throw a Windows box together for $2k that does all that. A Mac Pro starts at $7k.

So there was a magical event that made all of your software work natively in macOS, and there is also a performance benefit to Apple Silicon.

Part of this is that I don’t really have a problem with the performance of my i9 processor at the moment. The only time I have to increase my buffer size is when I need to start running mastering plugins, and at that point, I don’t care about low latency performance. I could move up to the 14900k, if I wanted to, but I haven’t had any reason to.

I’m not an Apple hater. I’m typing this on a iPhone. I’ve got an iPad Pro, Apple TV, MacBook Air, HomePod, HomePod Mini, Watch, and a lot of older crap in a closet. If I feel like there’s something that’s pushing me away from my current setup, I’d jump ship in a heartbeat.

[jamcat]

Apple? Too many, “is x plugin compatible with the latest operating system?” complaints.

If there was some magical event that made all my software work natively in Linux… I’d probably switch, if there was a performance benefit.

Those Apple complaints are illegitimate in 2026.

But what about 2027? 2028? Why would I trust a company that has consistently shown its willingness to ignore backwards compatibility?

Rosetta disproves that assertion. That said, there are times where, for security or architectural reasons, backwards compatibility is not possible. I was 100% on Windows back when Microsoft changed security requirements with UAC and introduced the VirtualStore location with Windows Vista, and that screwed up compatibility with a lot of existing software. I remember specifically problems with AmpliTube not being able to save and load presets because the standard location suddenly became verboten. That required compatibility updates from IK Multimedia and other developers for those plugins to be usable again.

There have been similar broken compatibility with graphics due to various changes to Windows that left plugins with black screens until they were updated, when Microsoft changed graphics frameworks.

And I remember when Windows 2000 came out and no drivers worked anymore. Printers, CD burners, audio devices... none of it worked. And there were still massive driver issues at the start of XP. It required lots of hardware manufactures to scramble and develop new NT compatible drivers. And older hardware that was no longer supported just simply never worked again. The point is, it happens on all OSes, it is not a Mac-exclusive phenomenon, as many Windows partisans pretend.

All I'm trying to tell you here is that all of that upheaval on macOS leading up to and after Apple Silicon was carefully planned and staged to get Apple from an Intel-based platform to an Apple Silicon based platform, and it was executed as smoothly as humanly possible, and it is complete now. I haven't ever personally experienced any of these backwards compatibility issues, and I've transitioned from MacOS High Sierra through to Tahoe over two MacBooks, one Intel and one Apple Silicon. The only issue I've had to deal with that I can think of has been waiting for plugins to be ported to native Apple Silicon so I could run native Apple Silicon VST3 plugins in the native Apple Silicon version of Studio One, instead of going through Rosetta2. There are only 4 plugins that I used that never made the leap.

Any plugin that has been in active development within the past 5 years is compatible.

So what about my plugins that work perfectly well but have not been in active development?

It's the same kind of situation as abandoned 32-bit plugins on Windows. Thanks to Rosetta2, it can be done. If they are VST3, you will need to run an Intel-based DAW on Apple Silicon, just as you need a 32-bit DAW to run 32-bit plugins on Windows. But on Mac, Intel-based Audio Units plugins will actually run in native Apple Silicon DAWs because of Apple's AUHostingCompatibilityService. Eventually they will stop working if they're abandonware, if Apple stops supporting Rosetta2. But the same sort of x86-to-ARM upheaval is coming to Windows, too.