My first computer was a TI-99/4a. The OS was on a chip, but anything else ran on a cartridge t hat went into a slot that lasted about 2 years before it wore out and the contacts were worn out. There was also a slot for a 4 inch wide plug end that was connected to a cable we all called "the firehose" though it was a flat cable. That went to an expansion box where you could add more memory and other IDE slot based cards. Everybody and their uncle told me that the TI would NEVER run floppy discs. I experimented with controller cards, burning 2 of them out in the process before finding the right combination of connections that allow it to work with the TI. Then there was figuring out the right parsing to access the floppies. I had 2 DS/DD drives and I was the KING of the TI world. Of course the whole community was like "Can you make me one like that?" I declined. Let them learn on their own!
Remember in the early days of hard drives when we would get a 40 meg drive and say "I'll NEVER fill this drive up!" Now we have 128 GB in our cell phones.
I went to an NT seminar and they gave out copies of Windows NT v.99, one before 1.0!! It came on like 37 3.5" floppies. And in true Micro$oft fashion, disc 29 had a bad byte and you couldn't install it because of that. It took many phone calls but they finally had enough complaints that they made a good copy of disc 29 and sent them out upon request.
What's a good model Mac to look at used? I can't really afford a new one. Also one caveat is if it is going to be my main computer it has to support 3 monitors. Here in the Casa del Eastside control room I run 3 monitors.
According to its press, MSFT is phasing out MS Paint in favor of next-to-useless Paint 3D. I use Paint a lot for a number of things, including sheet music. I'll write a lead sheet in NCH Crescendo, export it to .jpg and from there on out, it's Paint. Once you get used to it, you can even change the notes on the staffs with copy/paste. Nothing open-source really compares. Just my luck -- about the only use I have for MSFT is Paint and they quit it. Maybe the kids are making too many politically incorrect Memes for FB. Spot the tweaks: https://www.webdirectory21.com/hymn/its_good_to_be_home.htm
Ed, if I were in your shoes I would purchase an inexpensive refurbished computer from TigerDirect, put Win 10 on it, then keep it off line. That way you could continue to use Paint. This of course assumes that MS does discontinue Paint.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor. It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Me too Ed. I like it's simplicity for grabbing and getting screenshots but M$FT has done this with other light utilities in the past. I had used Microsoft Photo Editor a lot before they wiped that one too.
P.S. - Backup C:\Windows\System32\mspaint.exe to a personal storage folder so you can just run off the executable when they do destroy it. Just did so on my machine.
Ed Shaw, "discontinuing" means they won't support it. I doubt seriously they will forceably erase it from your computer. Windows 10 has both versions NOW. You may want to copy it and rename the to anything but "paint" so if they DO try to remove it there will be no program called paint for them to remove. Make it "Monet" or something you will remember. It MIGHTH take some registry editing as long as real mspaint is there.
Steve, my first DOS based computer was an IBM, model number I don't remember, but it was numbers, like 5150 or something. I paid almost 4 grand for a computer that compared to computers of 2021 was a real pile of manure. Slow, heavy... Ran Microsoft Basic that was on a ROM chip. Picture trying to run on wet Georgia red clay in your bare feet. That's how it ran. Launch a program and 45 seconds later it started populating the screen. Horrible. BUT, at the time, it was THE thing! That was like 1982 or so. 40 years of technology advancement later I am sitting in a room with a computer running an i5, with 3 27 inch monitors, and a 200 mbps internet connection, watching TV, playing music, WRITING music...
I truly love this stuff.
(And getting close to ready for an overnight road trip to somewhere near St Louis. I have to pick something up over that way.)
Mario. i agree 100 percent. i love refurbished pc's. if i can use an analogy. a new camry is 35k plus BUT a camry with only 70k on the clock ranges around 17k or so at some dealers with warranty. no brainer. still a new vehicle.
you can buy refurb i5/4570 or i7 systems now with one year warranties and win included (some with win 7) for coupla hundred buks. eat paint like no tomorrow and many other apps. OR if you want the basis for a great daw that will eat traks and plug ins (unless your running a zillion) with loads of ports that you can stuff ssd's in and loads of memory i love the off lease refurb hp z and lenovo desktop workstations that oroginally cost thousands and can be picked up for 600 buckies or so. (god how i miss "get fuzzy bucky" lol. reminded me of my bossy cat lol.) they come with dual xeons/ssd's/loads of ram/usb ports/internal expansion slots/win etc etc. and warranties. those workstations are beasts. i highly recommend testing one out.
refurbs forever ! lol.
oldmuso miss my old atari for midi ? lol nah !
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 06/16/2105:48 AM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs (90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
<RANT>I think one reason I've had no issues with Win OSs is that since Windows NT/2000, I've put in my 40 hours a week in IT working in them. Most companies you work for in IT have their company standard OS which these days is usually the most recent Win version. So you don't have much choice other than to learn and work in the OS. With all those hours spent you definitely learn to get around the deficiencies to the point you no longer see them. That's why typically when M$FT releases a new Windows version, I jump on it right away for my home machines. I get excited to get those hours in and get sh%& figured out. Just another perspective.</RANT>
I hear you - I'm always eager to try out the new versions of Windows or macOS - although I never put them onto a production machine unless I need to! My studio computer is still running macOS High Sierra for that exact reason - if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Originally Posted By: eddie1261
What's a good model Mac to look at used? I can't really afford a new one. Also one caveat is if it is going to be my main computer it has to support 3 monitors. Here in the Casa del Eastside control room I run 3 monitors.
The 2009-2012 Mac Pro is probably your best bet. With the right video cards, you can have 16 monitors!
Originally Posted By: edshaw
According to its press, MSFT is phasing out MS Paint in favor of next-to-useless Paint 3D.
Dang! I use Paint for creating a lot of screenshots for tutorials or tech support here, it does exactly what I need it to do.
Originally Posted By: sslechta
Originally Posted By: eddie1261
My first computer was a TI-99/4a.
Sweet Eddie! My first one was in a similar vein in the same time period......
Adjusted for inflation, that's just under $300. We've beaten that price point today with the Raspberry Pi, Android tablets, and Chromebooks/Chromeboxes - what an age we live in!
I think one reason I've had no issues with Win OSs is that since Windows NT/2000, I've put in my 40 hours a week in IT working in them. Most companies you work for in IT have their company standard OS which these days is usually the most recent Win version. So you don't have much choice other than to learn and work in the OS. With all those hours spent you definitely learn to get around the deficiencies to the point you no longer see them. That's why typically when M$FT releases a new Windows version, I jump on it right away for my home machines. I get excited to get those hours in and get sh%& figured out. Just another perspective.
I used to complain about that, but looking back, I made a BOATLOAD of money setting up "OS Next" on their computers. That early look at the "next" helped me get a head start. I did NOT appreciate that in the Windows 8 era they set the screen up so the pc, laptop, tablet and Windows phone all had the same user interface. THAT is what the "Take over the world" pic was about. I used to make house calls JUST to make Windows look like Windows and not a phone. I get the business model that if someone has that interface on their computer they might be motivated to buy a Windows phone. I just didn't appreciate it.
I was THRILLED about the Y2K hysteria!! I worked contracts for as high as $28 an hour doing data backups, imaging new computers with NT, and pulling the data back down. My pal Jason and I did a rollout at the battery place with the bunny and we built a little impromptu server farm to dump user data to. 4 PCs, named Dump1 2,3, and 4. I used 1 and 2, he used 3 and 4. We wrote batch files to scan the user's PC and find doc, jpg, gif, etc.. and dumped them to a dump server. Then when that finished we imaged the computer from the department specific CDs we made with images on them. We had the system down so well we each did 4 at a time in the morning and 4 at a time in the afternoon, so we did 80 PCs a week. The prep took all the time. Tweaking those images for the red hallway, the green hallway, etc... And the engineers... oy! Some of the software was not compatible with NT (one was called Manugistics) so we had to battle with the OEMs to get a patch ready, because everybody using Manugistics was going to have the problem.
28 bucks an hour and that lasted 9 months. (We stayed around 6 weeks after 2000 began to make sure everything was okay, catch the stragglers who may have been traveling and such.)
Good times. Retirement is better though. By a large margin.
Cool, I worked at their HQ in St. Louis briefly in 2004.
I talked to the IT god there every Friday with the weekly tally. She LOVED us. Other than Manugistics that was one of the smoothest rollouts I ever did. Jason and I worked well together. Sat down over wings on day 1 and came up with the plan, presented it the morning of day 2, and the person we reported to said "Just do it." We always planned to start the afternoon backups at 11:30, JUST before lunch, so we could take 90 minutes for lunch. I still talk to that dude about once a month, 22 years later.
I asked him once "Did you ever marry that girl who would call you with every little bit of minutia in her life? Like calling YOU in tears because she didn't like her haircut? And you were like 'What do you want ME to do about it'?" He said "Yeah. Briefly." That was WAY too many levels of crazy for me!
FWIW there are plenty of free replacements for Paint that are better (IMHO).
Photofiltre (spelling intended) is free for home use Paint.NET (weird name and can take a bit of avoiding the ads to get to the actual free product, but is wonderful for the price). Supports Layers, Transparencies, etc.
One of our programmers showed me that one a while back. I kissed Paint goodbye years ago.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Remember, if this doesn't work, it's YOUR fault...
Is there a place to find the download in, you know, English? Mine is en Francais...
I MAY be able to live with paint.net but at first blush those toolbars are like how the cavemen did it. I wanted to put in a white text box and I had to literally eye-dropper a piece of white to do it. And there is no cursor control that makes sense. If I type "hey rharv" and then want to change the color I can't select it with the mouse. How old is that program anyway
I'm not saying they are the latest/greatest, but I doubt generic Paint could do any better. That was my simple point. There are alternatives for no cost; losing 'Paint' really doesn't mean much to me. I use Photofiltre most commonly (quick simple efficient). I don't remember the last time I opened Windows Paint. To each his own.
You can get Photofiltre in a version that runs off USB .. put a thumb drive in any computer and run it without needing to install. I think its a pretty cool freebie.
As far as a white box for text, yeah, most decent imaging software will try to overlay text with a clear background as default. Logos, sliders on websites, etc. Many times a white box is not preferable. At least in my experience.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
IrfanView is a fast, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10. It is designed to be simple for beginners and powerful for professionals. From the feature description:
Quote:
Paint option - to draw lines, circles, arrows, straighten image etc.
I've used this free program even longer than I've been a Band-in-a-Box user. It's that good.
This looks more "paint like" with the fill tool right on a toolbar and such. With the exception of Pro Tools, I don't want any software I have to go back to school to learn. (Which I did for Pro Tools.)
IrfanView is a fast, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10. It is designed to be simple for beginners and powerful for professionals. From the feature description:
Quote:
Paint option - to draw lines, circles, arrows, straighten image etc.
I've used this free program even longer than I've been a Band-in-a-Box user. It's that good.
I am also a long time user of Irfanview. I only used it for audio and never messed with the picture side. You need to DL all of the Plug-ins to get to the photo side of Irfanview. HoweverIrfanview will not work with print screen. You must save the print screen to a picture prior to using it in Irfanview.
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!
With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Windows!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
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