I am sure to be roasted for this opinion, but Steinberg needs to seriously consider a Linux port, especially with the developments at Microsoft. Aside from the lies about Windows 10 being the last release, forcing adoption to Windows 11 requiring a TPM, which spies on you even more than 10, and then withdrawing support 10. They are rolling out a feature which takes a screenshot every 3 seconds. No doubt, any early opt-outs will be replaced by coercion into participation, as is the sole pattern with Microsoft.
The TPM is required in Windows 11 for security reasons. Microsoft has taken a lot of flak over the years for the poor Windows security, and this is a major step towards addressing this.
Concerns about the screenshots in their Recall feature are of course valid.
There has been some discussion about this in the past.
I don’t know about you, but I’m much, much more concerned about (in)-security “from above” than “from below”. That is, I’m more concerned about MS (and Apple, Google, etc.) and their intrusions than about hackers “in the wild”, which I think describes the OP’s thoughts as well. Knowing what we do about Apple, it probably already has a program like this that it just hasn’t publicly acknowledged yet.
Right now, Dorico is definitely a killer application for the newer releases of Windows and Mac OS. I’m on Windows 10 for now (reluctantly) and dread moving to Windows 11 in the future, so I second OP on the hope that some versions of Linux will be supported, or at least that Dorico will continue to run on Windows 10 itself for a while.
In the meantime, I know that you can emulate some Windows applications on Linux, but I’m expecting that this won’t work well with Dorico. Also, ReactOS (a free Windows-like OS) is supposed to be able to run Windows programs natively, but that’s been sitting in development hell from the very beginning, so it probably won’t work well with Dorico, either.
I like Windows 11 quite a bit, moved to it a few years ago. I think it is a big step up from Windows 10 overall. It is the most MacOS-like that Windows has ever been, in a good way.
The main thing inhibiting a Linux release of Dorico at the moment would be the audio engine, which is based on Cubase. So Cubase would probably have to be ported to Linux first, and that’s a whole other separate argument. There are other threads on the Cubase forum about that, but really the big issue with Cubase on Linux is that people need to use large numbers of VST plugins that do not have Linux versions. Very few are willing to give up their needed production tools justified only bey being fans of an OS, and if you’re making income from music, you can’t really excuse your quality dropping by saying “sorry yeah I moved to Linux, and the plugins I need for my usual polished product are only on Windows and I can’t use them on Linux” - that doesn’t fly and paying customers are going to go elsewhere. So it is mostly the amateurs who aren’t depending on music for income that are asking for Cubase on Linux. I’m sure it’s hard for Steinberg to prioritize the effort on that when all of their professional users are unlikely to use it on Linux due to the plugin situation.
There is a thread from just a few weeks back on this:
I agree very much with his post. The part I find most interesting (and which I agree with and echoes my feelings exactly) is this:
Meanwhile, my grand plans for Linux started collapsing for various reasons, the most important of which is that I had the epiphany that my time was precious and I needed to focus on the best tools to get things done, instead of finding workarounds, and that the OS was a secondary consideration. It’s more complex than that, but ultimately, I decided I had to abandon my plans for Linux pro audio for the time being, and focus on the best tools to get work done. Nothing against Linux. (I still love it and use it, and one day I hope Steinberg will see the light and support it… but for now, I needed the best TOOLS that save me TIME, and I needed them TODAY, not in some distant unknowable future.)
The plugins are the important thing when it comes to music production. If they aren’t available on Linux, then most would not use Cubase on Linux even if it was available, and then the development effort of porting it over is largely wasted. And you would need much more than a small percentage of users to justify supporting another operating system.
The TPM is just them finally admitting their software DRM is and always has been trash. It is a DRM tax and a gaping security hole.
Please, let me roast you instead for not using the search function
I did. I already saw the semi-literate opinions against it. But here’s another.
I don’t see what it has to do with DRM. The main point of TPM is for encryption and better authentication, and also to work together with Secure Boot. Windows used to be vulnerable to injection attacks where viruses could inject themselves into the boot process making them nearly impossible to remove. The combination of Secure Boot and TPM rectifies that and makes it near impossible for malicious code to infect the system at that deep of a level.
I was hit by such a virus a little over a decade ago and it was such a pain to get my system cleaned (and I work in IT and build my own computers), so I’m glad they are doing something about it.
Not roasted, but it’s been discussed here many times before. I personally would love a linux port but until the big VSTi players jump on board, you won’t see many defectors from Mac/Windows. Get me a native compiled EW Opus and VEP and I’ll rebuild the box in my basement to be a linux audio machine in a heartbeat, like it has been in the past. Not to mention the entire Steinberg ecosystem (think Halion).
Linux has many worthwhile, comparable options (yes, I know, but not Dorico). Think Musescore, Lilypond (w/Fresscobaldi). It has one the best DAWs (Ardour) and they work (I hesitate to say flawlessly) together with the robust Jack Audio Connection Kit. There are also many, many professional linux audio engineers working happily in that ecosystem. Are they clamoring for the Steinberg ecosystem? I don’t know, it’s been a good many years since I was involved in linux audio.
PreSonus has dipped its toes in the linux pond with Studio One. I won’t try it though, until EW and VEP are available.
Agree. When travelling (as I suffer i-phobia) I have Linux running MuseScore on an ancient HP Laptop with a 32 key midi keyboard. All very successful.
Yes, I would love a Dorico Linux version.