If you go back as far as you have, traditionally everything was Mac based, Windows couldn’t perform well enough to focus on that ecosystem for a Digital Audio Workstation. I don’t think it is appropriate to say that Steinberg is a Mac focus company in comparison to say Avid. It is easy to forget what the systems were like back then. Every DAW was primarily a Mac DAW.
I switched from Logic to Cubase in the SX days specifically because, at the time, I didn’t have a Mac. These days, it doesn’t make a lot of since for a new user to run anything on Mac but Logic. They are paying for the machine one way or another, and Logic is less than half the price of other DAWs with lifetime updates. If you are a Mac only person under 25, or your parents got you a Mac already, you are going to go with Logic by default.
So, framing Steinberg as a Mac centric company simply doesn’t make sense. Steinberg has shown, at least since the SX days that they take their Windows customers just as seriously as their Mac customers, if not more so. it’s what makes good financial sense.
All of that aside, Apple still has a superior platform, and everyone knows it. Whether they like the company, or want to admit it or not. (And I’m on Windows!)
One of the things about Windows that holds it back, and actually holds back the hardware is the insistence on backwards compatibility. The unfortunate reality is that windows isn’t really backwards compatible. Windows 11 has proven this, as much of the software we use has had to go through multiple development cycles to be compatible with Windows 11. So the effort to stay somewhat backwards compatible is actually hindering the Windows ecosystem.
The whole idea of backwards compatibility is a misnomer. Almost nothing in Software is truly backwards compatible. Software engineers have developed versioning and packaging systems to deal with this, where each component specifies the versions of other components on which it is dependent. It is always changing, always in flux.
At this point VST2 is ancient from a software perspective. Anyone developing for VST2 and not through Juice or the like, and simply providing a VST2 along side the other platforms, is simply not maintaining their product. There has been enough time to move, that from a Software Engineering perspective, it simply isn’t responsible.
Any animosity that is felt should be properly directed to the lack of maintenance by these developers.
I applaud Steinberg for the length of time they have provided already in notifying the development community, this isn’t a big surprise right now remember. This has been coming for a very long time. I further applaud them for continuing to provide professional grade Audio Production solutions, and in supporting a whole ecosystem with VST to begin with. Finally sunsetting VST2 is the responsible thing to do for everyone concerned. If you are going to be upset, be upset at the developers who have not maintained their code.
