Toast With Jam

I have been having way too much fun with the Mac. My interaction with Windows had always been so pedestrian that I did not expect to enjoy using a computer. After all, it is just a tool and, in a studio setting, a stable and reliable computing platform is essential.

After three weeks of heavy lifting I have had nothing but flawless performance from the G5.

I had to backfill some applications on the Mac for casual CD dubs and editing two track audio files. I used Sony’s Sound Forge and CD Architect on the Windows platform. Now I use Bias Peak and Roxio’s Toast with Jam.

I am quite impressed with Jam’s ease of use. Drag audio files in. Burn CD. What a novel concept.

On to another item of interest. Microsoft has entered the online digital music business partly in response to the success of Apple’s iTunes store. Apple currently holds about 70% market share in the market. Today, about 2% of all purchased music comes through the Internet channel. Some analysts believe that the market may expand to about 12% over the next few years.

Even the major PC manufacturers have entered the fray. HP offers an iPod licensed from Apple. Perhaps Microsoft will need to introduce their own portable digital player… after all an X Box needs a Y box.