Apple’s "point" releases — those seemingly-harmless updates you get automatically in Software Update — do sometimes break stuff. I tend to ignore the updates until I’ve had a chance to confirm they’re okay. Case in point: it looks like 10.5.2 can result in glitchy audio on laptops.

Native Instruments has an official statement out on the problem, but according to them, this issue can affect software from other vendors, as well:

User feedback and internal testing indicates that recent changes introduced by Apple in Mac OS X 10.5.2 can cause audio dropouts and similar problems on Macbook/Macbook Pro computers. This issue is not limited to NI software in particular, but applies to performance-criticial music software in general.
Therefore, Native Instruments currently cannot guarantee the proper operation of its products under Mac OS X 10.5.2. If possible, users should refrain from upgrading beyond Mac OS X 10.5.1 until further information about this issue becomes available.

Now, I will say this: I am frustrated with Apple’s OS upgrade approach — and I think on any OS, media support is the most vulnerable area.

It’s been almost a year since Windows Vista was released to consumers. We know that nearly half of our readers use Windows, so the future of the OS is something we take very seriously — even if many of you, for now, are staying cautious and working (happily, in many cases) on XP. We’ll be examining Vista from various angles over the coming weeks, both measuring the OS and telling you how to make the most of it if for music you are giving it a go.

To start out, we’ve again caught up with Noel Borthwick. Noel CTO of Cakewalk, and one of the most knowledgeable experts on Windows technical details. (He’s also a veteran Linux developer, so his perspective on operating systems goes beyond those from Redmond.)

When we talked to Noel this time last year, a lot of what was new still hadn’t been tested in the real world. Now, Vista has been in the hand of users, and there’s both some good news and bad. A year of Vista has meant a year of improvements, both from Microsoft and third parties. In my own testing, for instance, what began as a disastrous experience running Vista earlier in the year has now become more comparable to XP. (I’m currently on Vista SP1 release candidate on a modest PC desktop.) But there are still areas that could use improvement — and while general Vista improvements were welcome, I think there’s still the real question of whether Vista offers enough that’s unique to compete with its real rival, XP.

We’ll revisit some of those broad issues, but first let’s actually get the technical story, and clear up some misconceptions.

Speaking of sample management on the Mac, AudioFinder, the popular sample utility, is now in beta of its version 4.7. The new release integrates a basic waveform editor for quick adjustments to sound files. From the software’s forum:

This is not a new audio editor to compete with Peak, DSP Quatro or Wave Edit. This is a utility to save time editing samples. It has a maximum file length limit of 30 minutes. It is 32bit floating point. It saves all files as AIFF, and soon CAF.

AudioFinder 4.7 Beta
Sounds good to me. Could be especially handy editing my Ableton Live clips and samples and such.

I consider myself operating system atheistic: I refuse to believe in an operating system unless solid, empirical data is presented proving it exists works. Okay, actually … I spend a considerable amount of time doing production on both Mac and Windows, and even some time working with Linux (not to mention administering Linux servers).

But we’d like to know more about what you use in your music. Our site analytics don’t tell us a whole lot: they tend to sample random users, not regulars, and if you use a work PC to browse, we may not know what you use at home for music.

For that reason, we’d love to have you tell us more about how you work. This isn’t a race, so no need to stuff the ballot box for the OS you like. (And we already know you use some obscure OSes — and some of you even browse CDM from your iPhone, Nintendo Wii, Sun Solaris workstation, Amiga, and PSP, based on our server stats). Anyway, an OS is just as interesting if few of you are using it as if many are. No, the idea is to get an honest metric of what you’re using. We’ll happily share the results.

The survey is now closed. Thanks for your help! We’ll have results up soon.

Much of the OS discussion tends to devolve into generalities, philosophical debates, and religious wars. We’re going to try something different: wherever possible, squash the bugs. Here’s a tip for Windows Vista that finally allowed many of my USB devices to work properly.

Many music devices, including simple audio interfaces and (in particular) USB MIDI keyboards, don’t require drivers. These are sometimes called class-compliant devices, as they’re covered by standardized classes that describe what they do. There actually are drivers for them, but they’re provided by the operating system. And that’s a good thing.

Unfortunately, many people have found that Windows Vista has problems finding the drivers for these devices. Here’s a fix that works for me (and, apparently many others):

Native Instruments and MOTU have each posted compatibility update pages for Mac OS X Leopard. There’s not a whole lot of information yet (particularly form MOTU), but now’s the time to bookmark those pages!

Be sure to watch comments from readers for other helpful compatibility information — much of it positive at this point.

Native Instruments: Compatibility with OS X Leopard
NI’s latest versions of Kore, Traktor, Guitar Rig, and Kontakt are all good to go. But other software has some issues related to installation and dialog box operation. While it’s not reported on this page, we’ve also heard one person with a hardware problem. You should see patches over the coming weeks, with major updates in November and December.

Unleash a Leopard in your MOTU studio
Despite the title, actually, you might not want to unleash anything just yet. MOTU says testing is ongoing and hints updates for hardware and software may be likely. MOTU’s virtual instrument line is ready, though, and there are no significant issues reported yet. Best bet: bookmark that page and keep watch. That’s what we’ll be doing.

Tiger in your tank? I’ll say it now: while the issues are minor so far, I don’t recommend upgrading to Leopard on a critical machine. For folks with more than one Mac, many are having relatively smooth experiences, so on a second machine it could make sense. I’m expecting most of the rest of us will just wait a month or two; at least on the Mac updates are usually pretty speedy in coming and the OS itself looks solid.

Oh, yeah, and one other important thing: this is the first Mac OS X update that really doesn’t benefit music users, at least not out of the box. (There are some driver changes, but I don’t think there are yet devices that take advantage of them.) It’s actually good news, in that Core Audio and Core MIDI are mature at this point — you don’t want to regularly update the music and audio plumbing. But that means Tiger will be just fine for some time.

More Java bad news: While I know this interests a smaller audience, there’s been still more disappointments on the Mac Java front.