Cakewalk today did something quite unorthodox for the company: it launched a product on Facebook.

The results are what clearly aim to be a GarageBand killer for Windows users. Music Creator had always, quietly, been a big hit for Cakewalk: it’s cheap, entry-level software for the PC, which has the potential to reach a big audience of computer users. But the software itself was nothing to brag about, with a dated-looking interface.

Music Creator 5 looks stunningly different. The arrangement window has the familiar, GarageBand and ACID-style loop arrangement window. But there are additions you might expect in a bigger DAW: quick in-line access to track parameters, video preview frames at the top, elaborate time displays and editing tools. There’s also a sophisticated-looking mixing mode with graphical EQs and other options.

Having been published the old-fashioned way, I’m really interested to see what on-demand printing will make possible in publishing and content – and, particularly, what it will mean for Web entities like CDM. (We need a new term: Web Treeware?)

On-demand isn’t as fast as a retail outlet with a book in stock, but they’re getting faster. Lulu can turn around our new CDM Winter 2008 guide in time for Christmas Eve. If you order by tomorrow, you’ll get the book custom-printed, bound (in a lovely, publisher-style) “Perfect Binding”, and shipped by 12/24:

Order deadline: Saturday 12/13 (note: US East Coast time)

US: Choose US Postal Priority, FedEx Ground

Canada, Latin America, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, rest of the world: Choose standard shipping

(faster shipping options are available, too)

Print Edition + Free PDF Download @ Lulu.com

And, of course, you get a DRM-free, Creative Commons-licensed PDF with your order, free. (For people charging for ebooks, I’m hoping Lulu adds the option to sell the bundle; CDM of course is giving away our PDF.)

This is just a first experiment for us, but I’m interested not only for CDM and Lulu but what this sort of thing means for content makers in general. (You’ll see a lot of self-published sheet music on Lulu, for instance.) It could make new things possible in publishing.

I’ve rush-ordered my print copy; I’ll take some photos when it gets here.

Also, we’ve just gotten a volunteer for a Spanish-language edition. (Imponente!)

Priority Mail Photo (CC) Harold Neal.