Re: the new iBook...

[rich <rich@nuvisionsca.com>]

>     Thanks!  a little surfing later, and my eyes are opened.......  i 
>think
>i may have to get an iBook and turn it into my little portable recording
>studio....  =)

remembering an earlier thread...folks were chiming in about USB not 
being terribly friendly to audio.  seems to work fine for midi 
information, but y'all were commenting that for critical audio work, 
it might not be the best way to go.  that kindof stopped my interest 
in the Tascam USB mixer, and also the new Event mixer (although the 
event's matrix system seems terribly intriguing).

Is USB that bad for audio?  Right now, i'm messing with the onboard 
sound input/outputs on a powerbook G3.  Would a USB audio interface 
be better?  worse?

the firewire interfaces are starting to show up.  i've had pretty 
good luck using Imovie with firewire to a digital video cam, but 
sometimes the communication between laptop and camera chokes and you 
have to start again.  i wonder if the same will be for firewire audio.

>     if you use a USB audio interface, does that bypass the computer's
>soundcard?

as far as i know...yes.  although the macs have never shipped with 
soundcards, per se.  they have always had the audio on board, with 
1/8" mini jacks for input and speaker output (some of the older AV 
macs being an exception - RCA's).  funny that they've now dumped the 
audio in on the new powerbooks and ibooks.  i've been a mac-head for 
about 7 years now, and it seems that with each new generation, they 
come up with something really cool, but they dump something that was 
useful, too.

anybody want a 7100/66 powermac?  i'm getting a used G4 this weekend. 
i'm sure someone is just dying for Nubus technology, yes?  and that 
66mhz 601 chip just SMOKES...and gosh, it only cost $2300 new.

rich