Starkeeper. What you suggest is the last thing the keyboard manufacturer wants....he's there to try to sell you keyboards every year.

In reality a manufacture does not want to produce an updatable keyboard....he would no longer make any sales apart from possibly hardware upgrades.

Graham UK

[This message has been edited by Graham UK (edited 09-13-2003).]

I have thought for many years now that soomer rather than later some keyboard manufacturer is going to come up with the bright idea of the home musician having one computer in his room to play music, games, write letters, dtp, email, surf internet and all the other things you can do on a pc if you want to. After all, the screen is getting as big as a laptop ( come to think of it, why not install a laptop or PDA into the keyboard. I have often found it very distracting to watch two LCD's even when you can get them close together. We now have Gb SD's. Just add a few ram chips and an OS most people are familiar with and the music industry will declare it the best thing since sliced bread!!!

MS Windows may not be as stable is one would like, but I'll never forget my KN6000 locking up in the middle of a song I was playing before an audience of about 70-80 people.

Mike

There are already a couple of keyboards running Windows, eKo http://www.openlabs.com/products.php
and Abacus http://www.wersi.uk.com/abacus.htm


[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 09-15-2003).]

One of the main reasons that Windows would not be suitable for a Keyboard O/S is that Windows was never designed as a "real-time" operating system. When playing a keybaord the system has to respond almost instantly to events especially key-presses and changes in instrument patches etc. Anyone who has used a PC with Windows will tell you of the times it needs to go away and think about things and this would be completely unacceptable in a playing situation. The O/S on Technics Yamaha etc may have their failings, but at least they are optimised for the instrument responding within a milli-second or 2 to key press actions by the player. Other dedicated computers, such as the engine management system on your car have to be designed in the same way and I dont think anyone is suggesting that Windows is used as the O/S for car fuel systems.

Windows has achieved its pre-eminence as a file management system, not as a real-time control system.

Having had a look at the web pages suggested by Nigel, I'm wondering just how much the two keyboards in question, actually use Windows as the prime operating system. Could they be using a dedicated control and operating system for the 'Musical' side of things and just have a Windows PC incorporated in the same cabinet? In the Spec for the eKo unit, they quote 'Micro-ATX Formfactor Motherboard - obviously the PC and an Alpha Control Module, which could possibly be the 'Musical' controller

A bit like tying a laptop to your KNxxxx albeit with a greater degree of integration.

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Willum

If you buy a piano, you won't come back the following year to get a new piano update, because the sound is not modern enough. The piano mfgs should be out of business by now.
The problem I have with the mfgs. wanting to sell me a keyboard every year is that "I" have to pay for it. The re-sale value on my instrument is rather low for an instrument that is in perfect condition and only 1 year old.
Starkeeper

Re my previous post, I emailed the manufactures of the eKo keyboard and asked them to what extent Windows was involved in the actual production of the musical sounds...
They replied "The Windows operating system does not directly produce the musical sounds. Those are generated from the software applications and plug-ins. The eKo is more of a PC / synthesiser integration."
Interesting..........

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Willum

Every year? Wow!

Grandpa Doug