And what's this 'purpose-designed programming language' business? Whilst the software may have such a thing internally, it's likely to be something that only the programmers would know about. As far as I'm aware, Sibelius 7 is fast because it was hand-written in ARM code.

You're correct about it not being single-tasking. I remember getting screenshots out of the demo by setting a timer in !Paint, then quickly opening the Sibelius window, before having the Save Dialog Box pop up :-P

You can jump in and out of PC games if you know the secret key combinations (or accidentally hit the Windows key), and even have MP3 players playing in the background providing your own soundtrack, but because of the way they take over the screen people think they're single tasking.

BTW: In your face Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sean Connery, Melvyn Bragg, Bono and all you other lot.

Except Dr. Dre, who owns a lot of guns.

And Nick Park, 'cos I like his stuff. And Ian Mckellen. Sam Mendes is pretty good too. Peter Hall... OK, you're in. But everyone else under #39, you got beat by a pair of geeks!

A professional review of Sibelius 3 (with a fair mention of RISC OS) can be read at http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul04/articles/sibelius3.htm

And Sibelius for RISC OS is way better than Sibelius for Windows/Mac

Exactly. I think that's the same reason people buy a computer anyway.

And Sibelius for RISC OS is way better than Sibelius for Windows/Mac."

Oh, really? 'Way better' you say. Which version? Tell me, why? Please don't come with the 'because RISC OS is better' argument - I'll laugh in your face. I'm curious as to your comprehension of electronic notation and scorewriting, your skills in these fields to be able to distinquish between the versions in a practical sense and your experience with these versions in a relevant environment to base your comparison on.

"People buy Macs to use some software.

Exactly. I think that's the same reason people buy a computer anyway.

And yes, RISC OS has software built in - but where RISC OS has a pixel editor, Macs have software to download and organise your digital photos. Not really a contest.

I dunno, you /could/ try and store your photos in a very large !Paint file ;)

Andy. *runs and hides*

Tell me, why?

Peter V

I use Sibelius on a regular base, like a friend of my. He has the RISC OS version (on a old A5000) and also a version for Windows. With all versions you can make great looking scores, but he couldn's find the copy/paste as you can use in RISC OS (clicking select/adjust). Also, using pulldown menu's takes more time. All in all, it's faster to use RISC OS then to use Windows (and I am not talking about virussus taking down your machine so you can not use it for a week until it is repaired).

Peter V

Thanks for taking the time to share your view, Peter. I'd say your case has everything to do with 'preference of OS'! And that's fine, you'd rather use RO's pop-up menu's instead of the traditional pull-downs as in Mac OS (X) and Windows. Remember, Windows also allows for pop-up menus (unfortunately not drag-able) by using the right mouse-button. I can't comment any more specific since you don't mention which versions of Sibelius you're comparing, though I'm almost sure you can perform a copy and paste with practically all Windows versions (via selecting menu options or keyboard short-cuts). I advise taking a look at the manual, which is a joy to read and very clear and concisely laid out. Regarding features, the new versions are well beyond those available on Sibelius 6 & 7 for RISC OS, which is only natural since they've had several years to catch up. Regarding speed, all Mac & Win versions run at least as fast as the RO versions, most of the time quite a bit faster, not only due to faster hardware, but also optimisations of the code as I understand it. On a clean Windows 2000 or XP system, it seems at least as stable as on RISC OS.

Regarding virii - most professional users are well aware of that and cover themselves appropriately. In most cases I've seen, machines running Sibelius for Windows are not connected to Internet and don't need to be. I presume any essential updates are first scanned before installing in the Sibelius machine(s).

Let me make one thing clear, though - I am NOT a Windows fanboy. In fact, Microsoft and Windows are my least preferred tools to work with to put it mildly. I merely acknowledge the state of things. Personally I like RISC OS itself very much, however for serious work I simply use the best tools available to me. Which, for music composition, arranging, etc. is Mac OS X, simply because it has the best combination of available software and OS features.

al kind of features are OS related, but in Sibelius7 I never use menu's, I use the function keys. That is much faster.

Copy/past in RISC OS is done with the mouse. In other versions, you have to use the keyboard.

Speed is not a problem. The machine I use it on has a ARM 700 but even on that machine it's fast enough.

I general the 'low level' work on a RISC OS machine is faster, but, I agree with you on that, the 'high level' stuff is more advanced on the newer version.

For my use, I don't need it. I only make a few bar's of music and save it as a draw file for use in impression. Here I add text and pictures (piano books for children).

I also have a Mac at home, but I don't think running Sibelius on it would speed up any work. Can you export the files in a vector format? What program can you use to edit that? What bonus would it have over Sibelius 7, Impression and Draw?

Peter

However, the cost of Adobe CS2 and Sibelius for mac might be a little higher than on RISC OS ;-)

al kind of features are OS related, but in Sibelius7 I never use menu's, I use the function keys. That is much faster.

I understand. Most people I know prefer to use keyboard short-cuts, which indeed is faster, unfortunately one has to use some menu or dialog options sometimes for more uncommon tasks.

Copy/past in RISC OS is done with the mouse. In other versions, you have to use the keyboard.

Yes, very handy. I don't mind using the keyboard, but that is quite clever since the mouse is most used anyway.

Speed is not a problem. The machine I use it on has a ARM 700 but even on that machine it's fast enough.

Yes, Sibelius on RISC OS has always been extremely fast, which is even more amazing considering what it actually does. Before the advent of Sibelius on other machines, this was considered so advanced the program became a 'killer-app', which means a reason to buy both it and the computer it runs on. By the way, I also use an ARM7 Risc PC and even now, it is quite impressive what it still is capable of doing.

I general the 'low level' work on a RISC OS machine is faster, but, I agree with you on that, the 'high level' stuff is more advanced on the newer version.

Well, that certainly depends what you are doing and on what hardware! The newest version is Sibelius 4, which quite frankly, blows the RISC OS versions away in practically every regard simply because it is years ahead now, as such much more refined and runs on superior hardware.

For my use, I don't need it. I only make a few bar's of music and save it as a draw file for use in impression. Here I add text and pictures (piano books for children).

Indeed, Sibelius 6 or 7 would suffice perfectly well.

I also have a Mac at home, but I don't think running Sibelius on it would speed up any work. Can you export the files in a vector format? What program can you use to edit that? What bonus would it have over Sibelius 7, Impression and Draw?

Well, again, that depends on what you wish to accomplish and how well you're Mac is equipped. I don't believe upgrading to a newer version of Sibelius would offer you any real benefits over what you already have, from what you mentioned above.

The newest version is Sibelius 4, which quite frankly, blows the RISC OS versions away in practically every regard simply because it is years ahead now, as such much more refined and runs on superior hardware.

You had a go at mavhc for saying that "Sibelius for RISC OS is way better than Sibelius for Windows/Mac" without explanation. Perhaps you'd like to explain your position rather than just stating it as fact.