I was a hard core computer guy way back when... programming in machine language, hacking feeds to the internet through back doors of university mainframes before the world wide web even existed, building up software layer by layer and then tweaking to get a machine just the way I wanted.

Computers require so much "overhead." I mean, you have to have huge backup systems, and piles of manuals, and tech support for when ONE piece of software gets updated, etc. This overhead takes precious time away from other things in life... things that are enjoyable, productive, creative, relational, etc.

I made a decision a while back to buy just what I would need. For me, buying a computer would be a bad idea because it would be obselete and unsupported too quickly. I used to carry around a laptop for scheduling and contact information. In 1995 I bought a Pilot which does exactly the things I need it to do. It is specialized and has a terrific interface for doing these type of things. I use this same Pilot today -- 12 years later. People today would know the device as a PalmPilot. Palm bought the device from US Robotics.

Music hardware is similar. Stand-alone gear allows me to do most of what I want without having to worry about some general purpose computer crapping out on me and forcing me to totally change the way I create and work. This is why I would like to see Yamaha keep people like me in mind when designing new gear.

Thanks Yamaha!

Opal