Well having read that it sounds promising. None of the SF team lose their jobs and the products should finally get the funding for marketing and development that they truly deserve. It could really help push these products out there to the people.

I have an odd feeling that the next versions released will happen very quickly!

http://www.sonicfoundry.com/news/ShowRelease.asp?ReleaseID=536&CatID=

I dunno...our boy had this to say:

>>> "During the past three years, we have come to recognize and admire Sonic Foundry's engineering expertise and value their software applications. We are excited to integrate this world-class team and their products into our ongoing efforts to produce and deliver the next generation of consumer entertainment services," said Patrick Kennedy, executive vice president of Sony Pictures Digital.>>>


..."consumer entertainment services"...that don't sound good, do it?

hmm fair point. Hopefully the focus won't be solely on low end consumer products. Essentially they already have that so I'm hoping this will be an attempt to go head to head with the pro-audio visual world. Maybe I'm just an optimist. All will no doubt become clear soon. If they discontinue Vegas I'll just have to cry.

The other concern is Sony's price scale.

MJ

maybe good, maybe well get an Oxford EQ for Vegas track eq ? :)

Maybe sony will push vegas into a more pro direction with the features pros expect, plus the wonderful, top of the line Vegas User Interface

'course, it might just show up at Best buy as " Las Vegas Loop Master DJ Pro " but hopefully not

It's funny, the thread about this in the video topics forum has 85 replies. Seems the audio folk here aren't the slightest bit concerned compared to the video crowd :)

Hmmm...it all gives me the feeling that the effects of this are either going to be really excellent or really bad...but probably not somewhere in between.

...Still, I used to work at Sony music; that means I’ll be able to wrangle a pretty significant staff discount.

Woohoo!

<<It's funny, the thread about this in the video topics forum has 85 replies. Seems the audio folk here aren't the slightest bit concerned compared to the video crowd :) >>

I think this is probably because there are so many more options for the audio folks. Not nearly as many choices for video software (at least that compares with the price/performance ratio of Vegas which there may be none!). Anyway, like all of us here, I'd really hate for Vegas and the rest of the SOFO apps to degrade because of this sale, but if it does, I'll simply (albeit sadly) move on to something else. Right now I'm still working with Vegas 3 because I'm in the middle of a couple of projects and its obvious that ver. 4 still needs a lot of work (which I'm assuming will take place before ver. 5). At any rate, if/when ver. 4 gets the bugs worked out, I can imagine that I could stay with it for quite some time.

drbam

well, What I'm thinking of is that Oxford EQ and the High end Sony Digital Mixing Consoles... mmmmm I see good things, I hope anyway. Lets face it they wouldn't have bought ACID if they were only interested in the Visual Elements of the software!

$18,000,000 for Sony is like $18 for you and me. Or is it $1.80 !

Come on, you've seen the tell-tale signs, I know you have.

One perspective:

- Rimas Buinevicius and the new SoFo regime were completely out of touch as for the direction to take these apps. His 80's, "up with people" and predictable approach introduced completely piss poor business planning\strategies to a once strong Sfoundry...a Sfoundry that earned it's name by concentrating on cutting edge, functionality, and LISTENING TO IT'S CUSTOMER BASE.
A REGROUPING was screaming immediately with this new sofo introduction - right off the bat.
Upper management should have never ever never GONE PUBLIC. This fucking 80's\90's business mentality should have never entered the arena.

And most forum visitors here played the "faith" game.

- reprocussions of the above: Designing and marketing (what little of that there was) to the "idiots" out there (read: "E-Z rich media solutions") rarely INCREASES sales but rather diminishes all Sfoundry once stood for. Sales didn't increase.
Without going public, the goal should have BEEN TO COMPETE HEAVILY with the new video and audio applications and their features that were sprouting.
*Note Sfoundry's UI design - very focused. With the team of proggies that sfoundry had\has - this would have been the deciding (possibly turning) point.
Attack hard (at least once) before you play the cheesy business tactic card.

But most forum visitors here played the "faith" game.


- reprocussions of the above: slowly the nickel and dime approach entered with their apps and tools. It's never too late to regroup...but you think the new SoFo was going to admit when they're wrong?
But ya already went public...even so, a band-aid isn't going to stop internal bleeding.
Ignoring new developements, thinning upgrades, holding back features here and there in order to "split" apps\upgrades into easily packaged hopes (acid\vegas\CDA - should there have been a difference if you really WANT TO COMPETE)? SF5 to SF 6?...this was necessary?

Still, most forum visitors here blindly played the "faith" game.

Sony:

Ok, all you CAN have now is blind "faith". I'm a realist, not some oversold sofo fan voting for the underdog. I saw the signs leading up to this, and I'll still use vegas 3 (maybe 4 if they get some shit ironed out..but that is mainly due to my interest in DVD arch).

Fact is many over at the vid forum are correct, SONY is NOT a software company, and if you think for a minute your going to see the necessary improvements (especially you audio folk) needed in order to regain application growth and awareness...you're fucking higher than cheech AND chong on Sunday.

Product support for newer users? Are you flipping kidding me? You better hope this forum stays around (or someone else starts one if it goes). Pathetically, the only good news I foresee is the app isn't going to advance any further, so those who know vegas won't be affected by this.
Is dumbing down the product going to make it better though?...hell no.

Maybe "spotted eagle" has faith he'll get another book deal on "using ShitBlast 2.0 with EZ to read print" as he spouts "don't worry" to everyone here, but you die-hard hopefulls will just get the vasoline touchup and a newer table to bend over.

More of the same lesson has been delivered once again. Feel like going public with your new company?

I'm pretty much down with JoeD on all this. We all saw it coming 200 miles away - both regarding to the business in general and this particular product / company - and there's really not much to add to it. As long as we're paying consumer prices, we get consumer products, battling each other on a cheap and dirty consumer market.

I remember the time before the Apple-Emagic buyup rumor turned out to be true. People were shocked, disappointed and very angry. Once the rumor turned into fact, I soon realized that it could only benefit the product, and instead of flaming every forum in sight I started saving money for a Mac. That was a buyup that went in the right direction.

THIS, on the other hand... Well... I'll happily be convinced otherwise, but I foresee less pro features and more "eJayism" coming. Too bad. My thanks go out to Peter and the rest of the devs who kept us "hardcore" users satisfied until the bitter end.

Well, I honestly don't think we'll be getting that Oxford EQ. Remember, this is Sony Pictures who have bought the SF apps. Sony Pictures... Think Shrek, Spiderman etc. Not Oxford, DMX desks or any of that. That's a completely different division of Sony. Well, as far as I know the two aren't connected?

"More of the same lesson has been delivered once again. Feel like going public with your new company?"

LOL!!! You really crack me up JoeDumbass. What expertise do you have in running a big corporate business? Again, you show your ignorance!!! Yep, it's pretty easy to sit back and criticize. Rimas, started as a software programmer and made a product that was desired worldwide. What have you done in comparision? Wow...let's visit your website again and buy another HAMMOND ORGAN CD (WWW.JOEDORIAMUSIC.COM). Those are going like hotcakes aren't they, big business guy? Go back to talking about something you know about, like playing the organ and leave business decisions and strategies to people who have educations and experience in that department. Sonic Foundry, Steinberg, Emagic, they've all hit financial problems to overcome.....do you think that might have something to do with the market? You spout things like public companies this, public companies that...like it's a cancerous disease. Ahhhh...let's see now, Sonic Foundry was a public company, being purchased by another public company (Sony). Emagic, was purchased by Macintosh...another public company. Mackie, a private company is having financial difficulty...I suppose when they sell off, they'll be bought by another public company. Microsoft, the biggest company worldwide...another public company. IBM, Intel,..public....shall I go on? The company I work for is a "PUBLIC" company. They've created a very successful business, by purchasing smaller "private" companies who are having financial difficulties and then turning them around by increasing their profit margins and using their technologies in other markets they previously didn't have access too.


Really, JoeNobody what are you trying to say?

<<<LOL!!! You really crack me up JoeDumbass. What expertise do you have in running a big corporate business? Again, you show your>>>

(sniff)...
eww, anybody smell that stench? Is reddn-neck here again?

Actually Rimas didn't write any code for our products. He was the business side of things.

I believe that Mackie is (was) a public company. They were recently purchased by a company that specializes in buying good companies gone bad, putting them back together again, and then selling them off. Don't remember the name of buyer.

Peter