If we haven't stated our computer platform preference here before let us do it now: We're "Macheads"; always have been, and in all likelihood always will be.
Now, our loyalty to the machines and products developed by Apple is not one driven by worship at The Church of Steve Jobs, but a preference for useful tools--primarily in the creative field--and common sense, despite the mostly higher price tag ultimately involved. (Sometimes the good stuff just don't come cheap.)
As musicians we have been raving for a while now about the music and podcast creating application known as GarageBand. (Which is bundled in the multimedia iLife package that comes with the purchase of a new Mac or obtained on its own for less than a C-note.) Simply put, we find it to be the ultimate tool for professionals and hobbyists alike to flesh out musical ideas--demos, in trade speak--with reasonably impressive results.
So, half a decade after Apple introduces GarageBand, what does Microsoft counteract with? Songsmith, a glorified karaoke application that elevates the drunken sing-a-long to high art in comparison. Here's proof, from the Windows people themselves:
Now, if that wasn't bad enough, the application has unleashed a rash of song-butchering in the most unfunny of ways; something akin to William Hung's wildest wet dream:
OK, so let's clarify a bit: we're not advocating for a ban on developing potentially funny and/or goofy applications. Of course not. To each his own. But the point is, while Apple is trying to reward your imagination and self-expression with GarageBand's potential to make satisfying musical statements--or silly ones if you are so inclined--Bill Gates and co. respond with a novelty item whose usefulness is literally a joke, with a comedic shelf life that is sure to be short lived.
Songsmith is simply one more slip up in a recent line of continuous missteps on the part of Microsoft that reminds us of that En Vogue song. You know, the one that goes "No, you're never gonna get it." How lame can you go, Microsoft?
