To all who ask why Apple picked Logic when they bought an audio company...

I think the answer is complex and it goes way beyond UI. Apple knew how to do UI they didn't know how to do audio and midi at the OS level. Emagic probably represented the most economical purchase, high quantity of brain power and low quantity of bodies. Logic is a stunning interface it is just not a beginners interface. To know Logic is to know it a good fraction of it 400+ completely customizable key commands. All of which are assignable to not only keys on your computer keyboard, but keys on music keyboards. In fact Emagic, Logic's parent company, was so ahead of their time they had a spotlight style search engine built into their key commands editor window, back in 1995.

In addition, Apple completely neglected audio in MacOS from the introduction of System 7 through MacOS X 10.1. Apple's midi system relied on Opcode, a long defunct company that made software called OMS. While OMS was cool, it was basically unchanged since Opcode started to go out of business in 1996. When Apple was looking for ideas on how to do midi for OS X, they must have looked at OMS and the "Environment" in Logic and realized that these guys really understand how to integrate midi into an application, because they hired both the OMS designer Doug Wyatt and bought Emagic. In addition to midi Emagic understood audio protocols, as they had written EASI which was a standard for developers of multi-input output audio hardware. Basically OMS morphed into CoreMidi and EASI morphed into CoreAudio. Emagic even had their own audio plugin sytem, they just hadn't openned it to outside developers, this must have become the basis of CoreAudio. Apple on the other hand had fallen WAY behind Microsoft who had integrated scalable multiplie midi and audio I/O, with Direct X, back in Windows 98. Sure Microsoft's stuff only worked half they time, but they set bar, and judging from the way they follow through, Apple had to follow, clearly the Emagic purchase made sense. In addition, while Logic's interface had a vertical learning curve, Emagic managed to make some of the best audio effect and instrument plugins of the only other companies that also knew audio and midi: Motu and Steinberg. Emagic understood branding by the time they got around to plugins and they gave their effects a recognizable, and cool looking common interface. Motu and Steinbergs hodge podge of effects were way more hit and miss. Emagic covered all of the basses. and while their plugins were not the most inspiring, they covered just about every type of effect and every parameter, and gave them consistent feel, which made them perfect for system integration. Finally emagic had a complete line of software instruments, including a full featured sampler, which became the engine of garageband instruments.

So while Emagic was coming up with all of this stuff it is true they have neglected simplicity in their interface. Comparisons often come up to Ableton and Traktion. Howowever if you were Apple who would you buy, the company that comes up with a couple new UI designs on a 1.0 product, or Emagic, a company full of people that really get into system level technology.

The choice is clear, as much as Apple hates to admit it UI is easy. With Logic, Apple has the whole package and they get a company that likes to wait for others to come out with some bleeding edges features and then, carefully assimilates the best aspects of those features while adding levels of refinement that make the features, no longer "bleading edge", but essential.

I for one am very excited to see what Dr. Gerhard Lengeling, former Emagic CEO, now Apple's lead architect audio/music apps, come up with after studying Ableton Live for 4 years now. I'm sure they wanted to get around to "energizing" Logic, but I'm sure designing the CoreAudio and AudioUnit systems that Ableton Live relies on, as well as GarageBand, kind of got in the way.

Sorry for the rant, but as some one who opens up Logic and just feels "at home", I felt I had to say something defending the product that I consider as essential as "oxygen". And trust me I've tried to switch, I get frustrated with parts of Logic, but on the whole no other program does it for me like Logic.