That'll work. Cheers!

I thought of dual boot but with a VM I can move files over a network. In the past I've had issues with moving files across different file systems, though I imagine ntfs support for Linux has matured since then. I'm probably not going to use something like FAT32 if I can help it.

Another slashdotter pointed out something called csounds. It sounds like what I'm looking for in a synth. I'd have to put it in a VM since Sibelius or Final seem to be the best for notation, but it looks like my synth is already out there.

I think that settles it. I'll get a Win 7 machine and put Ubuntu Studio in a VM. If Ubuntu Studio with Muse Score works for me, I'll swap Ubuntu and put Win 7 in a VM. If Ubuntu Studio doesn't do the trick, then I'll keep Win 7 and shell out the money for Finale and do the synthesis in csounds in the Linux VM. Cheers!

That was the idea for the synthesizer I was considering writing myself, actually, so I might not need to worry about that piece. I don't need a realtime synth. Unfortunately, for notation Finale (or possibly Sibelius) sound like the best for notation, which puts me on Windows or Mac. I'll check it out. I can always install a VM.

It's pretty funny, my emphasis is on composition and the best solutions I've seen so far are Finale + either Reaper or ProTools, which is spot on with what you've recommended. I'm not familiar with Logic or Ableton, but they've come up a few times too, so I think I'll need to look into them too. After I settle on one of those, I think I'll know what hardware I need, but I'm leaning towards a Win7 PC. It's a shame there are no FOSS solutions (I was really hoping Ubuntu Studio would work), but I do think the least I can do to contribute would be work on a FOSS synth in .NET and put it on sourceforge.

Well put. Unfortunately, my principles are in conflict. As much as I support FOSS, I am not willing to compromise my music to do so. I would support making the FOSS alternatives better (contributing if possible), but I wouldn't actually use something to produce music of a quality below my personal standards. Better to bring the FOSS alternatives up to par.

That was extremely helpful. The emphasis here is on composition, but I would like the auditioning to sound good, performed if possible (just recording and mixing), I don't want to be limited to physical instrument sounds (a synthesizer, but I think I can make my own), and I want my music to sound good when I share it. If any of it is ever performed live, I'd use different tools. Finale and Reaper sounds like it might be a usable combination for me and I think I could stomach the price, so I think I'll look into Reaper (although I'll admit I was secretly hoping for a FOSS solution).

That was me. Both are poorly worded. The title I tried to keep short, but should have been more like "Is FOSS music software as good as closed-source for my particular needs?" As for the summary, given two applications with the features I need, I usually always pick FOSS over closed-source, even if the closed-source alternative. I use or have used Firefox over IE, OpenOffice over MS Office, Gimp over PhotoShop, Ubuntu over Windows, etc. I like FOSS. A lot, actually. The issue here is that I like music even more and do not want to sacrifice quality. But my summary was long enough as it was, so I tried (unsuccessfully) to get that point across in as few words as possible.

Actually, I tried Ubuntu Studio a few years ago, and at the time, it wasn't quite up to snuff, though I don't doubt it has improved significantly. It's really just a question of how much it's improved.

Actually, that was quite helpful. If GarageBand is cheap enough to offset Apple's premium on hardware vs. PC + Finale, it is definitely worth looking into. Most of the posts above seem to indicate GarageBand isn't comparable to Finale, so I'm not really sure what to expect. Maybe it is just a question of what it does out-of-the-box? Maybe GarageBand just requires more work?

I'm not familiar with Ardour. I think I will read up on it, too, though from your comments, it sounds like it's not quite as good. Even if it doesn't have all the features of GarageBand or Finale, it might be possible to accomplish the same thing with multiple apps, though, so worth reading up on... I wouldn't have asked slashdot unless I was interested in FOSS alternatives. Big question about Ardour, though: Gnome or KDE?

...and telescopes are hardware. I can't figure mine out. Oh well, I am happy with my eyeglasses when it comes to star gazing and I use Google Earth when I want to see something up close.

If they won't lay cable, who's going to lay fiber? Fiber is definitely preferable, but isn't it even more of a commitment from the utility?

But don't let me sidetrack you on the fiber. The subject is near and dear to my own heart. I would personally love to convince my township that we need fiber to every home, but I have no idea how to sell that apart from suggesting it will improve property value, so if you have any ideas, I'm all ears.