Wanted: OSC Deck II 2.2 (pre-macromedia/bias version)

[systemseven]

Hello all, I am trying to find a copy (either online or physical) of Deck II 2.2 by OSC.  If my research is correct, this would be the last version released by OSC before being acquired by Macromedia and their 2.5 version or BIAS and their 2.6x version.  I believe this would have been around '95?   

[MacTron]

I know that Macromedia ruined most of what it touched,  but why this OSC version?
Just curious ...

[geforceg4]

one of the most CREATIVE companies there ever was... swallowed up whole by ADOBE
https://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/invrelations/adobeandmacromedia.html in April 2005
changing overnight ALOT to do with website design.. the web has literally never been the same since that buyout/merger.... adobe + macromedia together were responsible for some of my most creative work + fondest memories using macos9.... macromedia was a visionary company! that made everything BETTER that it touched.. i dont know where u could possibly get the idea that it ruined everything that it touched


http://web.archive.org/web/20050331092944/http://macromedia.com/

Flash MX 2004
Dreamweaver MX 2004
Fireworks MX 2004
FreeHand MX

macromedia was always held in high regard untill being PUBLICLY CRITICIZED by steve jobs who only did so because he had an AGENDA with his own soon-to-be-released hardware products (ipad, iphone etc) + battery life performance etc.. rather hten fixing the battery he fixed it by discrediting macromedia flash and literally changing the world by publicly downtalking macromedia rather then making a iphone or ipad that could run flash without running down the battery..

macromedia obviously did have a history of buying up alot of other software programs...
and integrating them into their own suite of applications, but they created a really great set of creative tools + i very  much fondly remember working with fireworks + flash + freehand on a daily basis back in the late 1990s + early 2000s period. i very much miss this pre-facebook version of the internet-world! alot of things changed in 2005

i miss pre-studio MX macromedia from 2000-2003 the most
http://web.archive.org/web/20020720042321/http://www.macromedia.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/20010711153213/http://www.macromedia.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/20000301182851/http://macromedia.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/19991109124715/http://www.macromedia.com/index_gif.html
RIP
back when the web was amazingly creative. and easily browsable on a g4
its a SHAME to remember macromedia as a company that ruined anything, rather then seeing the MAGIC + CREATIVITY that their tools unleashed on the world for a small brilliant time period that happened by chance to coincide simultaneously with macos9 os itself

[MacTron]

I know Macromedia since Macromind Director.
You only have to compare the products before and after Macromedia take them. They usually became slow, buggy and ugly as hell.

The 2005 Adobe take over, is out of my scope.

Disabling flash it's the best thing S. Jobs done after re-join Apple. Most users anticipate this disabling the flash player to avoid loosing time with those animations.

The Flash pluging was only usefull to show video on the web. Despite it was the worst tecnology to do it, as the future showed.

[geforceg4]

i have a very different opinion than you on this matter Mactron.
I also worked with Director, producing media demos for the CTV NEWS website that went on to win The Canadian Juno award for best innovative use of technology in 1999/2000.

it wasnt that the plugin was flawed.. rather.. what PEOPLE AUTHORED for it was the thing that was flawed.. the plugin allowed alot of creativity in how u could choose to work + structure your work..  with less of a standardized structuer then even HTML itself.. everyone developed their work slightly differently. i should know because i was a flash developer for many years.. i went to all the conferences back then and knew many people in the web development scene and many many people did not know how to develop for flash. They made many mistakes + structured their media production with the program/plugin in a very unintelligent and non-standardized way.

but that is a discussion for another thread.. this thread is about DECK before it came to be in the hands of Macromedia..

[geforceg4]

ancient 1994 article:
https://www.wired.com/1994/12/osc/


http://www.audiomac.net/audiomac_archived/rev_bias_deck25.html
http://sitenoise.com/deck/
http://www.verycomputer.com/47_f604d0225be83ba3_1.htm


OSC company profile:

http://multiple.insertions.com/mi_html/products/other/iv12a.htm

heres the info on the acquisition of OSC by macromedia in 1995:
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/MACROMEDIA+ANNOUNCES+AGREEMENT+TO+ACQUIRE+OSC,+LEADING+DIGITAL+AUDIO...-a017809538

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Macromedia (Nasdaq: MACR), the leader in multimedia and digital arts software, and OSC, Inc., a pioneer of digital audio production software, today announced that they have reached an agreement whereby Macromedia will acquire OSC. Based in San Francisco, OSC is the developer of Deck II(TM), the award-winning software for professional-quality multi-track music and sound production.

The audio market has been moving rapidly to adopt digital recording and editing software for standard desktop systems, replacing expensive, dedicated hardware. Macromedia currently offers SoundEdit 16, a leading tool for creating and editing sound for multimedia productions. With the OSC acquisition, Macromedia is now positioned to offer a complete solution for musicians, sound technicians, and video professionals who make up the growing audio side of the multimedia industry.

This acquisition enhances Macromedia Studios for the Macintosh by adding Deck II's strengths in recording, editing and mixing professional-quality sound tracks to SoundEdit 16's powerful capabilities in sound effects processing and sound manipulation. Together, Deck II and SoundEdit 16 provide a complete tool-set for audio production and post-production on the desktop. Macromedia Studios is the leading integrated suite of professional design and production tools for digital arts and multimedia, including industry- leading software such as Macromedia FreeHand(TM), Extreme 3D(TM), SoundEdit 16(TM), Fontographer(R), Director(R), Macromedia xRes(TM), and Authorware(R).

"OSC's development team, recognized leaders among musicians and digital audio professionals, will extend Macromedia's capabilities in sound, as well as video and interactive authoring," said Macromedia's president and CEO, John ("Bud") Colligan. "The OSC acquisition is a natural extension of Macromedia's strategy to give creative professionals everything they need for digital media production and delivery. Using Macromedia tools, our customers can create and deliver their productions over a variety of media, including CD-ROMs, enhanced CDs and the Internet."

"OSC and Macromedia complement each other perfectly," said Josh Rosen, president of OSC. "For the last five years, OSC has been showing that top-quality audio work can be created on standard personal computers. By linking our technologies with Macromedia's industry- leading products, we are delivering powerful audio software to the broadest possible base of users."

In the transaction, which will be accounted for as a pooling of interests, Macromedia will exchange approximately 62,000 shares of common stock for all outstanding shares of OSC. The value at the time of signing will be approximately $2.8 million. It is intended that OSC will be merged into Macromedia as of December 2, 1995. The acquisition is anticipated to be accretive for Macromedia over the next twelve months. Macromedia will take a charge against earnings in the current quarter to cover merger-related expenses.

Deck II Upgrade Ships

Deck II 2.5 for Macintosh will ship this month. Enhancements include the ability to play back up to 32 simultaneous tracks on the Power Macintosh, numerous real time effects, and the ability to integrate Adobe Premiere plug-ins. Suggested retail pricing is $399. Deck II owners can upgrade for $99.

OSC will relocate to the San Francisco offices of Macromedia. Josh Rosen, president of OSC, will be manager of sound products at Macromedia and Mats Myrberg, vice president of engineering at OSC will become principal engineer/senior audio architect.

About Macromedia

Macromedia, the leader in multimedia and digital arts software tools, offers a full range of products for the Windows and Macintosh platforms. The company's flagship products include: FreeHand, the most powerful tool for design and illustration; Director, the industry- standard animation and authoring tool for multimedia production; Authorware, the most powerful multiplatform authoring environment for interactive information; Extreme 3D, the most powerful desktop solution for 3D graphics and animation; SoundEdit 16, the easy-to-use digital sound recording and editing solution; Fontographer, the industry- standard for type design and editing; Macromedia xRes, the most powerful creative tool for hi-res images. For more information on Macromedia products, please call 800-326-2128, 415-252-2000, or fax 415- 626-1502. You can also reach Macromedia on-line: America On-Line: Keyword: MACROMEDIA, Compuserve: GO MACROMEDIA, Internet: [email protected] or on the World Wide Web: http://www.macromedia.com.

All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. Macromedia Studios is a trademark of Macromedia, Inc. Other products or services are identified by trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
 -0- 11/30/95

heres an article comparing some different similar apps way back in may 1996: https://www.videomaker.com/article/c4/2325-sound-track-multi-track-audio-for-video

Opcode System's DigiTrax ($199),
or OSC's Deck II ($399),
MacroMedia's SoundEdit 16 ($379) or
Avid/DigiDesign's Session ($199)

[MacTron]

i have a very different opinion than you on this matter Mactron.

OK, I know that this was a very controversial at its moment.

but that is a discussion for another thread.. this thread is about DECK before it came to be in the hands of Macromedia..

Yes, You're right.
But I'm still curious about why systemseven want the OSC version...

[geforceg4]

maybe he wants it for historical reasons..
its an interesting part of DAW history..

based on the comment : ""For the last five years, OSC has been showing that top-quality audio work can be created on standard personal computers." the article is from 1995.. so i guess this means OSC company from san francisco first started out in the industry in 1990... were they always macintosh based?

heres another article, this time from 1997:
http://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/death-of-a-multimedia-phenomenon/Content?oid=2134852
this article claims that OSC stood for "Our Stinking Corporation" LOL!!!
this article shows alot of info on the company itself.. and its members

The boys -- Josh Rosen, John Dalton, Mats Myrberg, and a half-dozen Bay Area slackers they hired along the way -- were exquisitely revered because of the seemingly magical musical computer software they first threw together in Rosen's apartment and eventually fashioned into a white-hot Silicon Valley start-up corporation. By allowing any garage band with a Macintosh computer to produce a studio-quality CD or professional movie soundtrack, the OSC boys gained an international network of overwrought fans and were the subject of panting tributes in music and computer magazines. From brain to garage to corporation to cash, these modern-day planters farmed the rich economic humus of the Bay Area's high-tech economy and came away heroes.

[MacTron]

... were they always macintosh based?

Yes they were . AFAIK.

maybe he wants it for historical reasons..
its an interesting part of DAW history...

May be ... The OSC Deck was the underlying technology of ProTools:

The ProTools core engine technology and much of the user interface was designed by and licensed from a small San Francisco company called OSC, known at the time for creating the first software-based digital multi-track recorder, called DECK, in 1990

I have used Deck II (I don't remember the version) for a couple of small audio projects when the mayor DAWs didn't support audio.

[systemseven]

Mostly curious if I can get Deck II running on a 68K Mac under 7.6.1.  I also wanted to experiment with 2.2, as I spent a fair bit of time using BIAS' 3.5 version on OS8 back in the '90s and was curious what changes it went through going from OSC to macromedia to BIAS.  Obviously this site is geared towards OS9 DAWs, but is there a good thread to check out about System7 DAWs? 

[geforceg4]

not really. u will find SOME info here on the site that goes on past mac os 9 as a few users here are curious about the historical releases that happened before mac os 9.. but yea everything on the site is more geared towards 1999-2004 time frame

even the info from 1998-1996 is somewhat easy to stumble upon but

1995-1991 info is available but harder to come by. and takes a combination of luck, vintage first-hand experience or careful detective intelligence to dig up
as

some stuff simply WORKS on os9 the same as it works in os 7..
some stuff.. not so much

[MacTron]

Mostly curious if I can get Deck II running on a 68K Mac under 7.6.1.

The main issue of using 68k Macs for audio is that most of them have 8 bits audio ( but some Quadra AV ) ... so you'll need a NuBus or PDS sound card ...

Obviously this site is geared towards OS9 DAWs, but is there a good thread to check out about System7 DAWs?

For with System 7 and 68K you should use MIDI only DAWs because the 8 bits audio issue . At its time I have used Ballade and Cubasis in a Macintosh LC III with System 7.1. After this I have used Logic Audio Platinum 3.x  with my Quadra 840 AV.

For with System 7 and 68K you should use MIDI only DAWs because the 8 bits audio issue . At its time I have used Ballade and Cubasis in a Macintosh LC III with System 7.1. After this I have used Logic Audio Platinum 3.x  with my Quadra 840 AV. Despite I don't like Logic, It's damn fast on 68k machines.

[systemseven]

Thanks for all the info though!  If I do come across Deck 2.2 I'll be sure to post my findings here too. 

[MacTron]

The Deck II 2.5 is from 1995 and its under Macromedia brand already ...

[Karlheinz]

I have Deck II 2.2 complete Package, Original boxed - found it Last week Ehen i cleaned up my cellar...
 

[DieHard]

I have Deck II 2.2 complete Package, Original boxed - found it Last week Ehen i cleaned up my cellar...
 

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