Linux Based Audio Hardware Interface Poised to Unseat Protools! 2304

This thing looks neat, and something new to the market. It looks (description didn't really go that far into it) like a combination IO box with XLR-TRS combo jacks with phantom power and a tablet PC running Linux. I'm not sure if this is even available in the market today.

As for ProTools, first off, there is ProTools HD and there is ProTools LE. The former being what studios use for high end production, and it's hardware based and very expensive. The second is a software package to be used with DigiDesign or M-Audio hardware and sometimes comes packaged with it. As far as I can see, nothing from either of those two even resembles such a device.

This device is more like a Boss BR600 that's less hardware based, and more software based, probably giving you 24bit (vs. 16bit on the Boss) recording and unlimited tracks. However, one thing that's great about DAW's is the buttons and knobs that give you direct access to the features, which is something this product lacks. Most home musicians loath the software based controls on products like Cubase and Sonar. They'd much rather have the functions at their fingertips via some sort of console.

My guess is that this is more for replacing laptop based systems. We'll see how well this does. For a grand, it seems a little steep. I can get a Yamaha AW1600, which is an awesome machine for the price.