Official statement on the status and future of the OASYS

[tritex4]

"Our statement we just released says that you shouldn't "expect" further software development per se ..."


On the bright side, Korg just released an update for the discontinued Extreme, so Korg is smart to say that one "shouldn't "expect" further software development per se...", which helps in not getting peoples expectations up, but the statement doesn't
nail the coffin on future updates. I suspect that because the economy is in triple-bypass mode, things will be very slow.
I do expect that Korg will try and finalize things.....getting out another update to tie up some loose ends.
I don't see a company like Korg, not putting finishing touches on a machine like the OASYS. The fact that at this day and
age, they addressed a MOSS issue on a discontinued Extreme, is a good sign for the OASYS, IMHO. It just may
take awhile, though.

Further,
whether it's the US, Japan, or the UK,
all their websites should be updated.....especially with info for potential buyers.

[Daz]

You're right it is great that Korg do continue to correct glitches in the firmware after the hardware has finished production. With the Oasys though the idea was that it would have a future of expansion, not just bug fixes.

[tritex4]

Yeah, I think that Korg intended the "O" to be the Open Architecture machine of the
future, but for whatever reasons, it won't be the case. They should amend their websites
and be prepared to take some heat.

[AnthonyB]

At the Korg UK website, we have Latest News: KORG ANNOUNCES TWO NEW RELEASES FOR THE OASYS.

The site was updated Feb 25th 2009. Now then, this is fine for those of us here at Korg Forums, and who've been members all these years, and "in-the-know" with whats the latest/greatest etc.

However, not every OASYS owner goes to forums like this one everyday do they?, so supposing the are shopping for an OASYS, and see this "latest" announcement. it's hardly got "Korg OASYS discontinued" written all over it has it? (fact that it has been discontinued) and also popular shops like Digital village http://www.dv247.com/invt/29531/ are still advertising it as "Korg software release 1.1 includes support for 2 Gb Memory. The Oasys memory can now be expanded to 2 Gb. This gives you even broader sampling space, and lets you load both the EXs-1 and EXs-2 expansion PCM libraries simultaneously. Visit www.korg.com for download information.

And some shops that have supposedly gone bust (Turnkey), are there as well http://www.turnkey.co.uk/product.php?itemid=3845 doesn't look like this shop got any further info from KORG as they're still on 1.0 - with no mention of LAC/Mod-7 etc. I'm not sure what to think really. do these shops actually care what Version the OASYS is anyway?, do they spend time looking at these forums, or perhaps monitering what's going on at korg? - at the end of the day, is it $$$££££ that more important, hmmm?

If i was in control of a product that i developed, revised, updated etc, and saw a website with my product on it like it had only "Just been released", i would be very angry that someone wasn't pulling there weight. I don't know, i don't - just an "half-rant" i guess


AnthonyB

[Rocness]

What happened to expansion effects ?
Are the presets expansion effects or no?

[Daz]

What happened to expansion effects ?

There were no EXf.

Are the presets expansion effects or no?

They are not EXf. They are a very useful addition though

[zolhof]

What happened to expansion effects ?

There were no EXf.

Are the presets expansion effects or no?

They are not EXf. They are a very useful addition though

amen to that! those presets are gold, I´m always using them to get some great and fast results

[laughing_bear]

Well, this explains why there was not a single Oasys on the Musikmesse, which by the way appears to have been deserted, empty halls etc., clear signs of this economic disaster.

Too bad, I was hoping the OASYS concept would find a second installment with some major hardware upgrades, but I suppose when Korg did let go of Karma to some degree this was already a sign of what is to come.

I can understand some sntiments about the sequencer, this is a really bad joke in my view and I only hope you guys will get that much deserved upgrade. I would consider this a matter of honor to deliver this as a last major update to the Oasys.

Fingers crossed....

[StephenKay]

Too bad, I was hoping the OASYS concept would find a second installment with some major hardware upgrades, but I suppose when Korg did let go of Karma to some degree this was already a sign of what is to come.

I would like to correct this statement, as it has never been said that Korg has "let go of KARMA" - rather, I decided to do something with a second company (Open Labs), something which my contract with Korg allows me to do, and which does not prevent Korg and myself from continuing to work together on products with KARMA in the future. And while I cannot reveal any specifics, my feeling (at this present moment) is that it has not been "dropped".

[Sharp]

After giving all this a few days thought I have to say that what bugs me most about all this is that the OASYS was never truly open.

A “EX” expansion can only be added if KORG update the OS regardless of who develops the expansion. You also can't decided to install something on the OASYS yourself because everything in the end depends on KORG to allow this to happen, and to update the OS.

So at the end of the day, the term “OPEN” only applies for a certain amount of time, which is while KORG are interested in supporting the OASYS. Once that time passes, nothing else can be added to the OASYS.

Also because of how all this works and how much a third party developer would depend on KORG, I bet there's likely licence fees and other costs that pretty much prevented anyone from developing a single thing for the OASYS. It's also not like KORG posted any official information on their website welcoming people to do that either.

Where if it was truly OPEN like the Neko where the developer does not depend on anyone other than himself, then we might have seem a lot more added to the OASYS.

Seems to me it would have been better for KORG to add a VSTi HOST at this stage as part of their main focus.

Regards
Sharp.

[zolhof]

we could at least get some FREE updates like the M3 xpanded.. it feels so unfair that I have to pay $149 for EXs3 while the M3 users get all the fun for free

[jerrythek]

Regarding the websites with old text, you are completely correct. We'll fix that today.

I'm sorry.



Regards,

Jerry

[lcmorley]

we could at least get some FREE updates like the M3 xpanded.. it feels so unfair that I have to pay $149 for EXs3 while the M3 users get all the fun for free

Maybe as an apology, Korg should now allow all Oasys users without the expansions to download everything for free.

[kenackr]

Sharp,

Your point about being "open" is well taken.

Business models that discourage third party developers from adding "code" as after market enhancements seem to wind up with much smaller market share than those who don't.

Consider how Apple operates versus Microsoft. Apple didn't want anyone messing with their OS and their big applications and getting their reputation sullied because some 3rd party developer botched something up (also wanted to keep the monopoly thing going too). Apple's focus was tight integration of hardware with software.

Microsoft figured they'd manage 3rd parties through licensing fees, etc, and encourage after market ware and then they could use it as a shield against bad wraps when something went wrong.

On the other hand, I can clearly see the argument that says don't let competitors see the "magic" thing you developed.

It would truly be great if Korg found a way to let a 3rd party, like Stephen Kay or Daz, etc. put whatever enhancements they'd like to sell, out for the Oasys.

Just my 2c.

Ken

[kenackr]

IC,

Bad idea! What do those of us who paid for them get? That's not fair or appropriate.