According to Newsweek Magazine, Disney's made-for-TV movie "High School Musical" has "proved itself a tween phenomenon and marketing juggernaut, racking up record sales on its CD soundtrack and DVD release, and spawning everything from T shirts to sheet music." Industry analysts estimate the fledging Disney franchise already totals $100 million in CD and DVD sales with growth that has no end in sight. Packing almost 80 minutes of music into the 98 minute movie, composer David Lawrence experienced major turning points in his career, both in terms of rocketing success and his decision to go with a 100% native Digital Performer desktop studio workflow for the very first time on a modest Disney production that turned into an overnight success and exceeded everyone's expectations.

Digital Performer 6.01 is now shipping. If you own Version 6.0, you can download the free Version 6.01 updater. This maintenance release includes numerous program enhancements and optimizations, including the handy new Track Inspector, new preferences for running plug-ins in real time, enhancements to Final Cut Pro XML interchange, improved on-line help, new shortcuts for configuring info windows and info bars, and many other program improvements and optimizations.

MOTU products now achieve unprecedented speed and performance on the Mac platform, thanks to Apple's new Intel-Xeon Mac Pro towers. Preliminary tests indicate that current Intel compatible MOTU products are compatible with these powerful new machines, and further testing is on-going.

MachFive 2 once again raises the bar for what a virtual sampler should be. No matter what you've got as your desktop production environment of choice, MachFive will fit right in and deliver state-of-the-art features and performance. Start with 32GB of included sounds. You get four dual-layer (8GB) DVDs packed full of multi-sample instruments, loops and phrases you can use every day, including a stunning 8GB grand piano and surround drum kits. MachFive 2 now imports just about every audio file, loop and sampler format on the planet - directly. No conversion is necessary. Just drag and drop loops in any format, including REX2, Acid and Apple Loops, or directly load multi-layer instruments in any major sample format, including Giga, EXS24, Kontakt, Roland, Akai, Kurzweil and E-Mu.

Digital Performer 5.1 is now available as a free update to all registered DP5 users. This maintenance update, provided as a Universal Binary application, can be installed on an Intel Mac or PowerPC Mac and provides numerous code enhancements and optimizations.

MacAudioLab has released a new instructional DVD for Digital Performer 5. The Ultimate DP5 Learning Series DVD provides 14 hours of QuickTime movie content, including new clips that cover the new features in DP5 and a bonus in-depth programming guide to MX4. Easy-to-follow linear chapters, large videos screenshots for easy viewing, audio narration, a PDF index and PDF keyboard shortcuts are just some of the features on this new must-have training DVD.

According to the April 2007 issue of Fortune Magazine, composer Brian Banks has written themes and music for many Fortune 500 companies. With a workflow that spans the globe and operates at the speed of on-air broadcast deadlines, Brian handles it all with ease using his state-of-the-art MOTU recording systems: sequencing, virtual instruments, live tracks, full orchestra recording sessions, sound design and even dialog editing. By focusing on the exceptionally demanding, fast-paced world of music and sound for advertising, Brian finds he is able to provide one-stop shopping for all of his clients' music, sound design, mixing and mastering needs. Even when he is conducting a live recording session in LA from his studio in London, it's all in a day's work for mega-clients such as Microsoft, Morgan Stanley and Motorola.

Digital Performer 5.12 is now shipping. If you own Version 5, you can download the free Version 5.12 updater here. This maintenance release includes numerous program enhancements and optimizations, including the ability to mix and match sample formats within a session, native operation under Japanese systems, and many program enhancements and optimizations.

At the 80th Academy Awards this past Sunday, Italian born composer and MOTU user Dario Marianelli won the Oscar for Best Music (Original Score) for Atonement (2008, Focus Features), starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. This is Dario's second nomination and his first Oscar. Dario was first nominated for Best Music (Original Score) for his soundtrack for Pride & Prejudice (2005, Focus Features). Dario also recently won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for Atonement. As a prolific award-winning composer of piano, orchestral and film music, Dario uses Digital Performer, MachFive and MOTU audio interfaces in his studio.

Electronic Musician and Future Music magazines have given the UltraLite their award for Best Audio Interface of 2006. Read what they (and other respected magazines) say about the UltraLite.

Windows Vista, Microsoft's highly anticipated next-generation operating system for the PC, is due to ship worldwide at the end of January 2007. In advance of Vista's formal release, MOTU is now shipping Vista-compatible drivers for all MOTU Firewire, PCI and USB hardware interface products. Are you running Windows Vista already? If so, you can download Vista drivers to run MOTU audio and MIDI hardware with your favorite Vista-compatible audio and MIDI software. All current MOTU hardware products are supported, including FireWire and UltraFast USB2 audio/MIDI interfaces such as the UltraLite and 828mkII, PCI core systems such as the 2408mk3 and HD192, and all MOTU USB MIDI interfaces.

A self-proclaimed "sucker for world instruments", EQ magazine's Craig Anderton couldn't wait to get his hands on Ethno Instrument. What impression does Ethno make on such heightened world music sensibilities? Right up front, Anderton proclaims, "It's quality all the way: The samples are well-recorded, looped and mapped." In fact, Anderton finds a lot more that he likes about Ethno. "But the big deal to me is the way EI handles loops," he says, adding "...the execution here is superb." The final verdict? "Ethno Instrument is a superb (and painless) way to get into world-class world sounds." Read the full story at eqmag.com, or grab a copy of the October 2006 issue of EQ magazine.

Digital Performer 5.11 is now shipping. If you own Version 5.0, 5.01 or 5.1, you can download the free Version 5.11 updater here. This maintenance release includes numerous program enhancements and optimizations. The 5.11 update also includes hundreds of new presets for DP5's six included virtual instrument plug-ins.

The Ethno Instrument movies are here! You saw Jordan Rudess work his two-handed wizardry with the Symphonic Instrument. See and hear him again, this time with globe-spanning music played solely with sounds from the Ethno Instrument. From haunting Far East melodies to rousing Flamenco dances to transcendent Indian ragas, Jordan's performances demonstrate the incredible breadth of sounds that Ethno Instrument places at your fingertips. Watch his fingers fly as he triggers loops, loop slices and instrument presets - all at the same time. See first-hand how to employ key switching techniques and Loop Slice mode to take full advantage of the full breadth and depth of Ethno's powerful integrated instrument preset and looping features. BONUS: download and play Jordan's Ethno multis.

Blogs have become a mainstream vehicle for expression. Now, it's podcasts: they add sensory depth to our web browsers and RSS feeds, giving a dynamic voice to anyone with a message and a desire to broadcast it. Digital Performer is proving to be the Go To production application for many podcasters, thanks to its complete end-to-end workflow tool set. According to Ben Kaplan, who developed and produced the String Theory podcast series for St. Louis-based Act3 production studios, "Digital Performer makes it easy to manage a ton of content and edit on the fly."

Mac OS X Leopard (10.5) is now shipping. Are your MOTU software and hardware products compatible? Absolutely. MOTU has worked closely with Apple to ensure a smooth transition for your MOTU products when you make the move to Leopard. In some cases, current versions of your MOTU software have already been made forward-compatible with Leopard. In other cases, MOTU software updates or driver updates are now (or soon to be) available to tame the new Leopard in your Mac.

Musician, producer and composer Al Kooper made an appearance at the MOTU booth at the Audio Engineering Society (AES) show in New York City last week to give a one-hour presentation on his composing and production techniques using Digital Performer, MachFive and other MOTU products. Kooper played tracks in progress for his up-coming album and offered key insights into his creative process to a standing-room only crowd.

Read what the critics have said about the Traveler, the bus-powered Firewire audio interface that has set a new standard for truly professional and portable Firewire audio I/O.

A Universal Binary version of MX4, the multisynth virtual instrument, is now shipping in all supported formats (MAS, AU and RTAS)and is available for download here for registered users. Also now available for download are Universal Binary (Intel Mac) MAS versions of Ethno Instrument and Symphonic Instrument, allowing you to run all three of these MOTU virtual instruments natively on your Intel Mac in Digital Performer 5.1.

Do you have a 2408mk3, HD192 or 24io core system equipped with our latest high-speed PCIe (PCI Express) audio card? Now you can install it in Apple's new Intel-Xeon Quad Core Mac Pro Tower for unprecedented audio performance. Universal Binary (Intel Mac) PCI-424 drivers are now available for download here. Do you have a legacy PCI-324 or -424 system? You can upgrade your PCI card directly from the MOTU store and take full advantage of Apple's latest-generation Intel Mac towers.

TutorialDEPOT has released "HOW TO: Digital Performer", the premier training video podcast series for getting the most out of Digital Performer 5. Download these short, concise and informative training video clips from iTunes and then watch them on your PowerBook, MacBook or even your video iPod, on the go. Learning DP has never been easier or more convenient.