3 to 5 years. Ubuntu and derivatives LTS (Long Term Support) have a support of either 3 or 5 years.

...and still a release cycle of a new LTS every 2 years. In the case of the 5-year-derivatives this means you can technically skip a version, the others just give you a year until you have to have the newest version installed, which is not really that 'long term', to be perfectly honest; but still better than the insane 6-month-cycle.

(Which wouldn't be that big a problem BTW, if upgrades wouldn't routinely break at least parts of the system, and yes, I know what I am talking about; I have been using Ubuntu since Hoary and Linux in general since 0.99).

kalessin wrote:

This is unfortunately not a workable option in 99% of the cases

..... so, 99% of people shouldn't run linux?  O_o

No, but 99% of musicians who currently have a Windows machine and matching peripherals cannot just switch. If the machine in question is a typical mail-and-office computer, that's different of course. It depends on the situation. Getting non-standard hardware (i.e., hardware not very common in Linux programmer circles) to run can be quite nightmarish, so if Linux is the goal, one should have it in mind when buying the hardware. This has been true for the last 20 years and unfortunately it does not look like that's going to change.

ping -w {time in ms} -n 1 224.0.0.0 > NUL:
However, this is of course quite ugly

I quite agree...

..... so, 99% of people shouldn't run linux?  O_o

That's what i always do. If someone wants a good computer, easy to use, reliable, and that works well, i always say "get a mac". But the OP here obviously has pc hardware and not mac... otherwise i would have said "install osx".... (though that would be technically possible, but viable solution? ...didn't think so )

Haven't followed much in the last few years, but if you say so.... Still, i personally feel that if hardware is supported, even for newbie users, using linux would be a quite viable option in cases like this, at least more than in 1% of cases.....

Is there a way with windows to write a script (so-called "batch file") that waits a few seconds, then starts pianoteq?

No, and yes. It is actually possible to emulate a sleep command using 'ping':

ping -w {time in ms} -n 1 224.0.0.0 > NUL:

However, this is of course quite ugly, and I have already described the correct way to do a delayed start using the Windows Task Scheduler.

This is unfortunately not a workable option in 99% of the cases (last but not least quite often due to lacking hardware support), and therefore I usually try to help people get to work what they have, not what I personally think they should use. And, let's be honest: if 'it just works' is the goal, you should bite the bullet and just recommend a Mac.

Side note: I personally quite like Linux, though I have come to intensely dislike most distributions' insane update cycles (Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu LTS is a bit less bad). I have other hobbies than re-installing every computer every 6 months. And also, let's face it, hardware support on Linux still sucks, at least when USB2 sound is concerned. I for example happen to already have a device that does what I need (Zoom R24) and that pretty much does not work at all, as far as I know. (But I currently have the most sub-optimal hardware combination possible anyway: Win8.x and USB3, which means a few slight annoyances with the VPC1, also not enough ports so daisy-chained hubs it is, increasing latency and decreasing stability; believe me, I am tempted to buy a separate Pianoteq-only laptop... and a Focusrite Scarlet, which works like a charm under Linux AFAIK.)

If not, then just ditch windowz and run linux on that machine

A bit of info is shown here:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/67...p-log.html

You will not need "highest privileges" for Pianoteq, best ignore that part. As a trigger I would suggest login since you want to emulate autorun, probably with an additional delay of maybe 10-15 seconds.

Thx !