What is Podium Free?

[Zynewave]

What is Podium Free?

Podium Free is a fully functional freeware edition of Podium. It is identical to the commercial Podium version, except for a few limitations, and a small "Podium Free" logo.

Limitations of Podium Free compared to the commercial version:

• MIDI interface setup is limited to one input and one output.
  
• 64-bit mixer engine option is disabled.
  
• Plugin multiprocessing is disabled.
  
• ReWire is disabled.
  
• Surround-sound playback is disabled.
  

The disabled plugin multiprocessing option means that only one CPU core will be used when processing plugins. If you have a dual-core CPU you will be able to use 50% of your available CPU power before the Podium CPU indicator overloads. Podium Free still uses all available CPU cores for various tasks such as GUI updates and disk streaming.

These limitations may change in newer releases of Podium Free. It will depend on new features added to Podium, and the general user response to Podium Free.


Will Podium Free be updated?

New versions of Podium Free will be released frequently, although not as frequently as the commercial version. The Podium Free releases will also be a few versions older than the latest commercial version. When you install a newer version of Podium Free, it will automatically replace an older installation of Podium Free.


Can I give copies of the Podium Free installer to my friends?

Yes. However, you may not make the Podium Free installer available as a download on the internet. Instead you should refer to the http://www.zynewave.com/download.html page if you want to post a download for Podium Free. This ensures that new users always get the most recent Podium Free release. If you are an editor of a magazine, or a hardware manufacturer, you can email Zynewave to get permission to bundle the Podium Free installer on CD/DVD.


Can Podium Free be installed side by side with the commercial version?

Yes. Podium Free, Podium and the Podium Demo version are all installed as separate applications. They each have their own program group in the start menu, their own application icon on the desktop, and their own setup folder. By default they are using the same folder for projects, but you can change that in the preferences. The version you install last will be the application that is opened when you double-click a Podium project file (.pod).


Why does Zynewave offer Podium Free as freeware?

I run Zynewave as a one-man company. I am a software engineer, and not a marketing guy. I prefer to spend my time and resources on Podium development, rather than on advertising. By offering Podium Free as freeware, I hope that word-of-mouth recommendations on online communities will help make Podium Free reach as many users as possible.

So I am delighted to welcome you as a Podium Free user. If you find Podium Free a pleasent experience, please recommend Podium Free to your friends. My hope is that some of the Podium Free users eventually will support my continued development of Podium, by purchasing a license to the commercial version.

Yours truly,
Frits Nielsen
aka. Zynewave