James,

There is quite a difference between the OpenLabs Miko/Neko products and the Lionstracs Mediastations. The OS being of course the major difference and the major advantage, I believe, for the Mediastation. The level of customization that Domenik has achieved with his GUI is extremely impressive.

OpenLabs on the other hand has taken Windows XP and tweaked it for audio. Disabling windows processes not necessary for audio production. They have a great product as well. It is a very good replacement for a midi keyboard controller and a PC all packaged together in one case.

But that is where the similarities end. They can customize the Shell and tweak settings but they cannot change the basic code of Windows XP, as it is a closed OS. The basic code for Linux, however is not only available for rewriting, the whole concept was designed for it.

Linux can be taken and made to do almost anything you can imagine. And Domenik has made great use of it. He can literally write a few lines of code to cause any button, knob, or slider on his front panel (or input from his touchscreen) to make any process in the Linux os happen.
With Windows you are limited to what ever features the software allows you to remap only.

The OpenLabs products use a custom version of 'Forte' called 'Karsyn' as a rack to load vst's. Disclaimer: I have no info about the features of the new application "Riff" on Open Labs products. The Mediastation manages vst's with the OS, having Vst support and Asio support written into the basecode along with the Add/Sub synth the DreamChip sounds and Giga Sounds ect...

Giga Sounds originally designed for Tascam's GigaStudio are handled with Linux Sampler. They are manipulated on the MSX as easily as Rom sounds are on standard keyboards.

This is a quote from OpenLabs FAQ page about the use of GigaStudio,

"Can I run GigaStudio on my Open Labs product?
GigaStudio is an amazing application that is perfectly suited for Open Labs™ hardware. It operates at the kernel level of the operating system which gives the end user amazing performance at extremely low latency. However, due to the nature of its performance, GigaStudio can cause system instability when installed with other audio applications. If you wish to install GigaStudio we recommend uninstalling all unrelated audio applications and use your NeKo as a "Giga DAW."

The MSX boots up playing Giga sounds straight from the factory.

While I have not spent a lot of time playing the Korg Oasys, I think that If I understand its design, this oversimplified analogy fits.

1)The Oasys has a linux computer inside but is completely closed to the user and it appears like an embedded keyboard's GUI only.

2) The OpenLabs Miko/Neko is windows PC with all the advantages and disadvantages the any other Win PC has, you load the software you want.

3) The Mediastation is the best, imo, of both approaches combined; the GUI of an embedded system ( very easy to use, no pc knowledge required, like any other keyboard). And all the power and flexibilty of the PC system where you can add any vst you like.

For the person who doesn't like computers you can turn on the Mediastation and play several types/ libraries of sounds and never deal with its computer functions. For the person who is technologically inclined, they can load software to their heart's content and setup very complicated split layers using multiple sound engines and software from numerous sources and save them all into presets for instant recall.You get the best of both world's.

If Korg had designed the Oasys to allow users to load any 3rd party software they like into the keyboard and mix these sounds with its internal Korg sounds then the Oasys would have really been amazing. Then perhaps they could have added the Pa2x arranger to it also. Who would not be interested in it then? And since it based on linux, this should all be possible for them to do.

I would assume however that their decision to limit it has more to do with marketing. If not careful a company could really cut into all of their future sales by designing a 'do it all' future proofed keyboard.

The Neko/Miko, Oasys, and Mediastation are all 3 great products with varying pros and cons; but I really believe the future of where all keyboards will eventually go. Its up to the keyboard manufacturers to balance ease of use with power.

Richard