Hey, Shaun. This is Scott. Steve invited me to do the Logic Node tutorials, so I'm glad you liked them. I've found that Logic Node can be temperamental at times -- for example, the 'lost connection' errors that pop up from time to time. It would be great to have some more detailed logging of what's going on. Apple?!? As far as starting the node process for multiple logins, you might try placing Logic Node as a startup program for each user account. (System Preferences->Accounts->Login Items). As long as your kids don't quit Logic Node, this may work. Try it out and let me know.

I agree that it's a great solution to many CPU issues. It's definitely let me get more mileage out of my existing computers!

As far as I know, QMaster is not associated with Logic or Logic Node in any way. QMaster is for distributing video projects over a network.

Hey, Les. I decided not to talk about how to network two Macs together in my guest TNT since it differs slightly depending on the version of the Mac OS you are running. However, I found an article for you on how to network your two Macs together. You can find it at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/321526/how_to_connect_two_macs_using_ethernet.html. There are a bunch of other articles also if you Google "how to network two Mac" depending on what version of Mac's OS you are running. The key is to use a CROSSOVER cable. It's slightly different than a normal Ethernet cable (some wires are (ahem) crossed). Once you've connected the cable, make sure you turn on File Sharing for both computers and turn off any software firewalls. That should assign an IP address to each computer. From there, Logic and Logic Node should recognize each other. If you have already have a home network that uses an Ethernet switch, everything should be good to go. Make sure that the switch is a 1 Gigabit switch and that each computer is Gigabit ethernet capable. Let me know if that gets you up and running.

A couple of things to look at. First, make sure the two computers can see each other on the network. If they can't, you have a networking problem -- not a Logic problem. The easiest way to do this is to look in the Finder. In both Leopard and Tiger, you should be able to connect from the first computer to the second. (In Tiger, you have to look for it; in Leopard it just shows up.) Second, make sure both computers are updated to the latest version of Logic. If the two computers are running different versions, they won't see each other. You should be on 8.0.2 on both machines. Third, use Apple's Disk Utility (in the Applications->Utilities folder) to Repair Disk Permissions on each computer. It's kind of the tech support cop out, right before reformat your hard drive :-), but sometimes it does fix the problem. Try these things and let me know how you make out.

Gee, Les, I'm stumped. Just to be clear, you DON'T need Logic on the slave machine, but you do need Logic Node 8.0.2. Double check the version number of Logic on the master and Logic Node on the slave by highlighting the icon and choosing Get Info from the File menu. If they are not both 8.0.2, run Software Update to get the latest version. The only other thing I can think of is that the version of Logic 7 (preferences, etc.) on the Slave may be interfering with Logic Node. If all else fails, try removing Logic 7 and all of its support files completely from the slave machine and reinstalling Logic Node. After that, I'm fresh out of ideas. I've trolled around the message boards to see if there are any listings of similar problems, but I didn't find anything other than the hints I already mentioned. You may have to brave the Apple telephone help line.

Glad you got the node recognized! At this point, I suggest that you go through my tutorials again to make sure you've set up everything right. Have you selected the node? Have you turned on and enabled the node icon for each track? Etc. I'm sure you'll figure out what step you skipped.

Here are a couple of things to check: -- Are you running version 8.0.2 of Logic on the main computer and 8.0.2 of Node on the node computer? -- Sometimes, the arrows turn green, but the button doesn't turn green until you actually run the sequence and Logic starts using the node. -- Try creating a bunch of tracks with ES2s installed on each one. Turn on the Node Button and see if it works. If so, everything is working properly. -- Beyond that, it could be a communication problem between your computers. Make sure you are running on a Gigabit network, that nothing else is running on the network, and that you do not have a hardware or software firewall on either end of the network. Hope that helps!

So glad it worked out. Have fun!

There are definitely times when Logic Node will suddenly quit. Usually, it's at the start of a session for me. I have found that a clocking problem (e.g. a loss of a master clock signal) can cause Logic Node to fail. Sometimes, certain third party plug-ins can cause it to fail. More of the time, it works flawlessly for me, but clearly there are still a few kinks in the system!