Just an idea...
How about a dedicated hardware add-on to control the Virus? This could be a new revenue opportunity for Access, not only for the device itself with sales to all the existing Virus users who want to breathe more life into their hardware, but would encourage new sales of the Virus TI2, since there would be no need for new buyers to be afraid of end-of-life scenarios. No more trying to keep up with Apples change-for-the-sake-of-change OS and chip changes, or care about Windows compatibility.
Concept:
- A touchscreen tablet device with custom OS so that Access doesn't have to try to keep up with OS updates from outside vendors (lower cost of maintenance). 4-6 knobs very much appreciated, especially for those who have the Virus in a rack
- Virus USB plugs into device - device is class compliant
- Can be plugged into PC/Mac for DAW control over the device (replacing plugin functionality), but also works well in DAWless setups
- Audio over USB is disabled when using device
- Device acts as a "remote control" to the virus with the benefits of a much larger display.
- Has all features of Virus Control plus more patch creation features like morphing/genetics etc