Microsoft Songsmith

When Apple's Garageband first came out, it was little more than a pleasant distraction.  It could record basic tracks and make some interesting sounds, but it didn't compete with more fully featured programs.  As it evolved, it became a much better alternative, and I can actually see using it now on a regular basis (minus crappy Sting guitar lessons in iLife '09).

I suppose it's possible that this new Songsmith program could undergo the same form of evolution and grow into something useful, and the automatic creation of backing tracks from a melody line is an interesting feature.  But right now, this graft of Band-In-A-Box and a basic recorder suffers from a huge flaw.

The music used to advertise it is terrible.  And it's not just kinda bad.  It's mall-organ-store bad.

If you're selling something that can be actively perceived in the commercial, you should probably make sure the music in the ad sounds good.  After all, that's what you're selling - music.  This ad brings along a basic MIDI wonder and uses it as a calling card.

The description of the software is intriguing, and it's clearly targeted at casual users as opposed to pros.  Still, I can't wait to hear the mangled sounds that end up coming out of this program.  Pair it with some of the worst "American Idol" first-rounders for extra fun.