it might be to do with protools.
i run protools 8
and osx lion.

everything worked fine if i was plugged into my protools interface, but when the interface was unplugged, i got the above error.

but when my protools hardware was unplugged I couldnt open audio midi setup, and any app that i opened took an age because it had to wait for the timeout to occur because it couldnt find the protools hardware.

i simply went to /Library/Audio/Midi Drivers

and deleted the digidesign files in there.

it means that my midi interface isnt available when running protools, but i use ableton for my midi things anyway.
it turns out that there isnt a driver update either, so you have to upgrade to protools 9 or protools 10 if you want to get it all to work properly.

native instruments:
http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/?category=1339
guitar rig player – free version of guitar rig
kontact player – free version of kontact sampler
micro prism – free synth
reactor player – free synth

===
amplitube free
http://www.ikmultimedia.com/amplitubefree/download/

sampletank free
http://ikmultimedia.com/sampletankfree/download/

===

bomb factory free pack
http://www.avid.com/US/products/Free-Bomb-Factory-Plugins

===

bluecat bundle.
http://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Bundle_FreewarePack/

flux stereo tool :D
http://www.fluxhome.com/products/Freewares/stereotool

there are also loads available form

http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=225019
http://www.protoolerblog.com/2010/01/02/the-free-rtas-plug-ins-list/
http://jonathansblog.co.uk/some-free-legit-au-rtas-tdm-and-vst-plugins

the snowflake is the baby brother of the snowball a cardiod USB microphone with a built-in soundcard, so you only need a usb port for it to work.

1) the packaging is good quality, just like the snowball, i suspect that all blue mics get cool boxes.

2) it has an built in stand / monitor hook / cable holder / box thing.
i was really impressed with this bit. it has a metal plate on it that you can use to stand the mic on a desk, and also to hook it onto a screen. it also has a removable plastic back that stores the cable in it!

3) its plug and play. but not with protools, unless you have the new protools9 or protools10 and can select your input source :(

4) overall sound of the mic is excellent for the price, and is much better than a built in laptop mic its major benefit is that its compact and you can fit it in your pocket, or easily into your laptop bag. you dont need to carry around an mbox or the like, you only need a usb port. this is a major plus point for this bit of kit.

5) installation was very easy, just plugged it in and hooked it to the top of my screen

6) it has a build in ADC and from that point its digital. the mic outputs at 44.1Khz, 16bit. it uses usb, so you dont need a soundcard for it to work :)

if you are looking for a decent mic for skype / podcasting / recording on the road that wont break the bank then this mic is for you. you can find out more info at the blue microphones website and you can get the mic at the apple store

1) the packaging is excellent.

2) it has an amazing stand. it will work with all mics :D

3) its big! infact, its big and heavy. i always judge something by these factors. if its big its good. if its heavy its well made. :D the build quality of this mic is excellent!

4) it has a selector switch to pick the polar pattern. this was a welcome surprise :)
you can select ‘cardioid’, cardioid with a 10Db pad’ and ‘Omnidirectional’

5) its plug and play. but not with protools, unless you have the new protools9 or protools10 and can select your input source :(

6) overall sound of the mic is decent enough for the price, still not comparable with the likes of an NT2A, but for the prie it is very worthwhile. its major benefit is that you dont need a high end soundcard with XLR inputs. you only need a usb port. this is a major plus point for this bit of kit.
7) response charts look pretty decent, it doesnt pick up a lot of low end, but you wouldnt expect it to

8) installation was very easy, just plugged it in
9) it has a build in ADC and from that point its digital. the mic outputs at 44.1Khz, 16bit. it uses usb, so you dont need a soundcard for it to work :)

thats pretty much it. if you are looking for a decent mic that wont break the bank, and you dont want to buy a pro soundcard then this mic is for you. you can find out more info at the blue microphones website and you can get the mic at the apple store

the best features:
its not tied to digidesing hardware any more!

this means that you can install it on your laptop and do editing without humphing your desk about!

it also has automatic delay compensation and multi track beat detective.

all in all its like having a protools hd setup on your laptop without the hardware!

mac + win

alt+click = select all

eg, to mute all tracks hold alt + click mute

this works on most things – mute, solo, etc – it doesnt work on faders, pressing alt and clicking a fader puts it back to unity.

to only affect selected tracks, first select the tracks, then

shift+alt+click

eg, select the first 3 tracks (or a group of tracks, etc) then shift+alt+click on solo, only the three selected tracks will solo.

mac:
new group: cmd+g
suspend/enable groups: cmd+shift+g

pc:
new group: ctrl+g
suspend/enable groups: ctrl+shift+g

mac:
zoom in : ctrl+t
zoom out : ctrl+r

win:
zoom in: win+t
zoom out: win+r

pc: hold ctrl + click on the thing you want to adjust

space: play / stop
shift+space: playback at half speed
F12: record enable

with record enabled:
space: begin recording / stop recording
shift+space: begin recording at half speed