Free trial version of Sonar 8
A digital-audio workstation is probably the most important purchase an audio engineer has to make--it's the command and control center for your entire computer-based recording rig, and you'll be spending most of your time in it.
Unfortunately, pro-level DAWs are complicated pieces of software, and everybody's got their own opinion about what's best--ProTools is widely considered the industry standard, but I know several experienced engineers who don't like it at all.
Because of its complexity and importance, choosing a DAW is not the kind of decision you can make from reading reviews alone, or even from talking to fellow travelers. You need hands-on time.
That's why Cakewalk has released a free 30-day trial version of Sonar 8 Producer Edition, the newest version of the company's high-end DAW. (Cakewalk also makes a wide array of audio-recording and manipulation software for consumers.) It's available for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP or Vista (Mac users need Boot Camp or another Windows emulator). Recordings made with the trial version can be saved permanently.
The download is here.
Matt Rosoff is an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, where he covers Microsoft's consumer products and corporate news. He's written about the technology industry since 1995, and reviewed the first Rio MP3 player for CNET.com in 1998. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattrosoff. 
