Avid Pro Tools is unique in that it has proprietary hardware that must be run with the software in order to get the most out of it. Not only has this made it a secure program in terms of software piracy, but it has also made it the most expensive DAW on the market. Arguably, Po Tool's strongest asset is its ability to manipulate audio. It has become the de facto DAW for the professional music and audio industry. You can see the current version of the sequencer at www.avid.com.
Logic solidified itself in the DAW field when it came onto the market in 1988. Then it was known as Notator and has since gone through many different name incarnations: Notator Atari, Notator-Logic Atari, Logic Atari, Logic PC, Logic Mac and finally Logic Pro. However, Apple bought the audio software in December of 2003, making it the only Mac-exclusive DAW. You can see the current version of the sequencer at www.applelogic.com.
Begun as a project for a college project, Cakewalk's Sonar has developed into one of the biggest musical sequencer developers in the world, garnering more than 1,000,000 users. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, it was one of the first audio sequencers that operated in Windows DOS. Started by Greg Hendershott in 1987, the software's basic serial number offers very little copy protection. Although the company discourages piracy, Cakewalk has maintained its market share through building customer relationships rather than beefing up software security in order to prevent theft. You can see the current version of the sequencer at www.cakewalk.com.
Steinberg was founded in 1984, making it the longest-running software sequencer development company in the world. In 1989, it developed Cubase, the first DAW, for the Atari ST. At that time it was used primarily as a MIDI sequencer, which has always been its area of strength. The company developed VST (virtual studio technology) in 1996, thus allowing for the insertion and utilization of virtual instruments and effects inside DAWs. You can see the current version of the sequencer at www.steinberg.com.
MOTU released the first MIDI sequencer for the Mac in 1985. Because of its long-standing development on the Mac, it works better than Logic with the Apple's Core MIDI. It is a favorite for orchestral composers, its notation software generally being its strength. You can see the current version of the sequencer at www.motu.com.