Monthly Archive for June 2003
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June 9, 2003
That thing in the sky...
...what is it? That bright thing in the sky...oh, wait...it's gone again.
Posted by Turfdigger at 4:52 PM
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June 29, 2003
Cherry Pickin'
Some months ago, I began the process of creating an XML patch listing for the Alesis D4 drum module; the D4 was not a device that shipped as a FreeMIDI preset, so it was not migrated over to the new XML .midnam format with the release of Mark of the Unicorn's Digital Performer 4 for OS X. I enjoy the added functionality of drum kit note name listings offered by dp4's drum editor, and there has been no easy way to get the note name info for each of the 61 notes in each of the D4's 21 drum kit presets. Overall, it has been an excruciatingly slow process involving the manual transcription of note names into a spreadsheet for reference and the subsequent entry of those note names into the .midnam file.
I've had this project on the shelf for over two months due to the tedium so inherent in a task of this nature, preferring in the meantime to scour the apparently meager online resources relating to this topic in search of an industrious developer who has already addressed this issue or at the very least, some sort of documentation of the note name information that could serve to eliminate the "turn knob, transcribe note name" workflow from this endeavor. At last, I found Cherry Picker. This bare-bones Cocoa app puts a GUI on the editing process and rather nicely allows for the creation and editing of both patch bank and drum kit note name listings. The note group functionality is not yet implemented, but existing note group data may be parsed and read. Cherry Picker can also read old-school FreeMIDI device name files, allowing for their easy migration over to the new XML .midnam format. This great little piece of freeware has eliminated a number of steps from my initial workflow, and I hope to have my D4.midnam file ready to go by the end of July. Thanks Cherry Picker!
UPDATE: I almost forgot, but another neat feature of this app is the ability to reference .mid files for auditioning patches. There are two popup menus that allow for the setting of MIDI input and output so that a short musical example may be played to audibly audition patches. Cool!!
Posted by Turfdigger at 11:27 AM
This entry has been posted to: Audio
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Pre-flight Security?
Airport feds rip off travellers
posted by Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing
The Transport Security Agency requires all fliers to travel with their luggage unlocked, so that highly trustworthy federal employees can rummage through them and ensure that they are WMD-free. And steal things. TSA employees are ripping off choice items ($1,000 binox and such) from the mandatorily-unlocked bags of America's travellers. I feel safer already.
Link to story | Discuss it at BoingBoing | [go to BoingBoing]
Posted by Turfdigger at 5:03 PM
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June 30, 2003
1st Amendment Rights Extended to Online Publishers
from a Wired News story by Xeni Jardin
02:00 AM Jun. 30, 2003 PT
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last Tuesday that Web loggers, website operators and e-mail list editors can't be held responsible for libel for information they republish, extending crucial First Amendment protections to do-it-yourself online publishers...
Read the full Wired News story | BoingBoing
Posted by Turfdigger at 4:18 PM
This entry has been posted to: News
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