Rock on!
On Jan 9, 2008, at 8:08 PM, Kevin Reeves wrote:
Understand that not all pros use "The latest and the greatest." Most
audio professionals in Nashville, the place where hit records are
made, don't upgrade their systems for years. They wait and wait till
they are convinced that all the bugs are worked out, then they
finally upgrade. They can't afford to deal with crashes, hickups,
etc. Time is money in a recording environment, and it just has to
work. Once they realize that the newest pro tools and O S is bug
free, they may consider moving up. So many producers and engineers
in Nashville are using outdated stuff. I know a guy using the Paris
system. Remember that one? That's about 10 years old. Anyway, he is
using it because "It works." I use Pro Tools under O S 9. I don't
need anything bigger than that because I run a tracking studio. My
goal is to capture great performances. I then give that to a mix
engineer, who has all the newest plugins and hardware. If logic is
made accessible, that's probably a platform I may consider, but for
now, OS 9 works for me. Since Alva is no longer making OutSpoken, It
probably makes it fair game to just give away the software. I will
put it up on my website. If I get a sease and desist letter, I'll
take it down. But for now, I'll offer it to you all who want to buy
an older g4 and a double o 2 or mbox. It still works. You can make
hit records with it. Sure I'd like to use the latest and greatest
softsynths, but there's ways around that too. I'm experimenting with
Sonar on the PC and another app called Quick Windows Sequencer,
which is also on the PC. If I want to use the latest and greatest
softsynths, I do my work there, and import the waves into Pro Tools
and continue my work. Simple as that. We are resilient. We always
find ways around things. I have a choice. I can bitch, or I can make
hit records. If you'll excuse me, I'll be in the studio doing the
latter..
On Jan 8, 2008, at 3:03 PM, Shaun Jones wrote:
Understood, however going back to Tiger. Does it work for us there?
I don't want to use older equipment that I would have to hunt for
in order to run Pro Tools. If a blind person can run it under Tiger
then let me know. No one uses Pro Tools under Leopard means that
Tiger has been out for 2.5 going on 3 years and I can't test even a
accessible beta product. Again if there is a hidden beta group then
point me in the right direction. Other than that Outspoken is out
of business and Leopard is the future. Only problem is that unless
we make change then change will never come. As a pro there is no
way you can tell me you don't want the latest and greatest. We just
can't have the latest and greatest because...Well you get the point.
On Jan 8, 2008, at 3:48 PM, Karen Lewellen wrote:
Well I can speak to two of your points.
First, at least as of yesterday when I spoke to Digidesign about
another matter, i was told the pro tools does not work with
leopard for anyone right now, so that concept is not fair here.
second, I make my living or part of it using pro tools on a mac
running os 9.22 and one of the last really stable editions of the
program.
Personally I appreciate all that went about to make this happen,
and if vo worked tomorrow, would likely not change my setup as it
works is stable and does the job...for me
I emphasize for me, because as with all accessibility issues,
there is no cookie cutter computer person out their blind or
otherwise.
I work as a pro radio producer, and know musicians needs are
different from mine.
so, what is okay for me may not be for you and vice versa.
Still what we do have works wonderfully, and given pro tools has
not been actually fantastic in its latest incarnations, I may be
better off etc.
Not that I will not back any effort to bring you up to speed in
the fashion you desire though.
Karen
On Tue, 8 Jan 2008, Shaun Jones wrote:
The path to accessibility has been very long with minimal
results. Can I as a blind Mac/Windows user pick up a copy of
every version of Pro Tools and use it as a sighted person would?
Are there scripts? What results have you presented for Tiger
users? Where was the beta test? Now that Leopard has been
released, where is the Leopard accessible version of Pro Tools?
If I am re missed in my statement or questions then please
correct me. If I can't pick up a accessible copy today, then how
much longer should we wait? What they need is a Class Action suit
to bring accessibility into the DNA of there software. Please
don't tell me about barriers and how much work has been put into
making this accessible if I can't buy a copy right now that works
with the Mac running Leopard. I like the efforts started back in
1992, but it is 2008 and a change must come. Accessibility must
be in developers mind from the ground up. If Apple can develop a
OS to run on Intel chips from the ground up, then surely the
hottest, best selling professional audio company can do it as
well. Lets be real when it comes to what we want. It takes 2
seconds for a person to change his or her mind and make a change.
Evadentataly someone isn't talking to the right person because
after 16 years of talking and petitioning we should be able to
test this product with a download or a disc right now. My
question to you on list is, can we?
On Jan 8, 2008, at 2:59 PM, Rick Boggs wrote:
> Attention all audio enthusiasts and engineers interested in
using Pro > Tools. In light of the recent plea transmitted to
this list, I am > compelled to clarify the very important
history and ongoing advocacy > efforts on behalf of blind Pro
Tools users. Please consider this > information before taking
any action called for in the recent post to > this list.
> > > Many of you are aware of the proven track record that I
have in working > with Digidesign to make Pro Tools accessible
for blind users. In fact, > for several years, Digidesign
published a story about our successful work > in this area on
their web site. For those who don't know, in 1992 I > initiated
a dialog with the leadership at Digidesign about possible >
accessibility for blind users. By 1994, I successfully arranged
a test > at the Digidesign lab which determined that outSPOKEN,
the Mac screen > reader at the time, would NOT function with Pro
Tools. Specifically, the > Mac would not even boot properly
while both outSPOKEN and Pro Tools were > loaded on the
machine. However, through respectful, professional, > assertive
communication, I was pleased to find that Digidesign >
voluntarily made changes to a "system init" file which resolved
the > conflict and allowed blind users to access Pro Tools. The
change was > made with the launch of the next generation of the
Pro Tools software at > that time and appeared simultaneously
with other improvements to the > software.
> > Since then, I launched the "BlindProducers.com" web site and
made special > arrangements with the Digidesign sales department
and a Los Angeles > vendor to be able to sell Pro Tools systems
to blind individuals with an > appropriate package and
sufficient support to make use of Pro Tools > realistic for
blind users. I facilitated the purchase of Pro Tools for >
blind clients of the department of rehabilitation after they in
fact > purchased my own system. I even later hired blind audio
engineers in my > studio to work as Pro Tools engineers.
Digidesign is well aware of all > of these facts. Jerry Halatyn
and I arranged to meet in person with the > product development
team at Digidesign and demonstrated how blind users > interacted
with Pro Tools 5.1.3 versus what the barriers are for using >
Pro Tools 6.0 and later. We have established a rapport with key
> leadership at Digidesign over the years and are working to
help them > resolve some SIGNIFICANT technical barriers to
accessibility. We can > discuss those technical details on this
list at a later time.
> > In the interest of preserving the good will at Digidesign,
and with > respect for their past record of making necessary
accomodations, we ask > that all interested audio enthusiasts
and professionals allow us to > continue to pursue the existing
path toward accessibility for Pro Tools.
> > Nobody has a greater interest in finding a resolution than
myself or > Jerry since both of us earn a living exclusively by
making recordings > with or Pro Tools systems which are now
quite old and out of date.
> > Please note that rather than bombarding some clerk at
Digidesign with > separate and random expressions of
frustration, Jerry and I organized a > public display of support
for a resolution with the Pro Tools Petition at > www.ProToolsPetition.org
which did render a response from Digidesign.
> > We ask that all brainstorming on this subject be done in an
open forum > and that NO ACTION be taken without careful
consideration of the history > and progress made thus far.
> > Why not stick with what has worked folks? Ask yourselves
how much you > really know about what the technical problems are
that face Digidesign > this time around. I assure you the
barriers are significant.
> > Rick Boggs
> > > > >
