David Bailey wrote:
As for Dennis' fear of losing access to Finale, I agree, it's not paranoid.
If Dennis's fear was losing access to data in files created with Sibelius, I would agree that it would not be paranoid. However, at least the ~.etf file format of Finale is open, and anyone who wishes can create a notation program to read and write those files. For that reason, I do consider Dennis' concerns about losing access to data a bit paranoid.
But copy protection isn't what has done Mosaic in, it's the advancing OS which has left the old code in the dust and the developper of Mosaic decided to pull the plug on the program. Nothing will be able to save Finale into the future once either Windows or MacOS move onto 128-bit programming and the then-current versions won't run any 16-bit apps anymore.
It's hard to say whether this is a true statement or not. I suspect if Finale's products have been properly designed, while I can imagine some things might need re-working for the 128 bit programming environment, I suspect that most of Finale is already carefully written so that what will be required with a switch of environments will be to recompile the source code with a suitable 128 bit compiler, and the new OS will not know the difference. The 16-bit applications which will fail to run in a 128 bit environment are going to fall into two general categories: those for which the source code is no longer available, and thus which cannot be recompiled, on one hand, and on the other, those that make illegal direct access calls to the hardware on the other.
That could happen to open-source freeware as easily as to corporate-developped expensive software.
I doubt it will happen much to either one. Also, I would note that as long as the lowest level software, by which I refer to that embedded in hard drives and other media reading devices is capable of reading the media upon which the files are stored, it won't matter what bit the applications are in. If they can read the data, they can process it. The only thing which prevents my old fortran program (on IBM punch cards) from working in my PC, is the lack of a reader. I know the program works; I retyped it into a DOS fortran compiler years ago, the DOS compiler still runs in the MS-DOS prompt of Windows.
If one is using a notation package which produces data files with a proprietary file structure format, and they won't tell you what it is, and don't have an option for storing in some open source means, be afraid. Even with the authentication system in place, there are multiple options for reading Finale files, as long as you've taken the time and effort to save them as ~.etf files. If you haven't, well, its about like your deciding to hand copy scores using an ink which faces in a short period of time, or copying onto high-acid paper. Your choice of materials is the problem, not the materials themselves.
Makemusic makes the options available; they have not control over whether you choose to use them.
ns
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