dear mr. van der poel,
i wanted to thank you for your linux gazzette review of music notation
programs for linux (http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue28/poel.html),
which i read when it was reprinted in linux journal magazine. the
only thing i can't understand about it is the complete absence of
discussion of lilypond, the gnu music project
(http://www.cs.ruu.nl/people/hanwen/lilypond/index.html).
not only does lilypond use an input syntax similar to that of mup
(though lilypond's music definition language is easier to read and
write) and create far superior output, but it's also free in both
senses of the word. i can't understand why you would promote a
shareware program in a gnu/linux magazine while totally ignoring a
superior gpl program that's an official part of the gnu project.
it's nice of you to add some more sample scores to your website, but
they're unfortunately useless to the community since you've written
them in a proprietary format that can only be used by other people who
have bought the same program you use. it's like distributing useful
texts on your page in microsoft word format. they'd be so much more
useful if they were in a format that anyone could process freely, like
the lilypond scores i have at
http://pobox.com/~jeff.covey/scores.html . choosing to use a closed
system severely limits your possibilities for new developments, such
as the lilypond web interface that's currently under construction at:
http://plaything.smart.net/cgi-bin/lilypond_cgi.pl (available only
when i'm online).
thanks for your time and your consideration.
--
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| jeff covey [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pobox.com/~jeff.covey/ 410-669-4926 |
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| often, when i am reading a good book, i stop and thank my teacher. |
| that is, i used to, until she got an unlisted number. |
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