The FLOSS manuals book is editable by anyone. Please fix it if it has wrong info. :)
.hc On Feb 9, 2012, at 1:22 PM, Jonathan Wilkes wrote: > There are still a lot of sticking points with Pd for new users-- someone > recently wrote > the list asking where all the objects are that are listed in the FLOSS > manual. At least > > some of those objects have to be downloaded/installed separately-- [pvoc~] is > listed > > under Pd extended but it's not included in it, nor is the relevant library > listed. > > > But even if pvoc~ doesn't create, how does the user know for _sure_ that > there isn't > > a pvoc~ binary living somewhere on their machine? Pd is like those magnetic > words > > you put on a fridge to make poetry, but over time roommates come in and > remove > > some of the words, and now you need your own blank magnet and pen and write > the > > word and put it back on the fridge. Or, you can put the word "import" with > some words > > that describe last place where you found the word-- many of those places have > helpful > > names that are the initials of the person who wrote them that you've never > met. None > > of this is clearly documented btw, unless you ask on this listed and get a > reply in the > > time it would have taken to finish a patch if there had been clear > documentation in the > > first place. > > > Well let's remove the object chain with pvoc~ in it and try a different > approach. Oops, I > > can only "undo" pvoc~ itself because I've reached my "undo" limit. Is this > program from > > the 1980s or what? Maybe it is-- I can't even move this array that holds a > 1-sec waveform > > I loaded into it without Pd being sluggish. > > Well at least there aren't any presets to impede my creativity... > > I'm finishing up a search plugin that will somewhat alleviate the pvoc~ > example, and pd-l2ork > > has helped by having infinite undo and snappier graphical displacement of > objects. But > > these kinds of problems definitely hinder new users, and if you're seeing > students are seeking > > out Pd on Facebook because they have a hard time configuring a mailinglist > digest, you can > > bet they are Googling for better tools when they run into these or myriad > other > > usability/documentation problems. > > > -Jonathan > > > ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Max <[email protected]> >> To: PD list <[email protected]> >> Cc: >> Sent: Tuesday, February 7, 2012 10:50 PM >> Subject: [PD] Thoughts in conclusion of the 4th Pure Data Convention >> >> Dear list and Pure Data community, >> >> I'd wanted to write this down since a few months now and finally had the >> chance to do so. >> To welcome you in Weimar and Berlin in August has been a great pleasure for >> us. >> The Pure Data community has proven to be a diverse, inspiring and very >> thankful >> audience. We were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and professionalism and >> sometimes patience of performers and guests as well. >> It was the first time for most of the team to be involved in any kind of >> event >> of this scale. We have gained a tremendous amount of experience through >> hosting >> it. Those who have been to Weimar/Berlin for the convention will agree when >> I >> conclude that it was a great success. >> http://www.uni-weimar.de/medien/wiki/PDCON:Testimonials >> Never the less I'd like to take some time to critically assess the >> convention giving future hosts the opportunity to build up on our experience. >> >> CONFERENCE: Using the openconf system proved to be a choice that helped >> tremendously to structure and guide through the submission and paper review >> process. In fact I would try to use the same system for concerts and the >> exhibition as well. >> The peer review process is augmenting the quality of the papers and is >> giving >> the conference and publication a higher academic relevance. It seemed unfair >> to >> ask for finished papers to be reviewed (and possibly rejected) that's why we >> asked for extended abstracts for the review. It turned out to be hard for >> the >> reviewers to fully assess the relevance and quality of the paper from just >> reading the extended abstract. I now think that it would have been better to >> let >> the reviewer read the full papers. After all most of the papers – once >> written – >> may also be submitted to other conferences such as ICMC or Linux Audio. A >> bar-camp day could have complemented the more official conference part to >> give >> latest developments and impromptu idea-sharing its space. All though it was >> part >> of the plan we failed to provide a live-stream of the conference, partly >> because >> of our lack of know-how, limited resources in time and the inability of the >> institution to provide the necessary installations. At the forums and Q&A >> sessions an IRC chat or twitter hashtag projected could have improved >> audience >> participation. >> >> WORKSHOPS: In my opinion it has been a wise decision to organize most >> workshops >> on an open, registration-free basis. This saved us from managing >> registrations >> and I know from experience that it is frustrating having to exclude possible >> participants because of a full class when in the end some of the registered >> ones >> decide not to show up. That happens especially when participation is free of >> charge. The cooperation with the Bauhaus Summer School wasn't trivial in its >> execution but made sense organisational and financial. >> >> CONCERTS: It would have been impossible to endeavor in such a venture like >> the >> Pd-Convention without the support by the Studio for Electroacoustic Music. >> Consequently the concerts were very well organized and a real highlight of >> every >> day. It would have been much easier to organize though if the exact demands >> of >> the musicians would have been clear from the submission stage. Using a >> web-form >> or the openconf could have made that more straightforward. Making clear that >> the >> musician is responsible for everything until the specified mixer input for >> themselves would have made things clearer from the beginning. >> >> EXHIBITION: The exhibition was certainly the least prepared part simply >> because >> the venue was unclear just until two weeks prior to the event. Unfortunate >> was >> that the venue wasn't open at all times which happened due to >> misunderstandings and possibly not enough controlling. >> >> FUNDING: Getting the necessary funding was certainly the issue I personally >> spent the most time on. We had an overall budget of around 17.000 EUR. This >> doesn't take the value of things and services into account the university >> gave us for free, that is all the equipment and the lecture halls/concert >> venues >> and neither my own regular salary as employee of the university. Roughly 10k >> of >> the Budget came from different funds at the university and the ministry for >> economics and were bound to specific aspects of the convention. The rest was >> covered by the sponsors. That budget is less than a third of what the >> convention >> in Montréal had available. >> >> EXPENSES: We spent most of the budget supporting our participants. The >> biggest >> expense there was covering for the accomodation, followed by a contribution >> (around 100,- €) towards the travel expenses for the participating artists >> (those either performing or exhibiting). The accomodation costs turned out >> to be >> about 2500 Eur more expensive than necessary since we had to pay for those >> participants who reserved the hostel through the online sign-up and then >> decided >> neither to cancel nor to check in. The workshops were handled separately >> through >> the Bauhaus-Summer School. Further expenses were catering, printing, renting >> a >> car for transport and so forth. >> >> DEMOGRAPHICS: >> Frankly I've been a bit surprised that the average age wasn't a bit >> lower. This certainly has implications on how to accommodate the guests in >> the >> future (youth hostel, again?), but more importantly is to think about the >> future >> user-base if, and when yes: why Pd is deterring for newcomers. >> And here I'm hoping to get into a discussion (which we should have had at >> the convention) >> >> There are great programs out there who might make more sense to learn >> instead of >> Pd for certain kind of projects: Processing, Supercollider, OpenFrameworks. >> I >> was taught in university Programs like Freehand, QuarkXpress and Director, >> all >> more or less dead softwares today. In my role as a university educator I ask >> myself what makes the most sense to teach; what persists and where do the >> students learn concepts that will help them master other environments yet to >> come. The BSD License and Pd's open source community is making sure that it >> won't die because of a companies merger (like Freehand from the list above). >> Thinks like that IOhannes is practically the only overall dev for Gem aren't >> making it more comfortable. >> Yet I see that Pd meets for many of the young artists exactly that level of >> abstraction to be easily picked up while having the maximum amount of >> freedom in >> the creativity without the presets that could hinder your expression. >> Combine that with the real-time experience tweaking and tinkering until it >> works >> is ace. I personally find beauty in the dataflow paradigm which can be >> nicely >> put in context with cybernetic flowcharts of systems interconnected through >> input and output. >> >> When I find artist like Lukas Buschfeld presenting his prints printed by a >> custom large scale dot matrix printer which is programmed in and run by Pd >> entirely (plus a little Arduino) I'm stunned. Look at the prints: >> http://lucasbuschfeld.com/index.php?cat=graphic >> >> In an attempt to improve the first impression you get when checking out Pd >> I've been experimenting with vimeo gathering Pd based works in a group: >> http://vimeo.com/groups/puredata/ >> >> When you look at a few other OSS Audio related softwares i find their >> websites >> to be very clear and well structured >> http://musescore.org/ >> http://www.iannix.org/ >> http://ardour.org/ >> >> Now compare. It's a great ressource but plone can certainly look nerdy and >> cluttered: >> http://puredata.info/ >> >> In my classes I am shocked to see that the majority of the young students >> have >> trouble setting up their mail client in a way that they efficiently can use >> the >> mailinglist - if they know what a mail client is at all. Facebook seems to >> replace this more and more, but I'm strongly opposed to accepting that. >> The Pure Data group on Facebook is not what the Mailinglist is: >> http://www.facebook.com/groups/4729684494/ >> I think that a new kind of digital divide is happening silently between the >> now >> adolescent nerdy natives and the young instant-web-app-social-connectedness >> generation who think that there is no internet beyond the web. The forum for >> now >> is a kind of a bridge between those worlds, it certainly would be >> interesting to >> know the demographics of the users in all four channels: mailinglist, forum, >> facebook and IRC. >> >> I'll leave it at this hoping to spark a little discussion on the list now >> for example about how Pd can become more attractive in our very own interest >> not >> to loose a future user base not only for the next convention. Also I'd be >> interested to hear where the next convention will take place ;) >> >> MN >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> [email protected] mailing list >> UNSUBSCRIBE and account-management -> >> http://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list >> > > > _______________________________________________ > [email protected] mailing list > UNSUBSCRIBE and account-management -> > http://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. _______________________________________________ [email protected] mailing list UNSUBSCRIBE and account-management -> http://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list
