Re: [Finale] News update on MakeMusic move to Boulder
> talking more about partially > thought-out implementations in this case. I still think that Finale (and Sibelius) are still screwing up implementations of things like linked parts and magnetic layout that Igor Engraver had right decades ago. Igor had (severe) problems but was designed from the startin a non-modal, grab-anything-and-move-it, link-exactly-what-you-want fashion. Finale and Sibelius read the ad copy from Igor about these features but no one ever actually used the program for long enough to understand the beauty of these concepts or why they worked so well. Steve P. ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: finale-unsubscr...@shsu.edu
Re: [Finale] News update on MakeMusic move to Boulder
I agree with you Robert. There really hasn't been strong design leadership. MM programmers basically hack away until they get something that the company is willing to put into the market. Evidence of this is features that take 3 releases to actually get close to right. Every software product has some bugs, but we are talking more about partially thought-out implementations in this case. Another such example is MIDI Retranscribe. This is a very nice feature to clean up the notation. There are various cases where (again because of poor architectural design) copying content causes the notation to get sloppy -- for example turning dotted quarters into quarter-tie-8th for no good reason. Retranscribe cleans that up. BUT... when you do Retranscribe, it preserves Smartshapes and Expressions (excellent) but loses Articulation (come on, guys, nobody tested any of this.) In programming, there is a concept called orthogonal design. The basic premise is that data structures and algorithms should be designed such that the operations are naturally all-inclusive. It is more a philosophy than a programming technique, but to be successful, you really must commit to this type of thinking all the way through the product. Most programmers today learn the opposite way -- linearly, and they are hopeless. The state of the programming art has been on a long decline for decades. Regarding availability of programmers, it seems to me you need a special type of programmer in this case. There is quite a lot of art in music notation. It ain't like programming a website. Most programmers will have no appreciation for the subtleties of symbol placement and how the slightest change can make a big difference. You really do need great programmers who are musicians. Fortunately this is not really a rare combination. My bigger concern is that there simply will be no commitment to staffing at the level to properly support the product, let alone produce enhancements. It appears the very best case is that little happens the rest of this year, as everybody is either looking for a new job or planning for a move to Boulder. And little happens in 2015 because they will be hiring people and trying to get them up to speed. My guess is the very best case is that we get some bug fixes in the second half of 2015 and maybe get a new release by the end of 2016. By then, Steinberg may have their product ready. On 10/14/2014 8:19 AM, Robert Patterson wrote: > Architects lost control of Finale years ago. I am not picking on Finale, > because it is an industry-wide phenomenon and a routine hazard of aging > products, but the evidence is everywhere that architecture is out the > window at MM. Here are a few clues: > > 1. Beat-attached smart shapes are only partially implemented. (Slurs and > dotted slurs are not implemented.) An architected solution would have > implemented all at once. > > 2. Although "Exclude from Measure Numbering" works graphically, many parts > of the program (especially scroll view navigation) get very confused by it > if you use it more than once or twice in a piece. > > 3. Plugins unlink some items when editing a part and not others. If an > architecture were in place there could be no difference between manual and > plugin edits because both would be taking the same code paths. > > I beg to differ that "programmers are a dime a dozen." Though this is > certainly the prevailing industry view of them (since the bean counters > took control), a good programmer is worth a dozen bad ones—probably two > dozen—and the best thing you can do for yourself is to find one of the good > ones and let them do it. > > > On Tue, Oct 14, 2014 at 12:37 AM, Eric Dannewitz > wrote: > >> Though to do smartmusic you need to have finale so. >> >> Programmers are a dime a dozen. As long as they retain the architects >> of the program's it should be fine. I have less worries about finale >> and makemusic than I do with avid and Sibelius >> >> Sent from my iSomething >> -- >> >>> On Oct 13, 2014, at 10:26 PM, Craig Parmerlee >> wrote: >>> >>> See >>> >> http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2014/10/03/makemusic-hq-move-eliminate-120-minnesota-jobs.html >>> >>> "The company, which develops software for teaching and composing music, >>> offered transfers to more than half of its workers and several dozen >>> have agreed to move, Fisher said. Because some employees are still >>> considering the offer, he couldn't say how many will relocate when the >>> time to move comes early next year." >>> >>> So in rough numbers, there were 120 employees. >>> They offered transfers to about 60. >>> About 30 or 1/4 of the company is going to stay on board. >>> >>> Considering this encompasses Smartmusic and Garritan, and Smartmusic is >>> more in line with the mission of Peaksware, my guess is that we'd be >>> lucky if 15 experienced Finale people remain with the company -- and >>> that would have to include
Re: [Finale] News update on MakeMusic move to Boulder
Architects lost control of Finale years ago. I am not picking on Finale, because it is an industry-wide phenomenon and a routine hazard of aging products, but the evidence is everywhere that architecture is out the window at MM. Here are a few clues: 1. Beat-attached smart shapes are only partially implemented. (Slurs and dotted slurs are not implemented.) An architected solution would have implemented all at once. 2. Although "Exclude from Measure Numbering" works graphically, many parts of the program (especially scroll view navigation) get very confused by it if you use it more than once or twice in a piece. 3. Plugins unlink some items when editing a part and not others. If an architecture were in place there could be no difference between manual and plugin edits because both would be taking the same code paths. I beg to differ that "programmers are a dime a dozen." Though this is certainly the prevailing industry view of them (since the bean counters took control), a good programmer is worth a dozen bad ones—probably two dozen—and the best thing you can do for yourself is to find one of the good ones and let them do it. On Tue, Oct 14, 2014 at 12:37 AM, Eric Dannewitz wrote: > Though to do smartmusic you need to have finale so. > > Programmers are a dime a dozen. As long as they retain the architects > of the program's it should be fine. I have less worries about finale > and makemusic than I do with avid and Sibelius > > Sent from my iSomething > -- > > > On Oct 13, 2014, at 10:26 PM, Craig Parmerlee > wrote: > > > > See > > > http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2014/10/03/makemusic-hq-move-eliminate-120-minnesota-jobs.html > > > > "The company, which develops software for teaching and composing music, > > offered transfers to more than half of its workers and several dozen > > have agreed to move, Fisher said. Because some employees are still > > considering the offer, he couldn't say how many will relocate when the > > time to move comes early next year." > > > > So in rough numbers, there were 120 employees. > > They offered transfers to about 60. > > About 30 or 1/4 of the company is going to stay on board. > > > > Considering this encompasses Smartmusic and Garritan, and Smartmusic is > > more in line with the mission of Peaksware, my guess is that we'd be > > lucky if 15 experienced Finale people remain with the company -- and > > that would have to include coverage for Printmusic and Songwriter. > > ___ > > Finale mailing list > > Finale@shsu.edu > > https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > > > To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: > > finale-unsubscr...@shsu.edu > ___ > Finale mailing list > Finale@shsu.edu > https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: > finale-unsubscr...@shsu.edu > ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: finale-unsubscr...@shsu.edu
Re: [Finale] News update on MakeMusic move to Boulder
Though to do smartmusic you need to have finale so. Programmers are a dime a dozen. As long as they retain the architects of the program's it should be fine. I have less worries about finale and makemusic than I do with avid and Sibelius Sent from my iSomething -- > On Oct 13, 2014, at 10:26 PM, Craig Parmerlee wrote: > > See > http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2014/10/03/makemusic-hq-move-eliminate-120-minnesota-jobs.html > > "The company, which develops software for teaching and composing music, > offered transfers to more than half of its workers and several dozen > have agreed to move, Fisher said. Because some employees are still > considering the offer, he couldn't say how many will relocate when the > time to move comes early next year." > > So in rough numbers, there were 120 employees. > They offered transfers to about 60. > About 30 or 1/4 of the company is going to stay on board. > > Considering this encompasses Smartmusic and Garritan, and Smartmusic is > more in line with the mission of Peaksware, my guess is that we'd be > lucky if 15 experienced Finale people remain with the company -- and > that would have to include coverage for Printmusic and Songwriter. > ___ > Finale mailing list > Finale@shsu.edu > https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: > finale-unsubscr...@shsu.edu ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: finale-unsubscr...@shsu.edu
[Finale] News update on MakeMusic move to Boulder
See http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2014/10/03/makemusic-hq-move-eliminate-120-minnesota-jobs.html "The company, which develops software for teaching and composing music, offered transfers to more than half of its workers and several dozen have agreed to move, Fisher said. Because some employees are still considering the offer, he couldn't say how many will relocate when the time to move comes early next year." So in rough numbers, there were 120 employees. They offered transfers to about 60. About 30 or 1/4 of the company is going to stay on board. Considering this encompasses Smartmusic and Garritan, and Smartmusic is more in line with the mission of Peaksware, my guess is that we'd be lucky if 15 experienced Finale people remain with the company -- and that would have to include coverage for Printmusic and Songwriter. ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: finale-unsubscr...@shsu.edu
