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Thread: Sneak Peek - Introducing Maxwell - A software laser synth (analogish)

  1. #21
    Bradfo69's Avatar
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    Another thing about pc's versus Apples is simply this... going back to maybe 1985 or so, I could regularly go to computer shows on the weekends to learn about, pick up parts and custom build my own pc to my specs. I cut my teeth on DOS and when Windows came out and it's subsequent versions, there was a ton of information out there about how to tweak, customize and get the OS to do all kinds of things. I was able to stay current with it up until around Vista and was the "go to" person for a lot of friends that had computer questions, issues, wanted a build... that sort of thing. It's been comfortable - like wearing a pair of moccasins - yes, frustrating and challenging at times but, in the end fun. Sort of like how many here are into building projectors and tweaking this and milling that and swapping this optic for that optic.

    How many people have built a Mac?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bradfo69 View Post
    Some of my issue comes more from the sometimes obnoxious attitudes of the users rather than the actual product/company. It's a bit like dealing with Dallas Cowboy fans.... Or religious fanatics. "If you don't believe in or pray to my God, you're going to hell."

    I don't have a big issue with the company or the products - I do have some yes but, in general, they're just tools. Different strokes for different folks. Under the hood, they're a lot closer to a pc than ever before so much of it is just the OS. There are some things that mac's do very, very well and more efficiently than pc's but at the same time, there are a number of areas where they lag severely behind. They tend to have more appeal for "artsy" folks since they're probably best suited for desktop publishing, photo and video editing and manipulation, music and so forth. Whereas for legitimate business use and particularly business presentation, they leave a lot to be desired. Apple is still all about the dollar and I can't fault them for that - that's what they're in business for but, one example I regularly deal with is trying to hook peoples mac's up to our AV system to show videos and youtube clips and Apple - in their infinite wisdom - has created about 6 different ways out outputting video from their laptops - none of which natively mate up to any projector manufactured so, they force their users to all go spend $26.95 at the Apple store for a dongle to make it work. Ka-ching! I could go on but, it would get off topic and I need to leave for work anyway.
    I agree with just about all of that - well, except for the pre-conceived notion that Macs are only for "artsy" markets. It is true that there is probably still some favoritism towards Macs by the design community - mostly left-over from Apple's proliferation of the desktop publishing industry. As for the music industry, the reason you see lots of Macs there has less to do with "artsy" people liking Macs, and more to do with pragmatism... Mac OS has a really well designed audio kernel which makes dealing with audio hardware and audio software much less eventful than many Windows solutions. It's reliable and it works well. Not to say you can't put together an awesome recording solution on Windows, but it takes a bit more fiddling with drivers and such to get things stable.

    As far as the use of the mini display adapter - yes it is a pain - however I don't think that it is part of Apple's plan to make money by forcing users to buy adapters. The mini display adapter comes about because it is what allows the MacBook Air to be so thin - you couldn't fit a DVI connector on a MacBook Air or even on a MacBook. You could argue that they should just use HDMI, however, I believe it has only been very recent that HDMI spec has started to support large display resolutions (like 4k). If you wanted to support a large display resolution you had to use some other type of display connection - hence the mini display port.

    Quote Originally Posted by loopee View Post
    I find this naivety quite typical of the Apple user

    Microsoft had to implement an activation system as its OS can be used on various vendors’ hardware platforms in which it didn’t control, with Apple it is a closed ecosystem that is Apple software restricted to run only on Apple hardware and is made in such a way that it will not run on other platform, therefore that is basically the same as an activation system in its own right, again just transparent to the end user.
    Actually, it is not the same at all. There is no "activation" or serial number entry involved with Mac OS. Sure, when you purchase a "new" Mac, it comes with an OS license - however, and this is the big however, when it comes to upgrading your computer, or hard drive, and you need to re-install the OS, there is no need for "activation" or entering a serial number. You just re-install your OS. No fussing around with serial numbers and online activation systems.

    Quote Originally Posted by loopee View Post
    Microsoft at least allows you the flexibility to transfer the license to other hardware
    Actually that depends on the "type" of Windows license you own. Which is one of my gripes as well. With Windows, it can be quite complicated to understand all of the different Windows license types - and until just recently, you had to worry about how many processors your version could support, etc... Bonkers.

    Quote Originally Posted by loopee View Post
    You also need to remember that OSX is using a BSD derivative as its underlying OS in which Apple didn’t write where as Microsoft has fully written and developed its OS, so Microsoft has put in considerably more effort that it wanted to recoup some development cost for. And it’s interesting when you say “the last several major upgrades have been FREE” when you could really compare these to the Windows service packs that have been free, it's only major releases that it charges for and again this comes back to the uncontrolled hardware aspect mentioned above.
    I need to clarify some the things you point out, which are inaccurate... First, OS X uses Mach-O kernel - which is a BSD derivative - but a distant one at best. There is a lot more to an OS than just the kernel. All of the libraries on top of the kernel is what makes an OS and OS, and to claim that "Apple" didn't develop those libraries or parts of the OS is very misleading. Now, we all know the history of OS X. When Apple brought Steve Jobs back with the purchase of NeXT, much of what OS X was to become had its roots in the old NeXT OS. It is a complex history for sure, but to say that Apple didn't "write" their on OS is very misleading. There is not much NeXT code left in modern OS X except for NeXt Step naming conventions.

    Also, to compare many of the recent OS X releases as equivalent to Windows service packs is quite misleading. They are not at all the same.

    Quote Originally Posted by loopee View Post
    BTW, if you really want an Apple challenge, go and try and revert a MAC back to a previous version where you don’t have the media, it won’t be free then (been here done this)
    Weird statement... I mean if you lose your original copy of any software and want to re-install it, of course it is going to be hard. Also, if you maintain a decent backup routine, or use utilities like Time Machine, it is as simple as reverting back to point in time. It can't be any simpler.

    Quote Originally Posted by loopee View Post
    It also amazes me how many companies have had to reduce their security policies to accommodate Apple devices in the enterprise space (although it is getting better, not necessarily thanks to Apple and Apple products are domestic devices for the home, they no longer make and enterprise hardware (and sorry, but a Mac mini running OSX server is not a server!))
    Not sure what you mean by "reduce their security policies"... The enterprise ecosystems are certainly quite different between the two... different ideologies and markets, for sure. But arguing that a company can only be called an "enterprise" if it uses Microsoft Active Directory, and Microsoft networking domain systems, is also very inaccurate.

    Quote Originally Posted by loopee View Post
    Just on a side note, one of the things I find funny with Apple owners is where they promote the OS as being truly flexible by allowing the running of Windows applications through virtualization
    So, what I take from this is that they are promoting for a person to buy an overpriced Macbook, then buy some virtualization software and then buy a copy of Windows to run the app, so why not just by a windows laptop!
    Doesn't this actually make it that Windows is more flexible by allowing this to happen whereas you can't run any Apple software on a Windows device
    Again, a little confused by this statement. It is flexible - you can run OS X AND Windows, side-by-side. That is the whole point. You don't have to go out and buy a Windows laptop if all you need is to periodically check to see if the web site you developing works with internet explorer (just a quick and dirty example), or maybe run awesome laser show design software, like LSX.

    Also, there have been many, many blogs comparing the cost of MacBooks with comparable Windows laptops, and most of the time when you compare equally spec'd out systems, the MacBook could hardly be described as "overpriced". I agree that as soon as you start adding Apple memory and upgrade hard drives, that is where Apple tends to be over priced. But they are usually quite comparable with base model prices. Now, it is well understood that the market that Apple is going after is a higher-end market of laptops and desktop computers. That is no secret. If you want a cheap computer - don't buy a new MacBook. It is pretty simple.


    Quote Originally Posted by Bradfo69 View Post
    Another thing about pc's versus Apples is simply this... going back to maybe 1985 or so, I could regularly go to computer shows on the weekends to learn about, pick up parts and custom build my own pc to my specs. I cut my teeth on DOS and when Windows came out and it's subsequent versions, there was a ton of information out there about how to tweak, customize and get the OS to do all kinds of things. I was able to stay current with it up until around Vista and was the "go to" person for a lot of friends that had computer questions, issues, wanted a build... that sort of thing. It's been comfortable - like wearing a pair of moccasins - yes, frustrating and challenging at times but, in the end fun. Sort of like how many here are into building projectors and tweaking this and milling that and swapping this optic for that optic.

    How many people have built a Mac?
    Hmmm... I agree, if you like component-building your PC, then a Mac is not the right piece of hardware to purchase. Apple obviously has no interest in that market. Apple seems to pride themselves in their own ecosystem and the reliability that keeping variables under control provides. Can't fault them for that.

    I count myself as one of the few people in the world who has "built" a Mac. It was painful. It took many many cross-eyed hours. It was for my senior engineering design thesis - and I actually hand-built a computer that somewhat closely resembled a Mac Plus. I took a 68000 microprocessor, 128k of RAM, an EEPROM for storing my own custom written OS, a custom built PGA memory controller and serial IO controller and put it all together on a bread board, and wire wrapped the whole damned thing. It didn't run Mac OS - it wasn't designed to - it was designed as a really over-powered multi port MIDI I/O controller - but it was modeled after and used all of the basic components of a Mac Plus, because the lab I worked in had a ton of those parts just laying around. This was waaay before the time of microcontrollers - so using and off-the-shelf microcontroller wasn't really an option
    Last edited by BlueFang; 02-20-2015 at 22:54.

  3. #23
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    Ok, back on track - that little adventure into computer ideology and preconceived notions was fun, but not very productive...

    Here is yet another teaser video of one of the last features to be implemented in Maxwell before I make it available for some limited alpha testing: Color modulation. I have decided to go the HSL route for color modulation because I find it easier for humans to think in HSL than in RGB. How do you make something "darker" in RGB... well, that's kinda tough with one hand. How do you make something "white" - well that requires changing all three values of r, g, and b. So I chose to do everything in the HSL space (hue, saturation, lightness).

    Anyway, here is an unfortunately poorly focused video showing a neat spirograph like pattern, with me twiddling some of the color knobs and pushing some of the other buttons. I wish I had remembered to focus the camera before recording, but oh well... it is what it is.



    As long as the cold that I am feeling coming on doesn't take me out for the weekend, there should be an introductory version of Maxwell released this weekend!

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    Quote Originally Posted by BlueFang View Post
    I don't think that Max/MSP supports Snow Leopard. I believe it is Mac OS 10.7 and above, but I could be wrong. YMMV.

    Not sure what you mean by supporting exporting files. The way it works is that there is a big square "RECORD" button at the top - you hit that button and it goes into RECORD PAUSE mode and brings up a file selection dialog which allows you to enter a file name and location to store the ILDA file. After selecting this, it starts recording whatever you do in real-time - until you stop it by clicking on the record button again or the file reaches the maximum number of ILDA frames - which according to the spec is 65537 I believe. I stop a few frames short to be safe.

    Also, because I am creating ILDA frames in a real-time streaming fashion - I am not writing the correct "Total Frames" field in the ILDA file, because I don't know that value when writing the file - I can't "predict" when you are gonna hit stop and know what the total number of frames is going to be of your file. Basically, I am "streaming" the ILDA file to disk. This is a major oversight in the ILDA spec in my opinion, however I have found that most ILDA viewers ignore this field anyway, and just read the frames in sequentially until the end of the file has been reached. You can take one of the ILDA files I create and drag it straight into LSX. It works perfectly. This is how I have tested my ILDA file export.

    With that being said, release time is drawing near - last little bits of stuff not working are being fixed.
    Thanks for the response. Eagerly looking forward to the developments!

    For those people that think Apple is so evil, why is this? I am genuinely curious? I have never understood how you can freely hand out $$$$ for every Windows version and even deal with the crappy Windows activation system that Microsoft hampers you with. That is so horrible in my opinion. I don't work for a company that gives me free Windows OS installs. I have to purchase Windows legitimately. Mac OS X has no activation system whatsoever - the last several major upgrades have been FREE, the entire development environment comes with the OS, and you can simply open up terminal and type all of your favorite Unix commands without having to install something hackie like cygwin... just sayin'...!
    I didn't read through a lot of the replies but a lot of this comes down to the fact that I like to game. Straight up. I also build my own PCs and for what I do, Mac is just too damn expensive. Also, for me... Windows "just works" too. I have no complaints.
    If you're the smartest person in the room, then you're in the wrong room.

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    Woah! I don't visit for a few weeks and this happens! This is great.
    OSX only - no problem, etherdream.dll crashes every single program I use it with and I'm still waiting for a reply from Dr Lava to my emails after 2 months!
    Maybe this will mean my Etherdream can actually by used instead of sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

    Suggestions - Can it use multiple midi controllers? I've never found one that can do it all and currently use a combination of Push, Novation 25SL & BCF2000
    Also any chance it can accept a midi timecode signal and be able to sync the OSC's/LFO's in relation to it?

    Either way, where do I sign up?!!?

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    the only thing I don't like and it really point at most abstracts not just yours is that they are so center focused. everything evolves from the center point out.

  7. #27
    swamidog's Avatar
    swamidog is online now Jr. Woodchuckington Janitor III, Esq.
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    Quote Originally Posted by kecked View Post
    the only thing I don't like and it really point at most abstracts not just yours is that they are so center focused. everything evolves from the center point out.
    true, but you can export to ilda and move animate x/y from a show editor timeline.
    suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.

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    Quote Originally Posted by kecked View Post
    the only thing I don't like and it really point at most abstracts not just yours is that they are so center focused. everything evolves from the center point out.
    I think you may be confusing design decisions with technical limitations. The videos I have made so far have been me just wanting to create swirly things... There is absolutely nothing stopping you from creating random offset waveforms. As seen in the screenshot below. There is a translator which allows you to move your waveform wherever you like... There is also a square wave LFO - so you can make it jump around the screen in discrete hops.

    Now, if you are talking about the symmetry of the waveforms themselves, well that is simply a feature/limitation of math. These waveforms are created by math. Math and nature likes symmetry. You can kinda think of most of these waveforms as polar plots - which is gonna make them more or less symmetrical. Crazy formulas create crazy images, and I haven't quite gotten crazy yet with the maths!

    As soon as you start playing around with the "DUPLICATOR" effect - then, yes, I indeed perform the duplication in a radial pattern around the origin. It is certainly possible to make the center of duplication not be the origin. But at least for now, I am trying to keep things as simple as possible - yet am still seeing myself adding more and more knobs

    Here is an example of a waveform that has been transformed along the X & Y axis. It will sit there forever.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I have been slaving away trying to resolve a bug I introduced during my 3 circle optimization marathon. Hope to get the beta out tomorrow. The screen shot above is gonna be the final-ish GUI design for beta.
    Last edited by BlueFang; 02-21-2015 at 22:28.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Spotta View Post
    Woah! I don't visit for a few weeks and this happens! This is great.
    OSX only - no problem, etherdream.dll crashes every single program I use it with and I'm still waiting for a reply from Dr Lava to my emails after 2 months!
    Maybe this will mean my Etherdream can actually by used instead of sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

    Suggestions - Can it use multiple midi controllers? I've never found one that can do it all and currently use a combination of Push, Novation 25SL & BCF2000
    Also any chance it can accept a midi timecode signal and be able to sync the OSC's/LFO's in relation to it?

    Either way, where do I sign up?!!?
    MIDI support will not be in the initial release unfortunately, however it is definitely my top priority for future (i.e. next) updates. I mean it just makes so much sense to twiddle physical knobs. Making sure to support multiple midi controllers simultaneously is a really good suggestion. I am pretty sure that, at least on Mac OS, I can store midi input device assignments. Need to research that a bit.

    Also, full support for BPM tempo based sync as well as MTC sync will be coming - nothing too technically difficult about either of those. I have also been desiring a step sequencer where you can trigger different presets at different points in the step sequencer - basically a really quick-n-dirty show creation tool. But my main focus at the moment is making something where real-time interactivity with the laser is easy!

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    Loving the sound of that! Take my money!!

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