“Collaboration” I think is the key word in the upcoming, unknown Ableton-Cycling ’74 product. It’s difficult to avoid confusion when talking about a product you can’t talk about, but Cycling ’74 founder David Zicarelli does that today. The highlight for me is this passage on the next version of Max/MSP/Jitter, which is independent from the Ableton announcement (i.e., don’t expect Max 5 to be a Live plug-in or anything like that):
… the thing we are making with Ableton is not going to replace Max/MSP/Jitter. In fact, we are hard at work on a new version of Max (version 5) that will be most significant and dramatic transformation of the software in its twenty-year history. As I said in the Ableton story, we have been strongly influenced by Ableton’s attention to detail in the Live user experience, and I think you will see that influence reflected in Max 5. But, just to make sure you understand, Max 5 is not the project we are doing with Ableton.
Not a whole lot of additional information on the Cycling ’74 – Ableton deal, but he does say it will allow C74 to “include a new group of people who can benefit from what Max has to offer” and “give our old friends access to some powerful new tools and approaches.” He’s actually saying a whole lot there, but I’ll leave you to decode it.
Our Collaboration with Ableton
Hey, I have to relish this; it’s not every day the developers of two of the most important products in my artistic life start working together. Sometimes I actually see more of Max/MSP and Live than I do, like, other human beings. Okay, that’s a little scary. But some people can only say that about Microsoft Office.