Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing responds here to my commentary on platform-agnostic music listening. On a basic level, I’m not saying anything different than what Cory originally did: Windows DRM is broken and frustrates customers, and the MTP connection cripples Windows Media devices by limiting interoperability. (Try plugging a recent MTP device into a Mac […]

Since I couldn’t be at Cybersonica in London, some of the fabulously imaginative sound art slipped through the cracks. Here’s a brief look at the remaining pieces: Schizoporotica is a music box that plays torn scraps of paper. The object itself is quite gorgeously decorated, and it looks like people had great fun tearing up […]

Don’t let anyone outgeek you. Fire up that command prompt and get your MIDI chores done fast, without all that mucking about with your mouse. (You know, it is often slower to mouse around, you’ve got to admit.) Div’s MIDI Utilities for Windows (via) Div’s MIDI Utilities for UNIX (definitely runs on Linux as it […]

It’s tough to make money selling music software. The market is small to begin with, made smaller when an unsettling number of users use pirated software, and divided into pieces by a range of different software. Sometimes, dead software winds up disappearing forever (Opcode Studio Vision), but sometimes it winds up free. CPS is a […]

Miller Puckette, the original creator of Max and an ongoing presence in developing its open source cousin, Pure Data (Pd), recently told the Pd mailing list he had compiled Pd for Intel Macs. You can download the Intel-native version on his Website: Software by Miller Puckette (Curiously, he calls them “iMacs”, but unless he’s modified […]

From the forums . . . if you’re interested in hooking up a monster game joystick and going Top Gun on your latest music and/or live visual setup, you’ve got options: Joystick to MIDI [CDM Forums Thread] There are quite a few apps for Windows (not surprisingly, as it’s where the gamers are), but options […]

Want a truly powerful device for interfacing with motors, sensors, lights, and more? CDM’s assistant editor and Web ninja Jaymis Loveday and I are both excited about the upcoming MAKE Controller Kit, built by MakingThings (of Teleo fame). MAKE has started taking preorders, and shipping should start in a few weeks. You might want to […]

Ready to experiment with sensors for musical (or visual) control, but just want some simple MIDI control so you can use your existing software? An inexpensive, simple, solid option is the MIDIsense board created by Limor Fried (aka Lady Ada), which Limor announced publicly this weekend as a kit. (Some of you already know Limor […]