Posts this week stirred some controversy and discussion from big issues to small:
“The OLPC program is not perfect, but at least they’re trying something. It’s open and there is a great deal of room for the individual countries and regions to adapt them to their needs.”
-David Wagenbach in a heated debate on the value of adding music software to the One Laptop Per Child initiative, aimed at China, Brasil, Thailand, Argentina, and (possibly) even the US and Canada
“Akai got one big thing right with the MPD16: getting there first. They were way ahead of all these other contenders … the MPD16 was introduced 4 years ago at summer NAMM 2002, and with the MPD24 they’re now on their second generation when everyone else is at most 16 months into their first … No question, the MPD16 had its faults. But for a long time it was the only option for a compact pad controller. I learned to love it, warts and all, because even with its limitations it was better than using a keyboard controller for drum programming.”
-Mies van der Robot on Akai drum pads, new and old.
“I asked Jamie [Lidell] about his Max patch a while back, being a nosey bugger. He said he made it about 4 years ago and hasn’t really changed it much since. He said it is very, very simple and most people assume it is much more complex than it is; it was about the second thing he ever made. He also said that he had talked to the people from Cycling [’74] about it … and they were more than a little suprised at the brutality and wonkiness of it.”
-Angstrom, having discovered that Max/MSP doesn’t have to be a pit you get lost in trying to create something fancy, whatever our readers might think
“… I find it refreshing to even see/hear anyone discussing the basic question of being creative. We live in a time where the tools for creating are very powerful, but as humans we are bound to the level of understanding that we are comfortable with. The individuals that are driven to reach the edges and be really creative have always been a small percentage … Personally I would prefer to be motivated by inspiration than tragedy (having experienced both).”
-Hawk, talking about more than just Max/MSP
“When we strip away politics and the hostilities of religion (or abuses of religion), we find we have way more in common than we might otherwise suppose.”
-Damon, hoping, as I expect we all do, for times with more music and more peace