[sdiy] Another new hard to find part....

[David J. Hughes]

Tony,

on 7/7/04 5:08 PM, Oakley Sound at oakley at techrepairs.freeserve.co.uk wrote:

> Creating something on computer is different. Its still building, but it
> doesn't satisfy the need to make something real. Of course, the
> resultant instrument may be better, programmable, be easily updated and
> tweaked, but its still software. It doesn't actually exist to hold in
> one's hand. It won't impress your friends as much. But worse than
> that... there is always that feeling that its not finished. After all,
> once that new 4GHz processor comes out you can add this and that. A work
> of art, a synth module and flower arrangement can be finished. But is
> there a piece of software that isn't being continually tweaked?
> Sometimes limitations are a good thing.

With respect, Tony, this is a load of complete hogwash and it shows a
COMPLETE lack of understanding of the software process.

The best software engineers will always design a system first, often over
weeks, months or years, and only when the design has been fully set down
will they go near a compiler. Any software writer worth his salt will aspire
to this ideal.

Doesn't satisfy the need to make something real? Eh? Wot? Tell you what.
I'll drop my Atem Sequencer on your foot and see if that feels real or not.

Won't impress your friends as much? Huh? That's a very fluffy arguement?
Look at the Chameleon. I don't know about you but I'm impressed with any
instrument which lets me change a piece of hardware into say, a vocoder one
minute or a PPG/Monowave the next or a Polysynth or an effects box. Let's
see you do that on a piece of hardwired kit.

Is there a piece of software that isn't being continually tweaked? Well,
sure. Fifteen years ago I wrote a time clock system for Caterpillar and that
software is still in place, its still working and, to the best of my
knowledge, hasn't been tweaked, hacked or updated since 1997 when we
prepared for our year 2000 transition.

Sorry, Tony, but I can't help but get the feeling that you're trolling for a
fight when you make elitist statements like this.

Regards
   David

-- 
Infection Music Limited.                     http://www.infectionmusic.co.uk

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