[sdiy] Ways for innovation

[Roman Sowa]

Hi,
my point of view on this in short comments inline

> But I feel a hardware platform is lacking for these innovations to
> reach the less scientific of us who just like to "play"!

Something like Axoloti?

>
> One of my personal pains is the lack of alternative to MIDI. Why, in
> this modern era, is there still no high-resolution version of MIDI
> standardized?

MIDI can be hi-res, for example NRPN, but it then becomes few times 
slower. Hopes are for HD-MIDI that is talked about for several years. 
And there's also voltage control via audio file, like Silent Way stuff.
And how about "SPDIF is the new CV"?

>
> The other is: why is there so little hardware that helps integrating
> the hard work of the many DSP hobbyist making great code. Where is
> that hybrid synth with an open-sourced FX engine?

With too many hobbyist it's difficult to agree on one particular 
design/format

>
> Why does my 150 dollar phone have a better screen than my 3000 dollar
> synth?

yeah, I ask the same question when I look for new laptop, why my phone 
has higher resolution than most freaking laptops?!
Phones are like tootbrush, that's totally different market, it's 
difficult to call it even "electronic device". It's most of all "mass 
consumer product". Different design criterias.

>
> And my last personal pain: why is hardware life span so short on
> present commercial products? If I have a synth with a great keyboard
> with aftertouch (which is removed from more and more keyboards as a
> cost-saving measure) and a lovely set of controllers, why throw the
> hole thing, while the only part that needs an upgrade is the CPU
> board + DAC to support the latest audio quality and CPU-hogging new
> algorithms?

Who throws away synths? Where? I'll be sitting there waiting for one...
You can leave good keyboard and use it via MIDI with new synths treated 
as keyboardless sound modules. And if you're talking about upgrading 
only CPU board, then why not using a computer, that you can replace 
every year and play thousands of software synths?

Roman