Hey all,
While Rick's message covers the history beautifully, I thought it was worth
adding to the thread to throw out a few thoughts about the future. Much of
this is just my oppinion and based on my experiences, but maybe it'll make a
penny drop for someone somewhere.
Let's just say that, in a year, 2, 3, however long, Pro Tools released an
accessible version. It would be a groovey Tuesday indeed! The next week
would be one of the most frustrating times of my life no doubt, because I'd
realise just how many of the current plugins are still completely
inaccessible. Then what happens? the fun starts all over, with more
corporations, companies owned by corporations, individual developers etc.
I don't mean to sound cynical, but the music business moves fast, and access
generally doesn't. With the development of technology in recent years,
seems to me that nearly every area of the industry has shifted toward
working freelance for us humble engineers. How highly recommended would
you're name have to be so that you could actually get away with carting an
OS9 rig into someones studio, ignore the power house of a mac sitting under
the desk, in a lot of cases ignore the desk too, and still keep the faith of
your recording subject? How many of the few fixed studio positions are you
likely to get when, even if you could use Pro Tools the backbone of it all,
you couldn't use maybe 75% of the plugins they're running on the resident
system? In esscence, this is why I lost the faith, why (for now) I regret
focusing on music for my degree, and why (also for now) I'm persuing a
career in something totally unrelated. Someone's bound to argue that
there's snags in a lot of things if you're VI, but with some industries it
feels to me like mole hills, whereas music feels like mountains. Of course,
if you're working from your own gaff like Jerry and Rick (to my knowledge)
it changes the dynamic of all this slightly, I just wish they needed a tea
boy haha.
Sorry if it's a bit off topic, but like i said, maybe it'll calm things down
slightly if people realise that it's not as clear cut as "pro tools works, I
have a career now".
Cheers...
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick Boggs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS X by
theblind" <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 7:59 PM
Subject: Re: ProTools: The path to accessibility
>Attention all audio enthusiasts and engineers interested in using Pro
>Tools. In light of the recent plea transmitted to this list, I am
>compelled to clarify the very important history and ongoing advocacy
>efforts on behalf of blind Pro Tools users. Please consider this
>information before taking any action called for in the recent post to
>this list.
Many of you are aware of the proven track record that I have in working
with Digidesign to make Pro Tools accessible for blind users. In fact,
for several years, Digidesign published a story about our successful work
in this area on their web site. For those who don't know, in 1992 I
initiated a dialog with the leadership at Digidesign about possible
accessibility for blind users. By 1994, I successfully arranged a test at
the Digidesign lab which determined that outSPOKEN, the Mac screen reader
at the time, would NOT function with Pro Tools. Specifically, the Mac
would not even boot properly while both outSPOKEN and Pro Tools were
loaded on the machine. However, through respectful, professional,
assertive communication, I was pleased to find that Digidesign voluntarily
made changes to a "system init" file which resolved the conflict and
allowed blind users to access Pro Tools. The change was made with the
launch of the next generation of the Pro Tools software at that time and
appeared simultaneously with other improvements to the software.
Since then, I launched the "BlindProducers.com" web site and made special
arrangements with the Digidesign sales department and a Los Angeles vendor
to be able to sell Pro Tools systems to blind individuals with an
appropriate package and sufficient support to make use of Pro Tools
realistic for blind users. I facilitated the purchase of Pro Tools for
blind clients of the department of rehabilitation after they in fact
purchased my own system. I even later hired blind audio engineers in my
studio to work as Pro Tools engineers. Digidesign is well aware of all of
these facts. Jerry Halatyn and I arranged to meet in person with the
product development team at Digidesign and demonstrated how blind users
interacted with Pro Tools 5.1.3 versus what the barriers are for using Pro
Tools 6.0 and later. We have established a rapport with key leadership at
Digidesign over the years and are working to help them resolve some
SIGNIFICANT technical barriers to accessibility. We can discuss those
technical details on this list at a later time.
In the interest of preserving the good will at Digidesign, and with
respect for their past record of making necessary accomodations, we ask
that all interested audio enthusiasts and professionals allow us to
continue to pursue the existing path toward accessibility for Pro Tools.
Nobody has a greater interest in finding a resolution than myself or Jerry
since both of us earn a living exclusively by making recordings with or
Pro Tools systems which are now quite old and out of date.
Please note that rather than bombarding some clerk at Digidesign with
separate and random expressions of frustration, Jerry and I organized a
public display of support for a resolution with the Pro Tools Petition at
www.ProToolsPetition.org which did render a response from Digidesign.
We ask that all brainstorming on this subject be done in an open forum and
that NO ACTION be taken without careful consideration of the history and
progress made thus far.
Why not stick with what has worked folks? Ask yourselves how much you
really know about what the technical problems are that face Digidesign
this time around. I assure you the barriers are significant.
Rick Boggs
