To my question:
If one uses ~.etf as the primary storage format for Finale data files,
one will not lose access to the data in the files. . ..
David Fenton wrote
How successful is the import of ETF files in these other programs?
How usable are the programs themselves? Do they lack capabilities
that Finale has?
and I would note that at present I know of two programs that read
(though none that write) ~.etf files: Sibelius, and Lilypond, with
lilypond doing so through a filter that converts the ~.etf file to a
~.ly one. But the format of the data file is just an arrangement of the
data. Since the file structure is public, there is no reason that one
could not create a new program to convert the files; this is not
possible with Sibelius, since the file strucutre is kept proprietary.
The problem I have with these ETF-conversion discussions is that no
3rd parties and no conversion is necessary if MakeMusic would simply
do something very, very simple and inexpensive, i.e., set up a key
escrow.
It's such a small thing that I can't understand why there could be
any resistance to such a simple and inexpensive operation. I'd think
it would also be quite a selling point in comparison to the
competition.
I"ve been to the MakeMusic offices, personally, a couple of years ago.
I saw a number of people in the offices, but I did not see anyone eating
drinking. And I do not make any assumption from the fact that neither
Allen Fisher, nor the other people I have had the occasion to contact
over the years have not discussed eating or drinking in forming an
opinion that they do not. By the same token, I can think of good
reasons why there might in fact be a key escrow, and why MakeMusic would
choose not to even publish the fact, much less use it as a selling point.
ns
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