Before anyone gets disturbed over all this, I must let you know that Stas has sent me a patch to test for adding MIDI input to the CVS DOSemu. I have compiled the sources and have slightly tested for MIDI input. It didn't work, but that doesn't mean Stas's code is wrong. I'm currently in the middle of a very heavy writing project (12,000 words and I'm only about 2/3 finished, so I've been stalled for a while (Sorry, Stas!). I'll try to make some time for more testing today.
So, thanks to Stas we're getting there. When Seq+ gets MIDI input it'll be just fantastic. I agree with Steve, Linux MIDI just hasn't "got there" yet, though it's certainly moving right along (so far MusE has the most appeal for me, but I haven't had time to test the latest Rosegarden release).
Little by little, the doing gets it done... ;)
Best,
== dp
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
The problem is that MIDI is not just for games. I haven't used a better all-around MIDI sequencer than seq+ in the last 10 years. And I know other people who feel the same. I hate to say it but from a user's perspective, even a user with a strong pro-linux bias, Linux MIDI hasn't hit the mark, Jazz and Rosegarden included. If dosemu and Linux are to live up to their promise there's no reason not to have a full MIDI implementation. Some of us would really appreciate it.
From: Dave Phillips <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 2004/01/08 Thu AM 10:16:00 EST To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: Stas Sergeev <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: no MIDI input with dosemu ?
Stas Sergeev wrote:
Why? Implementing midi input is trivial,No, Stas, I can't use the native Linux sequencers "just fine" and their developers know it. Unfortunately there is no easy way for them to accomodate my working method (which results from amenities of the particular DOS sequencer I like to use). I put about nine years into working with a particular program (Sequencer Plus, or Seq+ for short) whose working method is far more amenable to me than that of any native Linux sequencer. I'm not much of a keyboard player, I'm a guitarist, so I prefer a MIDI sequencer with exceptional QWERTY keyboard data entry features, and none of the native Linux sequencers approach the usability of Seq+ in this regard. Actually I can use Seq+ under DOSemu to meet my needs, but a few other users have written to me about wanting MIDI input with Seq+ under DOSemu. Apparently they're not comfortable with the native Linux MIDI sequencers either.
but I'm puzzled as of what's the use.
Dosemu needs a MIDI output as otherwise
you can't play games. But as for midi
recording, you can use the native Linux
programs just fine. And it will actually
work better, because under dosemu the
timing is not always accurate. So why
would anyone ever need that?
The developers of the native Linux sequencers know of my needs quite well (I've been corresponding with all of them since their projects began). The problem lies in some of their own assumptions and some of the restrictions forced on them by X11. Also, Seq+ includes many MIDI features not found in Rosegarden-4, MusE, Jazz++, or seq24. Timing is in fact very good, especially when run with a Linux kernel patched for low-latency (I use the Planet CCRMA system). MusE and Rosegarden both have trouble playing some of my MIDI sequences that Seq+ handles perfectly under DOSemu. The plain fact is that for my working methods Seq+ is superior to any native Linux MIDI sequencer. I say this not to criticize the Linux sequencers, but merely to indicate how far they have to go before they reach the maturity of an application like Seq+ (which by 1995 had almost ten years of development).
Btw, I'm uninterested in integrated audio/MIDI sequencing, which is the design philosophy behind the Jazz++, MusE, and Rosegarden-4 (seq24 is designed more like a hardware sequencer such as the old Alesis MT8 and again has little value to my work methods). I'm strictly interested in MIDI, and it seems to me that the Linux developers are putting more time into audio-oriented features than into MIDI-specific features. As I said, they know my opinions about these matters (and we're still friends, incredible as it seems).
If adding MIDI input capability in DOSemu is trivial, hopefully these reasons will convince you that it would still be greatly appreciated by some of us.
Best regards,
Dave Phillips
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