I got my job at Digital through an agency; my current job through another... ten years on, there are too many agencies out there, and the quality of them seems to have fallen. You apply for a job, you get an initial contact and... that's it. Nowt. Nada. Zip. If you pester them, they don't bother to respond.
More on this later...
19 April 2007
25 February 2007
Delphi 2007 for Win32
CodeGear (who? They're part of Borland) have released Delphi 2007 for Win32. They fixed a few bugs and added support for Vista - but not much else. A very expensive upgrade with little goodness in it. No thanks, after Delphi 2005/2006, they've have to pull some really big rabbits out of their hat before I burn my fingers again!
MacBook
My laptop was getting old - a 700MHz Celeron. It wouldn't run Windows XP but did run Ubuntu. Never could get WPA wireless to work on it though.
I thought about getting an Apple MacBook, even more so since they had an Intel version out. So, I bought one before Christmas. It's like Linux but with a desktop and decent applications.
The "finder" application seems to be the worst part of it - a bit of a mess, I think. The Wireless network seems to have issues too but I think I've got that working now.
Firefox and Thunderbird all work on Windows, Linux and Apple - why use anything else?
(Today I'm using IE7 due to an issue with Firefox and Blogger)
I thought about getting an Apple MacBook, even more so since they had an Intel version out. So, I bought one before Christmas. It's like Linux but with a desktop and decent applications.
The "finder" application seems to be the worst part of it - a bit of a mess, I think. The Wireless network seems to have issues too but I think I've got that working now.
Firefox and Thunderbird all work on Windows, Linux and Apple - why use anything else?
(Today I'm using IE7 due to an issue with Firefox and Blogger)
Buying a new car
Just before Christmas, my Peugeot 206 let me down - it started misfiring or randomly stalling. It took a few weeks and several hundred pounds to fix it - a stuck injector. I was already disappointed with this car - it went well enough but seemed to have a few electrical issues: central locking failed after two years (I had to fight to get it fixed under warranty), A/C made the engine almost stall in stop/start traffic, A/C + fan switch would stop working one day and work fine the next, and finally the alarm system kept going off, waking me once in the night.
So I traded it in, and bought a Honda Jazz, with a 1.4 CVT engine. It's my first automatic, and my first five door car. I was a little concerned that it might not perform too well - was 1.4 too underpowered? That doesn't seem to be the case - its a quiet efficient engine, and a real pleasure to drive.
The salesman did tell me a few wrong facts about the Jazz: I asked if when the immobiliser was switched if there was a red light flashing on the console - there isn't, the salesman said he thought there was. Also, on the day I picked up my car, he said it had an electric heater to help clear the windows in cold weather - this simply isn't true.
Some options on the Jazz puzzle me - why the continuous rear wash wipe unless you buy a sport model? Why not offer it as an option?
I had planned on buying a second hand car perhaps a year old or younger... the Jazz brand new was more or less the same price as a year old model, so I went for a new one.
So I traded it in, and bought a Honda Jazz, with a 1.4 CVT engine. It's my first automatic, and my first five door car. I was a little concerned that it might not perform too well - was 1.4 too underpowered? That doesn't seem to be the case - its a quiet efficient engine, and a real pleasure to drive.
The salesman did tell me a few wrong facts about the Jazz: I asked if when the immobiliser was switched if there was a red light flashing on the console - there isn't, the salesman said he thought there was. Also, on the day I picked up my car, he said it had an electric heater to help clear the windows in cold weather - this simply isn't true.
Some options on the Jazz puzzle me - why the continuous rear wash wipe unless you buy a sport model? Why not offer it as an option?
I had planned on buying a second hand car perhaps a year old or younger... the Jazz brand new was more or less the same price as a year old model, so I went for a new one.
15 November 2006
Spread
Since SynthMaker V1.0 has been released, I revisited the 'spread' synth I'd tried to create before. Here's the result.
15 August 2006
The Quest
"Ok, we're nearly there", whispered Luke.
"Are you sure?", said Simon.
"Yeah".
"I mean... is this the right place and all?"
"C'mon, we've been searching for days!"
Luke and Simon ducked into the room. Above the door the words, "The Oracle" were engraved on a brass plaque.
"WELCOME STRANGER", a deep voice intoned.
"Ooo-er!"
"WHAT IS YOUR QUEST?"
"Umm...",
"Go on, ask it!"
"Oh... OK. Hey dude have you seen my car?"
"WHAT?"
"Have you seen my car?"
Long pause...
"Luke... why did you take your shirt off?"
"I dunno... seemed like the right thing to do..."
Doing a tech demo
I need to add the "fire" particle generator inside the fireplace to complete this one... I recently bought a copy of Dark Basic Pro along with Dark Physics. Kinda strange wandering around a room and making boxes fly around...
27 June 2006
The artist in me...
It's been a while. I dabbled with raytraying with POVray and had a go at creating an editor to create the scenes with it. I've used 3DS Max and Maya - too expensive and too confusing to use.
After my musical interlude, I came across Bryce again. I've seen it before, but hadn't realised it had changed hands a few times. This time I bought a copy, taking me back to photo-realistic imagery again. Then I descovered Hexagon, a modelling tool, followed by Carrara and Poser.
Here's a scene I created in Poser then rendered in Carrara:
I just love camera effects!
After my musical interlude, I came across Bryce again. I've seen it before, but hadn't realised it had changed hands a few times. This time I bought a copy, taking me back to photo-realistic imagery again. Then I descovered Hexagon, a modelling tool, followed by Carrara and Poser.
Here's a scene I created in Poser then rendered in Carrara:
I just love camera effects!
10 May 2006
22 March 2006
05 March 2006
Tons of ideas but...
I sit at my PC and I have a lot of ideas but I go blank staring at the screen. "Writers block", programmer style?
18 February 2006
Delphi 2006 trial version
So Borland have released a trial version of Delphi 2006 - an Architect trial version that lasts 30 days.
Pity they didn't release a personal version that costs $99 instead.
Pity they didn't release a personal version that costs $99 instead.
08 February 2006
"Alas poor Borland, I knew him well..."
Saw this on the net.
My reaction to this?
"Do not ask for whom the bells toll, they toll for you".
Maybe it's time to hangup my Delphi T-shirts and start wearing C# ones.
Sigh.
My reaction to this?
"Do not ask for whom the bells toll, they toll for you".
Maybe it's time to hangup my Delphi T-shirts and start wearing C# ones.
Sigh.
21 January 2006
Notes stuck on
You hate it when it happens. Your latest sequencer starts generating stuck notes that never turn off. I had this with the MIDI streaming API but managed to figure that one out. Now I'm working with a MIDI sequencer feeding into a VST sample accurate system. ARGH! No longer are things aligned on a nice neat PPQN boundary. They're all over the shop. And my pad notes are getting stuck on.
With a good ol' trace log, I figured out the stuck note always occured at the same point - when the sample position 'wrapped' around bar - a boundary condition error meant this was never seen - switch 'x < y' to 'x <= y' and stuck notes have gone!
Still, it beats working with databases. Now I can start to compose stuff with uSeq. If only saving worked. Groan...
With a good ol' trace log, I figured out the stuck note always occured at the same point - when the sample position 'wrapped' around bar - a boundary condition error meant this was never seen - switch 'x < y' to 'x <= y' and stuck notes have gone!
Still, it beats working with databases. Now I can start to compose stuff with uSeq. If only saving worked. Groan...
14 January 2006
μSeq
I just don't like the name The Chordinator. Too... naff!
So, how's about μSeq, as in micro-sequencer?
So, how's about μSeq, as in micro-sequencer?
11 January 2006
09 January 2006
Delphi who?
It has surprised me how a number of apps I use for music are created in Delphi. ImageLine's FL Studio is one example; Rayzoon's JamStix is another.
I first saw Delphi V1 on the front of a magazine. I tried it, loved it, and have been buying it for personal use ever since.
I skipped Delphi 8 as I wasn't that struck on .NET, despite Microsoft trying to make it the future of development. I bought Delphi 2005, but was disappointed by how bad a release it was. Delphi 2006 is much better, but I can't help feeling Delphi 7 was the last best release.
C++ Builder is Borland's answer for C++ instead of Delphi's Object Pascal. It took until V5 before it became reasonable. Even now I wouldn't use it in preference to Visual Studio C++.
Borland's brief flirtation on Linux with Kylix wasn't a great success. It had potential but seemed to have too many problems. It came free with Delphi 7, but the cross platform library (CLX) has disappeared from Delphi 2006.
So I can see why people think Borland is dead. They haven't done much lately except shoot themselves in the foot. Sad really, but I'm reminded how much being technically superior is no guarantee of success.
I first saw Delphi V1 on the front of a magazine. I tried it, loved it, and have been buying it for personal use ever since.
I skipped Delphi 8 as I wasn't that struck on .NET, despite Microsoft trying to make it the future of development. I bought Delphi 2005, but was disappointed by how bad a release it was. Delphi 2006 is much better, but I can't help feeling Delphi 7 was the last best release.
C++ Builder is Borland's answer for C++ instead of Delphi's Object Pascal. It took until V5 before it became reasonable. Even now I wouldn't use it in preference to Visual Studio C++.
Borland's brief flirtation on Linux with Kylix wasn't a great success. It had potential but seemed to have too many problems. It came free with Delphi 7, but the cross platform library (CLX) has disappeared from Delphi 2006.
So I can see why people think Borland is dead. They haven't done much lately except shoot themselves in the foot. Sad really, but I'm reminded how much being technically superior is no guarantee of success.
07 January 2006
26 December 2005
Tune Forge
Just added a transition matrix based "tune forge" to Chordinator. First few generations produced a few interesting tunes...
Multi host
There's MiniHost, a single VSTi host, there's VSTHost etc.
How about a MultiHost? Something that handles multiple VSTi and chaining of VST effects on that instrument...
Well, it works, but needs more... I got the MIDI input going, and the channel filtering. Now I need to make the UI work so I can try it out with Chordinator...
Then take a large spoon and stir Chordinator and MultiHost together...
(cue the electric storm, flashing lights, evil laughter, and "it is ALIVE!"... well, not yet anywhy)
How about a MultiHost? Something that handles multiple VSTi and chaining of VST effects on that instrument...
Well, it works, but needs more... I got the MIDI input going, and the channel filtering. Now I need to make the UI work so I can try it out with Chordinator...
Then take a large spoon and stir Chordinator and MultiHost together...
(cue the electric storm, flashing lights, evil laughter, and "it is ALIVE!"... well, not yet anywhy)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
