Industry Talk

Last month, Paul Wiffen explained how he heard about mLAN — a new data-transfer protocol which will allow us to send audio, MIDI, and even video down one FireWire connector. This month, he finds out from Yoshi Sawada of Yamaha's mLAN development team how the system is likely to work in practice.

Steve Watts argues that software manufacturers have exploited their customers' tolerances for shoddy, bug-laden products for long enough.

This month Dave Shapton compares his vision of the future for digital music with that of Microsoft...

I am a second‑year A‑level student doing Music and Electronics and have been a keen musician for 11 years. I...

Jon Thompson explains how online distribution can work for new music — but only if you get in at the ground floor...

A new interfacing standard is just around the corner which can carry digital audio, MIDI, timecode and hard drive communications down a single cable, in addition to the digital video and multimedia signals which the likes of Sony, Apple and others are already sending down it. Paul Wiffen, long an advocate of high-speed digital interfaces, investigates and finds that he may just have a new religion to evangelise.

The music business is in the midst of legal battles instigated by MP3. Dave Shapton argues that these problems are partly due to misconceptions about the technology and its consequences for the distribution of music.

Dan Heard wonders why music-shop staff's desire to take your cash isn't matched by a similar willingness to deal with your needs as a musician...

The idea of selling music over the Internet has become hugely popular — but many musicians remain worried about issues such as copywright and publicity for their work. Paul White puts these concerns to the founders of Peoplesound.com, one of the best publicised on-line record companies working with unsigned artists.

Physical modelling is continuing to develop with increases in DSP power. Dave Shapton ponders the possibilities for future music technology applications, and also sees trouble on the Firewire horizon...

Dave Shapton explores copyright issues raised by new digital media and the effect of emerging technologies on the way that music is distributed.

Danish company TC Electronic have been at the forefront in developing new and more realistic reverb algorithms. Most recently, they've been putting their energies into overcoming the particular problems associated with artificial reverb for surround sound. Thomas Lund, TC's Programme Manager, explains their approach to Paul White.

Wayne Rowley wishes that Windows was more musician-friendly and turns to BeOS as a possible alternative...

Audia Production Services work within the music industry and lecture on many different Music Technology courses. In this article they raise concerns about the current developments in Music Technology education.

Dave Shapton muses on the possibility of Apple's OS X becoming a desktop front-end for Linux, and explores the consequences of a new wireless communications protocol for musicians.

Dave Shapton gets to grips with the latest news about BeOS, and its possible implications for musicians.

The Internet could mean a bleak future for high-fidelity music, worries reader Philip Cadman.

The current challenge to reverb designers such as Dave Griesinger of Lexicon is to create realistic algorithms for surround sound. Paul White finds out how he's approached the problem.

Debbie Poyser has just about had it with Apple. Here she explains why before going off to buy a new G4.

Dave Shapton explores the consequences of new, media-independent formats for music distribution and reproduction.

Regular SOS readers may have noticed Ken McBeth, a DIY analogue synth builder for over 10 years, guesting as the columnist in last month's Net Notes. We sent Paul Nagle to bonnie Scotland (where else?) to find out exactly what makes this constructor of kitchen‑table instruments tick...