Apple iPad + Numerology

[jim]

Originally Posted by jim

So that for now is my focus: extending the same remote control ideas (and code) I've been developing for MIDI-based controllers to the touch-screen environment.

To be a bit more specific: The "remote controller" approach is my current focus for thinking about Numerology & iPad. In terms of my overall priorities, there are many other things that come before that.

Jim

[ToniSpeck]

I think you're prioritizing things well.
Good luck and keep up the great work you've been putting into Numerology

[analogic76]

Originally Posted by jim

A very good question. Other than that spec, and some nice demos, there's no public information on the chip. Clearly it has a decent GPU, but is it a single core CPU + GPU or a dual core CPU + GPU, or some sort of exotic multi-core CPU+GPU combo. Is the math fixed point like the iPhone, or floating point like a desktop chip -- that has a big effect on writing and porting music-dsp algorithms of all sorts. My guess is that it is comparable to a single core 1.5 Ghz Core chip, possibly better, with a decent GPU -- probably 2X the performance overall of an iPhone 3Gs, good enough for a few synthesis voices and simple FX, but not in the same class as even an average laptop.

There are other questions: Have they added CoreMIDI to iPhone OS 3.2? I haven't looked yet, but I'm guessing no. Without that, how to you transmit note information outside the device? OSC is an option, but what about timing, and how do you convert OSC to MIDI, and what about sync? So many questions...

What I think is very clear, based on even limited experience using TouchOSC with Numerology, is that it will be fantastic controller. It can never be quite as physically satisfying as something with real knobs, faders & buttons, but the iPad (and iPhone & iPod Touch) make up for that by being infinitely configurable, and remarkably responsive. So that for now is my focus: extending the same remote control ideas (and code) I've been developing for MIDI-based controllers to the touch-screen environment.

Cheers,
Jim

Hi Jim, with this scripts,

http://monome.q3f.org/wiki/TouchOSC

i don't need to use osculator through Touch Osc and Ableton live.

I think a mini-numerology Osc based app for iPad is a great idea....

Cheers from Switzerland

Cipriano

[Sjoerd]

Awesome developments... a few thoughts:

- Any decent user configurable remote control app on the iPad device will be a Lemur/Dexter (JazzMutant) killer. Muhahaha!

- For optimal latency/bandwidth/reliability I am also very much interested in tethered solutions (e.g. using the 30-pin connector to USB) instead of wireless ones.

- For wirelessly syncing multiple clocks between different Macbooks / iPhones / iPads it is possible to get an accuracy of <1 ms using bluetooth, which is good enough for my clock syncing needs at least. However, since Apple's bluetooth implementation is crippled, the iPhone (and iPad, hopefully) needs to be 'jailbroken' to use an alternative bluetooth stack. Not a problem on my end, but it can be quite a barrier for many commercial developers for the platform since it reduces the size of their potential market quite a bit. Still, I feel there's a niche of tech-savy users with a high willingness to pay

- And yes indeed some iPhone apps are more or less ported AU's. One excellent example is Audiorealism's technoBox.app, which includes the same engine for the TB-303 emulation as their Audiorealism Bass Line 2 AU/VST plugin for OS X/Windows (and at a fraction of the price it's a steal). The bottleneck here really is CPU power, so let's hope we see much Moore of it coming. (btw, best reason for *not* buying an iPad: Apple will release a better and cheaper one just a few months after you bought one).

- Regarding the A4 (hey, it's not an Audi?) I will try to pick the drunken brains of a recently deflected Apple hardware engineer.

[jim]

Originally Posted by Sjoerd

Awesome developments... a few thoughts:

- Any decent user configurable remote control app on the iPad device will be a Lemur/Dexter (JazzMutant) killer. Muhahaha!

I expect to see several such apps. The trick is to have some features that stand out in a crowd...

Originally Posted by Sjoerd

- For optimal latency/bandwidth/reliability I am also very much interested in tethered solutions (e.g. using the 30-pin connector to USB) instead of wireless ones.

I'm not sure if that is possible -- for an OS X app to communicate w/ a Pad app via the USB/Dock connector, but that is worth looking into.

Originally Posted by Sjoerd

- For wirelessly syncing multiple clocks between different Macbooks / iPhones / iPads it is possible to get an accuracy of <1 ms using bluetooth, which is good enough for my clock syncing needs at least. However, since Apple's bluetooth implementation is crippled, the iPhone (and iPad, hopefully) needs to be 'jailbroken' to use an alternative bluetooth stack. Not a problem on my end, but it can be quite a barrier for many commercial developers for the platform since it reduces the size of their potential market quite a bit. Still, I feel there's a niche of tech-savy users with a high willingness to pay

Perhaps this is odd, but I have no interest in jailbreaking my phone or the iPad. I have heard that bluetooth works pretty well for sync, but then one still has to write a sync algorithm, no easy task.

Originally Posted by Sjoerd

- And yes indeed some iPhone apps are more or less ported AU's. One excellent example is Audiorealism's technoBox.app, which includes the same engine for the TB-303 emulation as their Audiorealism Bass Line 2 AU/VST plugin for OS X/Windows (and at a fraction of the price it's a steal). The bottleneck here really is CPU power, so let's hope we see much Moore of it coming. (btw, best reason for *not* buying an iPad: Apple will release a better and cheaper one just a few months after you bought one).

CPU will probably still be an issue for a while, but I expect it will continue to get better.

Originally Posted by Sjoerd

- Regarding the A4 (hey, it's not an Audi?) I will try to pick the drunken brains of a recently deflected Apple hardware engineer.

I'm very curious to hear notes from that conversation!

Cheers,
Jim

[Sjoerd]

Originally Posted by jim

Perhaps this is odd, but I have no interest in jailbreaking my phone or the iPad. I have heard that bluetooth works pretty well for sync, but then one still has to write a sync algorithm, no easy task.

I'm quite sure the guy behind the BTstack linked above project could help out with an algo; I'll be happy to put you in contact with him.

It is definitely not odd, Jim, jailbreakers are a minority.

One (historically) important reason for jailbreaking (that is now *much* less important, and of course also mitigated by the availability of the iPod Touch) is that iPhones were SIM-locked and only available in the US at first, then for a while only in some other countries. Another one, which unfortunately is giving jailbreaking a bad reputation, is piracy of AppStore content. I consider both these reasons irrelevant in this context.

What I do think is relevant, is that it is a computing device and that I own it, so if I want to be able to run my or your code on it, I should be able to do so without Apple's prior approval. To me that's both a moral and a pragmatic argument.

Well before Apple 'allowed' it, some of us were already making and using fun things like OSC remote controller apps on iPhoneOS (akaRemote, Mrmr). Jailbreaking was simply a requirement to be able to do so at all. It is good to see all the AppStore apps now, sure. But, while one can no longer say jailbreaking is a prerequisite to do any development at all, freedom to tinker around remains important to me. Being able to use bluetooth for obvious things like connecting your wireless (Apple!) keyboard to your iPhone still requires jailbreaking. Using the 30-pin connector for video output (of any apps other than YouTube, iPod video or the Photos slideshow) still needs jailbreaking. Protecting your privacy still requires jailbreaking (or staying clear of tens of thousands of apps; Apple has only recently announced that using geolocation primarily for targeted advertising is a reason for rejection -- not a very solid protection at all, while jailbreakers can simply opt out of the privacy infringing tracking schemes). Multitasking (backgrounding), firewalling, interoperability between apps, all still need jailbreaking. Etc...

So, I'm definitely hoping the iPad will be jailbroken asap.

[amsonx]

Originally Posted by Sjoerd

I'm quite sure the guy behind the BTstack linked above project could help out with an algo; I'll be happy to put you in contact with him.

It is definitely not odd, Jim, jailbreakers are a minority.

One (historically) important reason for jailbreaking (that is now *much* less important, and of course also mitigated by the availability of the iPod Touch) is that iPhones were SIM-locked and only available in the US at first, then for a while only in some other countries. Another one, which unfortunately is giving jailbreaking a bad reputation, is piracy of AppStore content. I consider both these reasons irrelevant in this context.

What I do think is relevant, is that it is a computing device and that I own it, so if I want to be able to run my or your code on it, I should be able to do so without Apple's prior approval. To me that's both a moral and a pragmatic argument.


So, I'm definitely hoping the iPad will be jailbroken asap.

i'm totally agree this , with particular attention to this :".... is that it is a computing device and that I own it, so if I want to be able to run my or your code on it, I should be able to do so without Apple's prior approval. To me that's both a moral and a pragmatic argument"

[gvh]

Originally Posted by jim

I expect to see several such apps. The trick is to have some features that stand out in a crowd...

This is the trick, isn't it? More so than ever perhaps. I'm drawn to do something for the iPad (and I haven't personally crafted software in many years) but there will almost certainly be a deluge of nifty controller and composition apps for it.

[sbaishya]

The offering for the iPad referred to above, now called LiveControl, has been updated.

Home: http://monome.q3f.org/wiki/LiveControl_TO
Video (with no sound for some reason): http://vimeo.com/10827539

It includes clip triggering and step sequencer functionality.

The iPad is looking more appealing by the day...

[empirix]

oh big time, the Ipad is currently in the back of my mind, will be waiting on the 2nd/3rd generation ones though, imagine numerology, even jazzmutant stuff for ipad - glorious!!