software philosophy

[Caballero Carlo.Caballero@xxxxxxxx]

Hello, all--

I thought I'd share with this list a few quotations from Miller Puckette's
"Max at Seventeen," an article on the history of "Max," a computer
environment for realizing live electronic music (Computer Music Journal
26/4 [Winter 2002]: 31-43). The following phrases made me think of
XyWrite and why we like it, and members of this list will not miss
Puckette's implicit critique of BBG:

"It is important that the software not come with its own cultural freight
but that it adapt to whatever realities exist where the users live. This
is exactly what typifies good software development in general" (41).

"The whole business of the software hegemonists is to impose context in
the form of proprietary file formats, operating system features, and other
such constructs. Their concern is NOT in letting people do their own
thing, and their products will always impede--rather than
encourage--progress" (41).

"Well-designed software enhances the workspace in the same way that
well-designed furniture does, not only in functionality but also in the
stylistic choices that enhance, and do not depress, the quality of our
environment" (42).

These phrases (coming from a brilliant writer and programmer) are good to
hear on a day when you have to tell someone that, no, you don't write with
MS Word.


Carlo Caballero
thyrsus@xxxxxxxx