From deke@dekethegeek.com Sat Oct 12 21:14:37 2002
Subject:RE: Fried CX-3 and Jerry the K.

Is it time to play devil's advocate maybe? Or can I offer just a few words
of common sense...

Just to throw my $.02 in here... I am a geek, hence the name :)

My current (day job) position is with a major player in the thin client
sector (mini PC's that cost less and generally need to connect to a terminal
server to gain full functionality). In my position, we test a _lot_ of
scenarios that would be called unrealistic by most customers' standards. We
actively seek out ways to break the product, so much so that we have to
consider before writing a "ticket" whether the error is likely to be
encountered by the end user. I am certain that a company of Korg's size and
influence in the market has a similar team, or teams.

My point here is that (many people don't think of software in this light)
EVERYTHING has a flaw of some kind, period. To think that a piece of
software is totally bug-proof simply because it does what it is supposed to
do is comical. In the QA game, there are varying levels of severity for each
"bug" encountered. This means that a bug that only shows up once in a blue
moon when the user stands on his head and throws garlic over his left
shoulder (his left, not yours) doesn't justify the expense of several days
of programming to correct it. This is not to say that Korg knew about this
bug and let it go, I'm just saying that the customer is always jumping up
and down wanting their product yesterday, but when a bug pops up all h*ll
breaks loose, and everybody wants to know... "where was the QA effort on
this?"

I gather from Emili's post that he was using the MIDI port built into his
motherboard. If this is the case, I say the flaw is with the software that
tests for "robustness" in the MIDI path, nothing else. There are sooooooo
many different combinations of motherboards, processors, sound cards, et al
out there that it would be physically impossible for Korg to test every
possible combination. Just think of the size of the lab to hold all that
stuff! Back in "the day" we knew that everybody would be using an Intel
Pentium processor, on an Intel chipset based motherboard... these days it's
not so simple. I have mentioned before to other list members (in reference
to the B4 software) that the built-in MIDI ports on most motherboards are a
joke. The point of AC'97 audio was to make it easier for system builders, so
they wouldn't have to buy a separate sound card... the AC'97 spec provides
limited functionality, but that's okay because it only costs a buck or so to
include on a system board, and most "home users" won't be able to tell a
difference. For audio and MIDI sequencing, and hobbyist to semi-professional
use, the AC'97 compliant audio features are useless. In the words of a
racecar mechanic... "It costs money to go fast... so how fast do you wanna
go?"

I'm really not trying to p*ss on anybody's cheerios here, and I do think it
is great that Jerry is going to help Emili out, but the fact remains that
sh*t happens. I know it's an inconvenience to lose your instrument for even
a few hours, let alone days, but such are the woes of technology. I consider
myself a very technically adept guy, but even I have "fried" my fair share
of PC's by upgrading the BIOS... and I do this sort of thing *every day*.
Try losing your cell phone for a few days... that'll make you realize just
how addicted we are to technology these days. In any event, replacement of
an EEPROM chip or something similar will undoubtedly fix the problem if it
occurs, so don't fret, just use common sense. If you have a gig tomorrow,
don't go messing with your gear unless you are just cleaning it up. If you
take the chance by doing some "maintenance" on your gear the night before a
gig and you screw it up... I see that as your own fault. ALWAYS have a
backup, even if it is a PC running B4 that you play thru a MIDI controller.
If you consider yourself a professional musician, you *will* have a backup
available, or you won't take the chance.

Deke The Geek
-technically (and mentally) challenged-