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From: jmunkki@kampi.hut.fi (Juri Munkki)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Sound
Summary: Developer Flames Apple
Keywords: Sound, Manager, Driver
Message-ID: <23252@santra.UUCP>
Date: 27 Jun 89 20:28:06 GMT
Sender: news@santra.UUCP
Reply-To: jmunkki@kampi.hut.fi (Juri Munkki)
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Lines: 65


Warning: This is a *** FLAME ***

I just read the new and revised technote 19 and I must say that I no longer
believe that Apple is serious about sound support in their products.

>The Sound Driver is no longer supported.  There have always been, and
>still are, bugs in the glue code for StartSound.

Where have these bugs been documented? What are they? Why aren't they
documented in this technote? Even if using StartSound is not documented,
I feel I should know about the bugs. I'm not going to rush and change
all my existing programs to use the Sound Manager.

>The Sound Driver may not be present in future System Software releases,
>or future hardware may not be able to support it.  The Sound Manager is
>the applications interface to the sound hardware.

Ok, I accept this, but I expect something in return. I finally had the
time to write a sound subroutine suitable for arcade games and now Apple
pulls the rug from under me.

>The technique used to create a continuous sound should have only been
>used on a Macintosh Plus or SE, since these are the only models that
>have the embarrassing click.  Do not use this method on a Macintosh
>which has the Apple Sound Chip.

Why? I would like to know the reason why I'm not supposed to do this when
it works so well. This is the only way to produce sound so that it is
compatible with every existing Macintosh model. (Except the Lisa/MacXL)

>Further Reference:
>*	The Sound Manager, Interim Chapter by Jim Reekes, October 2, 1988

It should be called:
	The Sound Manager, Bugs & Features
or
	The Sound Manager, Why You Can't Use It.

The interim chapter basically says that you can't use the sound
manager for anything else besides producing a beep sound... At least
I don't find the functions it offers to be of any use to me. Playing
the beep is simple, but anything beyond this is close to impossible.

Apple sure advertises the Mac II as capable of stereo sound, but the
only program that I've heard of playing in stereo is SoundEdit. What
use is a superb sound chip if you aren't allowed to use it for anything?
Or is the ASC reputation all hype and no truth?

I think the sound manager should be scrapped along with the sound driver
and something better should be offered. If you intend to keep on changing
the rules, you might offer something truly good. I thought Apple had all
the necessary r&d money to develop something that makes sense. Give me
ASC documentation and I'll write something better.

Another thing:	if the new and rewritten system 7.0 is any larger than the
		current system 6.0, I think it is flawed. It is possible to
		make the system smaller by leaving out kludges. The first
		thing that comes to mind is MFS support.

I wonder what company will be the new innovator when Apple is gone.
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|     Juri Munkki jmunkki@hut.fi  jmunkki@fingate.bitnet        I Want   Ne   |
|     Helsinki University of Technology Computing Centre        My Own   XT   |
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