[maxmsp] Three stupid questions

Am 02.12.2007 um 01:59 schrieb Carl Lofgren:

>
> Hi - seriously thinking about buying Max/MSP, but there are some  
> things in my head that needs to be straightened out.
>
> 1) Copy protection. iLok. Is this a must? I have no problems with  
> dongles - my Syncrosoft Cubase dongle is working great. Just heard  
> lots of nasty words about the iLoks.

No, you can authorize the software to your hard drive. No iLok is  
necessary -- it's just offered as a convenience for those who prefer  
them.

> 2) Exporting. In what formats can you export your creations in? I  
> think I read VST and standalone on the site - but, I need to be sure  
> before I click that buy-button.

Standalone, VST and 'Collective' (which is everything you need to run  
the patch using the Runtime version of the application). BTW, 30 days  
demo! You can try this stuff out without buying it immediately.

> 3) Pluggo. Now this is something that confuses me a lot. Many times  
> when I downloaded stuff made by what I assume to be Max/MSP, you  
> always have to have the Pluggo runtime installed as well. Is this  
> written in stone, and must be for everything you export? Personally  
> I would like my creations to be as self-contained as possible - but  
> if not - no biggie. Can live with that.

If you're not building plugs, you don't generally need pluggo.

> 4) (ok - I lied) MIDI out. Is it possible to make a MIDI only plugin  
> (VST) that outputs a stream of MIDI that can be used on other  
> software synthesizers? I am thinking of step sequencers primary here.

This has to be supported by the plugin host. If it is, then there  
should be no problem (my more plug-in savvy colleagues might have to  
correct me, though). From the PluggoDevGuide - "The ability to receive  
MIDI output from a plug-in may not be available in
your host application (e.g. Pro Tools and Live)."

We have some fun stuff in the works, too!

jb