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Re: [disklavier] A Christmas Wish List for the Mark IV - a different view point

2005-11-22 by Glenn

Just my 2 cents, but I think we all need to keep in mind that Yamaha probably had two choices.

One to wait until some unknown point way down the road, to completely 110% perfect the Mark IV and everyone of its features and attributes, and then introduce it. Of course the downside of that is that none of us would be enjoying our pianos.

Or on the other hand they could bring out the Mark IV and put it into eveyones hands and over a period of time, enable it's features one by one as they perfect them through software updates. The Mark IV is not a step back from the Mark III. Yamaha has made vast improvements over the Mark III. And the cost difference between the two was minimal.

I grant you the fact that there are a few yet to be enabled qualities that I wish my Mark IV had - many of which are noted by Tom Wheeler, but I do believe that Yamaha is well aware of all of these items as this site has seen numerous similar requests over the past year. I think instead of trying to "make sure all potential buyers are aware of the pianos shortcomings" we all need to be a little more patient and forgiving.

Yamaha will get it right. Besides, who else can we go to to get a piano system of this caliber with a library of music of this size.

I feel sorry for people like Robert that put their purchase "on indefinite hold until the Mark IV's basic development has been advanced further". The piano playback quality of the Mark IV is nearly the equivalent of the Mark III PRO. The system has a fabulous human interface - a little slow but none the less a 1000 times better the Mark III. And I would believe that until some future date when the Mark V comes out, which I will bet will be everybit of 5 years from now, they know that they have a system that is setup with as much future technology as they could possibly forsee. And keep in mind that the only thing that you all are waiting for is new software. Software that they will send you for free. And of course as time passes, the cost of the piano will go up. So my thinking is that they will never be as cheap(?) as they are right now.

;

One other note that I know for a fact is that even if the hardware is able to be upgraded, all they have to do is change out the I/O Center or the Media Center and you have a new piano with all of the new updated features. I will also bet that the future Mark V could be nothing more than just that.

Odds of the hardware changing is slim. From what I have been told, until Intel or AMD comes out with a processor faster than 350MHz that doesn't need a cooling fan, we are all stuck with the speed and features that currently exist. I may be wrong, but I don't think the USB port is even a 2.0.

Yes, the system is not 110% perfect, but I would not be without mine. I know that while the Roberts of this world ;are waiting for perfection, I will be enjoying my Disklavier Mark IV.

----- Original Message -----

Show quoted textHide quoted text

From: Robert Welcyng

To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 4:33 PM

Subject: Re: [disklavier] A Christmas Wish List for the Mark IV

Kudos to Tom Wheeler for reminding Yamaha of the primary improvements to the Mark IV that are still needed. As a prospective buyer, my purchase is on indefinite hold until the Mark IV's basic development has been advanced further. Were I presently a Mark IV owner, I would be angry over the chaotic state of communications instead of periodic bulletins from Yamaha informing of their plans for completing features and upgrades, expected delivery dates, progress reports, software release announcements and how to obtain them, user tips, and requests for owner feedback.

Tom Wheeler wrote:

It has now been one year since Yamaha released the Mark IV disklavier, and the last software update for the Mark IV was in March of this year. There are a number of critical software features missing from the Mark IV that I would very much like to see included in the next software upgrade for the Mark IV whenever that might be (hopefully sooner rather than an indefinite later). These features are so important that I feel that anyone considering purchasing a Mark IV should be aware that they are not presently on the Mark IV. So, here is my wish list (that I have made known 10 months ago to Yamaha).

1. Enable the Mark IV to be added into my home wireless network. This would allow the transfer of files directly to the HD of the Mark IV without having to crawl under the Media Center and plug in a USB flash drive.

2. Enable connection to the Internet via the tablet (TRC-100) remote. The advantages of this are enormous and would include allowing one to download midi files directly from the Internet to the Mark IV, allow one to participate in online instructional videos in which the video appears on the screen of the TRC-100 while the midi audio is played back via the Mark IV's acoustic piano, etc. It is ironic that the Mark IV in the U.S. is supplied with a tablet remote that is a full-fledged tablet PC made by Hitachi and yet is so crippled by the software running the TRC-100 that the TRC-100 can do less than the supplied pocket remote the PRC-100. Why did Yamaha even supply the TRC-100 is it is not going to be put to good use?

3. Enable a Search Function. I have thousands of songs stored on my Mark IV. Currently there is no way to find anything other than going through the contents of each album which can take hours. Search functions have been a part of computer software as far back as I can remember and it is astounding that the Mark IV is missing such an essential feature.

4. Provide an indicator on the remote that shows the available free space on the 80 GB HD of the Mark IV. Currently I have no way to determine how much free space I have on the 80 GB HD of the Mark IV. While it is true that the capacity of this drive is sufficient to store a huge number of midi files, 80 GB is not so large when it comes to storing the CD's (640 MB each) that are required for Yamaha PianosoftPlus Audio and Yamaha SmartPiano software. I don't want to have to go find these CD's each time I access this type of software and so I store the CD on the Mark IV HD and allow it to synchronize with the floppy disk that is also stored on the HD. An indicator of available free space can simply not be that hard to add to the Mark IV's operating system and again I am amazed that this has not been done.

5. Provide a means of backing up the HD of the Mark IV. I have spent many many hours placing the huge amount of software that I have on the Mark IV and creating play lists for this software. All HD's crash. It is not a matter of if the disk will crash, but a matter of when. Should that happen now, I and every other Mark IV owner whose HD crashes would have to manually restore all of their data to their HD when it was replaced. I realize that Yamaha is rightfully concerned about illegal distribution of copies of their software, but a backup could be created that would have a cpu identifier key that would permit restoration only the Mark IV having that identifier key.

6. Enable the USB ports on the Media Center and I/O centers to accept and utilize external USB 2.0 drives as a means of extending the capacity of the Mark IV. Perhaps others have found some external USB 2.0 HD's that will work with the Mark IV. If so, I would appreciate it if they would post that information. I am not talking now about USB Flash Media drives which will work with the Media Center USB port on the Mark IV but are of relatively low capacity, but rather about USB 2.0 external drives that can be purchased in large capacity quite inexpensively and would provide a great means of expanding the storage capacity of the Mark IV. While the Windows operating system allows plug-in-play of USB 2.0 external drives, the proprietary Linux OS of the Mark IV does not and hence as far as I know you cannot just hook up any external USB 2.0 drive to the Mark IV. If I am mistaken and Yamaha has successfully hooked up some external USB 2.0 drives to the Mark IV, I would like to know the make and model number of those USB 2.0 drives.

I would be interested in hearing from other Mark IV owners as to whether they feel these items are important to them and also if they have additional software items that they would include on the list. Maybe someone in Japan reads our postings and is listening.

The Mark IV is a wonderful musical instrument with a huge unrealized potential. It is also a very very expensive piano and should not be without the essential features listed above. Current Mark IV owners should not have to wait for the release of a Mark V at some future date to benefit from these features, which are software only and do not require Yamaha's engineers to develop new hardware for the Mark IV.

Tom Wheeler
DC3M4t Owner
-- 
Robert Welcyng
Anchorage, Alaska

Re: [disklavier] A Christmas Wish List for the Mark IV - a different view point

2005-11-28 by Carl Youngblood

One thing that Yamaha should really do with this (Please let us know
if somebody at Yamaha is reading this) is open-source the software
portion of the Mark IV.  The software is, after all, pretty much
useless without the hardware.  What that would do is allow hackers and
tinkerers to post bugfixes and new features without Yamaha even having
to lift a finger.  This is the genius of the open-source model--any
single company just doesn't have enough resources and expertise to
improve their product as much as the combined knowledge and expertise
of their loyal fans.  By befriending the community they actually
enrich their own product for free and mark my words, they will see a
big increase in sales because of it.  This kind of collaboration is
especially effective for companies that sell hardware, because they
make their money off selling the hardware, not the software.  So it is
in the best interest of both company and consumer to collaborate in
improving the software, since it will sell more hardware and make the
consumer happier.

Carl

Show quoted textHide quoted text

On 11/22/05, Glenn <G.SMUTNY@...> wrote:
>
> Just my 2 cents, but I think we all need to keep in mind that Yamaha
> probably had two choices.
>
> One to wait until some unknown point way down the road, to completely 110%
> perfect the Mark IV and everyone of its features and attributes, and then
> introduce it.  Of course the downside of that is that none of us would be
> enjoying our pianos.
>
> Or on the other hand they could bring out the Mark IV and put it into
> eveyones hands and over a period of time, enable it's features one by one as
> they perfect them through software updates.  The Mark IV is not a step back
> from the Mark III. Yamaha has made vast improvements over the Mark III.  And
> the cost difference between the two was minimal.
>
> I grant you the fact that there are a few yet to be enabled qualities that I
> wish my Mark IV had - many of which are noted by Tom Wheeler, but I do
> believe that Yamaha is well aware of all of these items as this site has
> seen numerous similar requests over the past year.  I think instead of
> trying to "make sure all potential buyers are aware of the pianos
> shortcomings" we all need to be a little more patient and forgiving.
>
> Yamaha will get it right. Besides, who else can we go to to get a piano
> system of this caliber with a library of music of this size.
>
> I feel sorry for people like Robert that put their purchase "on indefinite
> hold until the Mark IV's basic development has been advanced further".  The
> piano playback quality of the Mark IV is nearly the equivalent of the Mark
> III PRO.  The system has a fabulous human interface - a little slow but none
> the less a 1000 times better the Mark III.  And I would believe that until
> some future date when the Mark V comes out, which I will bet will be
> everybit of 5 years from now, they know that they have a system that is
> setup with as much future technology as they could possibly forsee. And keep
> in mind that the only thing that you all are waiting for is new software.
> Software that they will send you for free.  And of course as time passes,
> the cost of the piano will go up. So my thinking is that they will never be
> as cheap(?) as they are right now.
>
> One other note that I know for a fact is that even if the hardware is able
> to be upgraded, all they have to do is change out the I/O Center or the
> Media Center and you have a new piano with all of the new updated features.
> I will also bet that the future Mark V could be nothing more than just that.
>
> Odds of the hardware changing is slim. From what I have been told, until
> Intel or AMD comes out with a processor faster than 350MHz that doesn't need
> a cooling fan, we are all stuck with the speed and features that currently
> exist. I may be wrong, but I don't think the USB port is even a 2.0.
>
> Yes, the system is not 110% perfect, but I would not be without mine.  I
> know that while the Roberts of this world are waiting for perfection, I will
> be enjoying my Disklavier Mark IV.

Re: [disklavier] A Christmas Wish List for the Mark IV - a different view point

2005-11-28 by George F. Litterst

Good afternoon, everyone.

Carl, I have never observed anyone from Yamaha publicly commenting on  
development plans. However, I know for a fact that many people at  
Yamaha in both the US and Japan read messages posted to this list.

Please don't take the lack of a public response as a comment on the  
worthiness of your suggestion.

Interestingly, your concept is already partially implemented in the  
Mark IV: it runs on Linux.

Regards,
PianoBench

Show quoted textHide quoted text

On Nov 28, 2005, at 12:55 PM, Carl Youngblood wrote:

> One thing that Yamaha should really do with this (Please let us know
> if somebody at Yamaha is reading this) is open-source the software
> portion of the Mark IV.  The software is, after all, pretty much
> useless without the hardware.  What that would do is allow hackers and
> tinkerers to post bugfixes and new features without Yamaha even having
> to lift a finger.  This is the genius of the open-source model--any
> single company just doesn't have enough resources and expertise to
> improve their product as much as the combined knowledge and expertise
> of their loyal fans.  By befriending the community they actually
> enrich their own product for free and mark my words, they will see a
> big increase in sales because of it.  This kind of collaboration is
> especially effective for companies that sell hardware, because they
> make their money off selling the hardware, not the software.  So it is
> in the best interest of both company and consumer to collaborate in
> improving the software, since it will sell more hardware and make the
> consumer happier.
>
> Carl
>
> On 11/22/05, Glenn <G.SMUTNY@...> wrote:
>>
>> Just my 2 cents, but I think we all need to keep in mind that Yamaha
>> probably had two choices.
>>
>> One to wait until some unknown point way down the road, to  
>> completely 110%
>> perfect the Mark IV and everyone of its features and attributes,  
>> and then
>> introduce it.  Of course the downside of that is that none of us  
>> would be
>> enjoying our pianos.
>>
>> Or on the other hand they could bring out the Mark IV and put it into
>> eveyones hands and over a period of time, enable it's features one  
>> by one as
>> they perfect them through software updates.  The Mark IV is not a  
>> step back
>> from the Mark III. Yamaha has made vast improvements over the Mark  
>> III.  And
>> the cost difference between the two was minimal.
>>
>> I grant you the fact that there are a few yet to be enabled  
>> qualities that I
>> wish my Mark IV had - many of which are noted by Tom Wheeler, but  
>> I do
>> believe that Yamaha is well aware of all of these items as this  
>> site has
>> seen numerous similar requests over the past year.  I think  
>> instead of
>> trying to "make sure all potential buyers are aware of the pianos
>> shortcomings" we all need to be a little more patient and forgiving.
>>
>> Yamaha will get it right. Besides, who else can we go to to get a  
>> piano
>> system of this caliber with a library of music of this size.
>>
>> I feel sorry for people like Robert that put their purchase "on  
>> indefinite
>> hold until the Mark IV's basic development has been advanced  
>> further".  The
>> piano playback quality of the Mark IV is nearly the equivalent of  
>> the Mark
>> III PRO.  The system has a fabulous human interface - a little  
>> slow but none
>> the less a 1000 times better the Mark III.  And I would believe  
>> that until
>> some future date when the Mark V comes out, which I will bet will be
>> everybit of 5 years from now, they know that they have a system  
>> that is
>> setup with as much future technology as they could possibly  
>> forsee. And keep
>> in mind that the only thing that you all are waiting for is new  
>> software.
>> Software that they will send you for free.  And of course as time  
>> passes,
>> the cost of the piano will go up. So my thinking is that they will  
>> never be
>> as cheap(?) as they are right now.
>>
>> One other note that I know for a fact is that even if the hardware  
>> is able
>> to be upgraded, all they have to do is change out the I/O Center  
>> or the
>> Media Center and you have a new piano with all of the new updated  
>> features.
>> I will also bet that the future Mark V could be nothing more than  
>> just that.
>>
>> Odds of the hardware changing is slim. From what I have been told,  
>> until
>> Intel or AMD comes out with a processor faster than 350MHz that  
>> doesn't need
>> a cooling fan, we are all stuck with the speed and features that  
>> currently
>> exist. I may be wrong, but I don't think the USB port is even a 2.0.
>>
>> Yes, the system is not 110% perfect, but I would not be without  
>> mine.  I
>> know that while the Roberts of this world are waiting for  
>> perfection, I will
>> be enjoying my Disklavier Mark IV.
>
>
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RE: [disklavier] A Christmas Wish List for the Mark IV - a different view point

2005-11-28 by Dan O'Connor

This seems to me to be "much ado about nothing".  
 
I have an vintage wagon C3 disklavier.  I purchased a DSR1 and have setup my
old stereo receiver with speakers.  The controller that I use is an ancient
laptop computer into which I have put every Yamaha disk, midi and karaoke
file I have. The laptop offers complete back up, internet and  networking
functionality.
 
If you are a computer kind of person nothing that Yamaha does will ever
satisfy.  But the fact that they have built in a midi in and out is all I
need to enjoy almost every feature that is resident on the newest model.
(And if I should ever see the value of a DCD1 then I would be as close to
full featured as the Mark IV).  But I think that it is safe to say not
everyone is a computer person, thus a proprietary system is very useful and
necessary for these folks.  
 
I also think that to say that a company should not expect to make money on
software is somewhat contrary to the success that a company like Microsoft
has had (didn't IBM think that long ago), and omits the need to remunerate
the artist whose work is made available to the public.
 
I worked for many years for Hitachi. The unit I was a part of had no clue
how to market the product they were selling, but what they did have a clue
about was how to make a product well.  Hitachi and Yamaha Piano seem to be
very similar. 
 
The 11 year old disklavier that I have is remarkable, no problems, holds a
tuning for up to a year (yeah I know I am cheap), and is just the bees
knees.  Even though it was made over eleven years ago I have been able to
update it with DSR1 etc. and continue to be as current as its physical
limitations will allow. 
 
I will take "well made"over "well marketed" any day.  I do agree with those
who say that the the approach to selling pianosoft music is antiquated.  I
think that it is only a matter of time until Yamaha goes to the I-Tunes
model of buying the song you want.
 
Cheers
 
Dan

  _____

Show quoted textHide quoted text

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Carl Youngblood
Sent: Monday, November 28, 2005 12:55 PM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [disklavier] A Christmas Wish List for the Mark IV - a
different view point

One thing that Yamaha should really do with this (Please let us know
if somebody at Yamaha is reading this) is open-source the software
portion of the Mark IV.  The software is, after all, pretty much
useless without the hardware.  What that would do is allow hackers and
tinkerers to post bugfixes and new features without Yamaha even having
to lift a finger.  This is the genius of the open-source model--any
single company just doesn't have enough resources and expertise to
improve their product as much as the combined knowledge and expertise
of their loyal fans.  By befriending the community they actually
enrich their own product for free and mark my words, they will see a
big increase in sales because of it.  This kind of collaboration is
especially effective for companies that sell hardware, because they
make their money off selling the hardware, not the software.  So it is
in the best interest of both company and consumer to collaborate in
improving the software, since it will sell more hardware and make the
consumer happier.

Carl

On 11/22/05, Glenn <G.SMUTNY@...> wrote:
>
> Just my 2 cents, but I think we all need to keep in mind that Yamaha
> probably had two choices.
>
> One to wait until some unknown point way down the road, to completely 110%
> perfect the Mark IV and everyone of its features and attributes, and then
> introduce it.  Of course the downside of that is that none of us would be
> enjoying our pianos.
>
> Or on the other hand they could bring out the Mark IV and put it into
> eveyones hands and over a period of time, enable it's features one by one
as
> they perfect them through software updates.  The Mark IV is not a step
back
> from the Mark III. Yamaha has made vast improvements over the Mark III.
And
> the cost difference between the two was minimal.
>
> I grant you the fact that there are a few yet to be enabled qualities that
I
> wish my Mark IV had - many of which are noted by Tom Wheeler, but I do
> believe that Yamaha is well aware of all of these items as this site has
> seen numerous similar requests over the past year.  I think instead of
> trying to "make sure all potential buyers are aware of the pianos
> shortcomings" we all need to be a little more patient and forgiving.
>
> Yamaha will get it right. Besides, who else can we go to to get a piano
> system of this caliber with a library of music of this size.
>
> I feel sorry for people like Robert that put their purchase "on indefinite
> hold until the Mark IV's basic development has been advanced further".
The
> piano playback quality of the Mark IV is nearly the equivalent of the Mark
> III PRO.  The system has a fabulous human interface - a little slow but
none
> the less a 1000 times better the Mark III.  And I would believe that until
> some future date when the Mark V comes out, which I will bet will be
> everybit of 5 years from now, they know that they have a system that is
> setup with as much future technology as they could possibly forsee. And
keep
> in mind that the only thing that you all are waiting for is new software.
> Software that they will send you for free.  And of course as time passes,
> the cost of the piano will go up. So my thinking is that they will never
be
> as cheap(?) as they are right now.
>
> One other note that I know for a fact is that even if the hardware is able
> to be upgraded, all they have to do is change out the I/O Center or the
> Media Center and you have a new piano with all of the new updated
features.
> I will also bet that the future Mark V could be nothing more than just
that.
>
> Odds of the hardware changing is slim. From what I have been told, until
> Intel or AMD comes out with a processor faster than 350MHz that doesn't
need
> a cooling fan, we are all stuck with the speed and features that currently
> exist. I may be wrong, but I don't think the USB port is even a 2.0.
>
> Yes, the system is not 110% perfect, but I would not be without mine.  I
> know that while the Roberts of this world are waiting for perfection, I
will
> be enjoying my Disklavier Mark IV.

To Post a message to the group, send it to:   disklavier@...

To Post a private message to Todd Muncy, the group's founder and moderator,
send it to:
disklavier-owner@...

To reach our group's web site go to:
http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier

Todd's family web site was completely updated 012/22/03.  It contains some
fun disklavier content and links to midi sites among many other things, The
url is:
http://MuncyFamily.com 

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Re: [disklavier] A Christmas Wish List for the Mark IV - a different view point

2005-11-28 by George Litterst

Good afternoon, everyone.

On Nov 28, 2005, at 1:32 PM, Dan wrote:

I will take "well made"over "well marketed" any day. I do agree with those who say that the the approach to selling pianosoft music is antiquated. I think that it is only a matter of time until Yamaha goes to the I-Tunes model of buying the song you want.

Actually, this concept has already gone live with respect to the Clavinova and certain portable Yamaha keyboards. It is called IDC: Internet Direct Connect. You get your keyboard on your home network, and then you can browse a special website for content that you purchase with a credit card and download directly to the instrument.

It remains to be seen when this becomes available to Disklavier. Of course you can use your computer to purchase content downloadable to your computer from www.yamahamusicsoft.com.

Regards,

PianoBench

Re: [disklavier] A Christmas Wish List for the Mark IV - a different view point

2005-11-28 by Carl Youngblood

Yeah, actually I knew that it ran Linux, but the libraries built into
linux are released under the LGPL (Lesser Gnu Public License), which
allows people to write software using them that does not have to be
released with the source code.

But if they were to follow the linux tradition an open source model
would be the thing to do.

I actually already knew that Yamaha reps read this list and I did not
mean to imply that they aren't listening to their customers.  I just
hope they are also listening to my suggestion.

Dan O' Conner misunderstood my argument.  I never said that companies
can't or should not make money from software.  I only said that for
hardware companies it makes a lot of sense to freely release the
source code for the software that drives their hardware, since the
software is really of no use to someone who does not have the
hardware.  The hardware is their bread and butter, and they can (and
do) make plenty of money off of it.  Releasing the software as open
source would only make their product better, since they would gain the
expertise of the community in adding features and ferreting out bugs
and can still charge money for the hardware.

Carl

Show quoted textHide quoted text

On 11/28/05, George F. Litterst <PianoBench@...> wrote:
> Carl, I have never observed anyone from Yamaha publicly commenting on
> development plans. However, I know for a fact that many people at
> Yamaha in both the US and Japan read messages posted to this list.
>
> Please don't take the lack of a public response as a comment on the
> worthiness of your suggestion.
>
> Interestingly, your concept is already partially implemented in the
> Mark IV: it runs on Linux.

RE: [disklavier] A Christmas Wish List for the Mark IV - a different view point

2005-12-04 by James Fry

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005, Dan O'Connor wrote:
> If you are a computer kind of person nothing that Yamaha does will ever
> satisfy.  But the fact that they have built in a midi in and out is all I
> need to enjoy almost every feature that is resident on the newest model.
> (And if I should ever see the value of a DCD1 then I would be as close to
> full featured as the Mark IV).  But I think that it is safe to say not
> everyone is a computer person, thus a proprietary system is very useful and
> necessary for these folks.

To a degree, yes. You are limited by the low bandwidth of midi though, so 
passages with a lot of fast runs and block chords may not have all the 
notes sounding at the correct times, especially if you are also sending 
synthesiser backing parts along too. The MarkIV is also substantially more 
accurate and uses high precision messages - these congest the midi stream 
even more. This makes it more of an issue to get things right in the 
control unit.

The MarkIV control unit is a fully fledged computer running Linux, hence 
the suggestion of open-sourcing the software. I don't seeing Yamaha doing 
that, certainly not under the GPL (or similar), because it would open the 
gateway to competitors getting a free ride on user interface and media 
playback capabilities. It would also allow me, a Mark II XG owner, to 
build a small PC with the Yamaha software running to give me all of the 
Mark IV facilities for very little outlay. Yamaha don't give the DSR1 away 
free to MarkI owners.

IMO fixing the "flaws" with the hardware (eg wifi) and creating a 
sophisticated plugin system would be great. Being able to write software 
to control the disklavier and run within the PDA / tablet can only be a 
good thing. Imagine the practice tools you could build with that kind of 
system!

Regards

James

Re: [disklavier] A Christmas Wish List for the Mark IV - a different view point

2005-12-05 by Carl Youngblood

On 12/3/05, James Fry <groups@...> wrote:
> The MarkIV control unit is a fully fledged computer running Linux, hence
> the suggestion of open-sourcing the software. I don't seeing Yamaha doing
> that, certainly not under the GPL (or similar), because it would open the
> gateway to competitors getting a free ride on user interface and media
> playback capabilities. It would also allow me, a Mark II XG owner, to
> build a small PC with the Yamaha software running to give me all of the
> Mark IV facilities for very little outlay. Yamaha don't give the DSR1 away
> free to MarkI owners.

Not so.  The Mark IV actually employs much more accurate sensors for
recording than prior models, as well as many other hardware
improvements.  From what others who have the Mark IV have said, the
lion's share of the improvements are in the hardware and not in the
software driving the Mark IV, which in fact many people aren't fully
satisfied with, at least based on some of the comments in this forum. 
I don't think that open sourcing the software would do anything for
competitors--their problem is that they can't reproduce the patented
high-precision hardware mechanisms that make the Mark IV capable of so
accurately reproducing live performances.  Yamaha would be the winner
if they open sourced it, because they would get enhancements and bug
fixes more quickly, which would translate into happier customers and
increased sales.

Carl

Re: [disklavier] A Christmas Wish List for the Mark IV - a different view point

2005-12-05 by Carl Youngblood

On 12/3/05, James Fry <groups@...> wrote:
> The MarkIV control unit is a fully fledged computer running Linux, hence
> the suggestion of open-sourcing the software. I don't seeing Yamaha doing
> that, certainly not under the GPL (or similar), because it would open the
> gateway to competitors getting a free ride on user interface and media
> playback capabilities. It would also allow me, a Mark II XG owner, to

One other thing, if they were going to open source it, releasing under
a GPL-like license might actually be better for them than something
less restrictive, because it would require anyone who used it to
publish any changes they make.  They would know if any competitors
were using it, and if any of them tried to gain a competitive
advantage by improving their software, they would be required to
release the source code of their changes, so the playing field would
immediately be leveled.  Anybody trying to sell a modified version of
their software would not be able to profit from it.  I see your
argument that they might be able to leverage it to their advantage in
other ways, but as I said earlier the main obstacle for competitors is
not software but hardware.