Strings and Pipes
By Robbie Rhodes
Subscriber Charles Kossman inquired about playing downloaded MIDI files on his Mac. I think you already have the basic tools, Charles. Since you are probably already using the modem port on your Mac you can connect the MIDI interface module to the printer port. (I use a 0 "data transfer switch" to share the port with both my printer and the MIDI box.) Then experiment and get acquainted with the sequencer program. I use Master Tracks Pro (Macintosh version) for my work.
Retrieving the MIDI file from e-mail is often clumsy, as Jody says. Some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) have automatic features which will decode and decompress the MIDI file and deposit it neatly on a local disk file. Otherwise you must manually extract the text- encoded data from the message with a text processing utility, and then use a decoder utility such as Stuffit to re-create the binary MIDI file.
Macintosh users usually have an extra step to perform: if the icon for the MIDI file is blank ("unknown data type"), instead of the "MIDI Connector" icon, then the File Type entry in the Desktop directory must be changed to type = "MIDI". Jody gave me an ancient piece of shareware called "DeskZap" which allows one to make this change.
Common encoding formats are UUencode/UUdecode, BinHex and base64. The most common compression utility is PKZIP/PKUNZIP; I understand that there are versions now for the Macintosh. (I must use the old PC for this task.)
For assistance try these sources:
1. Send an e-mail note to the "help desk" of your Internet Service
Provider, or telephone them for advice.
2. Stop by the local music store and visit the "high-tech" music
department. The kids there are pretty knowledgeable.
3. Find a local club called "Macintosh Users Group" ("MUG"),
probably meeting monthly at a nearby college. These folks will have
the shareware utilities for manipulating the e-mail files.
4. If have a web-browser visit John Roache's web page (his wife
calls it the "Web Book"). John has a nice section with
troubleshooting advice for MIDI:
http://members.aol.com/ragtimers
5. Check the smaller ads in the Macintosh magazines, too.
Jody hopes that e-mail MIDI procedures will standardize as the Internet matures. Until that happens I guess we're forced to "muddle around" this way.
-- Robbie Rhodes <rrhodes@foxtail.com>
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(Message sent Sun 5 May 1996, 02:56:22 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.) |
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