Messages from the Ether

Pocket PC MIDI editor

For a mere PP $15 (PayPal dollars), I ordered MidNote from PDAMusician. MidNote is a MIDI editor that has a staff notation interface.

First of all, PDAMusician is cornering this niche market on Pocket PC music utilities. They have a suite of sequencers, synthesizers, and mixers. Although they're low-end toys compared to the real-deal desktop tools, these PDA applications provide a means to sketch your thoughts down anywhere. You could easily use these tools to compose entire songs, work on existing arrangements, or work on transcriptions.

MidNote has a tour with screenshots that provide more information than I could give. Although I haven't done any heavy work on it, my quick transcriptions of some Mozart melodies were easy to create and edit. Although the UI is a little busy without the need to be. They break several rules of Pocket PC UI design:

• Ws are packed across the top of the screen as buttons that open mandard Pocket PC menu along the bottom would.
• The edit toolbox along the bottom (the tools used to drag-and notes on the staff) overwrites most of the menu bar at the bottom.
• Editing is performed using markers to dmit the range that will be edited. To copy op
  [ posted on 22 August 2004 at 7:31:42 PM ]