Subject: [linux-audio-dev] AKAI sample CD-ROM disk format specification
From: Jay Ts (jay_AT_toltec.metran.cx)
Date: Tue Dec 19 2000 - 08:58:25 EET
Hi,
I am writing to you as a result of the response I received from a member
of your technical support department (Nick Kenney) that I've included
below. He informed me that the format for AKAI sample CDs is
considered proprietary information by AKAI, and that s published
specification is not available.
I hope you won't mind this detour ... I feel it's important if I start
out with a statement of purpose. Ideally, I would love to see AKAI
publish the specification for the format of the AKAI sample CD-ROMs used
with the AKAI S1000-S5000 professional samplers.
Please do not get the wrong idea; my desire is not at all a selfish one,
and in fact, I perceive it as being in your company's best interest to
publish the spec. AKAI's dominant position in the market would not
be hurt by an opened spec, and quite to the contrary, a greater
preponderance of AKAI CD-ROM products and equipment that works seamlessly
with AKAI products can only server to increase the value and utility
of AKAI's offerings on the market.
As a further aside, I've watched the happenings in the computer industry
as a small, research-grade operating system (UNIX) slowly but surely
become a dominant force in the industry, partly due to a good technical
design, but mostly due to its portability (device independence), availability
of source code, published interface specifications, and finally, international
standards. More specifically, I've watched a small startup computer company
(Sun Microsystems) use a technology they developed and for which they published
the specification (TCP/IP-based NFS networking) create an open systems market
that within a few years toppled the long-standing IBM proprietary monopoly.
Nowadays, IBM is a company that is using Linux as a fully-embraced,
strategic operating system. (Quite a turnaround, yes?) Meanwhile, the Open
Source Linux OS is gaining on the new monopoly (Microsoft), and has already
dominated Windows NT/2000 in some areas that Microsoft considers important
to them.
I'm mentioning this because the way it looks to me, AKAI is now very
much in the situation that IBM used to be in. AKAI holds onto proprietary
information (the sample CD format) in a way that is in it's own interest,
but not in the best interest of the consumer or the market as a whole.
History has proven many times over that although a proprietary approach
may yield short-term profits, that this approach is not a successful
long-term strategy. It will only continue to work until someone decides
to create an alternative that is directly associated with a public
interface specification.
As I hope you can be aware, I've been keeping tabs on the development of
Unix, Open Systems, Linux and Open Source software for a long time. Judging
from what has happened in the past, and the current direction and momentum,
I expect that Linux will continue to become a more dominant force as a
desktop system. (In case you are not aware, there are estimates from well-
respected industry analysts that there are now about as many desktop Linux
systems as Macs, and that Mac popularity will be overtaken by Linux with
the next few years.) Along with this, I also expect Linux to emerge as
a preferred platform for running audio and music applications, and may
overtake Windows at some point. I will go so far as to say that this
may happen easily within the next 10 years, and maybe a lot less.
I am mentioning the above because I want you to be clear that Linux is
far from being a toy operating system, and that it is very worthy of
your attention.
In light of all this, I have a few questions:
1. Would AKAI consider publishing the spec for AKAI format sample CDs?
2. If not that, would AKAI consider moving towards a published spec
in the future, and in the meantime work with Linux and other
Open Source developers to allow support for AKAI sample CDs in
Open Source software?
3. If not that, is there any way that I and/or Linux software
developers can obtain the AKAI sample CD-ROM spec? And if so, how?
Sincerely,
Jay Ts
jayts_AT_bigfoot.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> From fetchpop Tue Dec 19 02:58:14 2000
> Subject: RE: CD-ROM disk format specification
> Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 16:07:35 -0600
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> Thread-Topic: CD-ROM disk format specification
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> From: "AKAI Support" <akaipro_support_us_AT_akaipro.com>
> Sender: "Nick Kenney" <nick_AT_akaipro.com>
> To: "Jay Ts" <jayts_AT_bigfoot.com>
> X-UIDL: 28e83ee428fed4d1945179ef4d380dc0
>
> Hello,
>
> The information you have requested is proprietary and is not available
> for distribution. You will need to contact our Product Manager at
> dwhittle_AT_akaipro.com to request this info.
>
> Best Regards,
> AKAI Product Support
>
> AKAI Musical Instrument Corp.
> (http://www.akaipro.com)
> Phone: 817-831-9203
> Fax: 817-222-1490
> E-mail: akaipro_support_us_AT_akaipro.com
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Jay Ts [mailto:jayts_AT_bigfoot.com]
> > Posted At: Saturday, December 16, 2000 11:11 AM
> > Posted To: Nick
> > Conversation: CD-ROM disk format specification
> > Subject: CD-ROM disk format specification
> >=20
> >=20
> > Hi,
> >=20
> > Has AKAI published a specification for the format of
> > AKAI CD-ROMs (and hard disk)?
> >=20
> > I am writing some software for Linux, and would like
> > to have it read and write AKAI format CD-ROMs and perhaps
> > hard disks. The idea is to allow the exchange of data
> > between AKAI samplers and computers running Linux, as well
> > as to generally allow the expansion of the "AKAI universe"
> > into the Linux realm.
> >=20
> > Please let me know if you have a copy of the spec online,
> > or if there is some other way to get it.
> >=20
> > - Jay Ts
> > jayts_AT_bigfoot.com
> >=20
>
>
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