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EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY |
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SUMMARY:
Oh boy. Again, this was perhaps the most effective BBQ ever.
Four and a half groups formed, and it's becoming clearer and clearer
that the readers of this document will be able to find an embarrassment
of riches in this report. Here are some of the jewels.
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  |)))
Appliantology: (Section 4)
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The "Church of Appliantology" was inspired by Van Webster's talk at
BBQ '98, and has influenced the industry and inspired the formation
of companies. The Appliantology group continued this work. This year,
with Van as facilitator of the group, their report is inspiring and
replete with fresh original quotes from the Master Guru himself.
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|)))The Multichannel
Audio Working Group: (Section
5)
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Anyone authoring or creating audio for multichannel systems needs to
be familiar with this group's work. They studied and listed what is
missing and badly needed from Multichannel audio in all aspects from
playback to authoring, incorporating the lessons of last years' BBQ
and the Multiplatform WG of the IA-SIG.
BBQ Brother Jim Rippie will forward recommendations to the IA-SIG that
a WG be formed, striving to include more platforms than just the PC.
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|))) Intellectual Property - Business Models to Save Your Soul: (Section
6) |
Blessed with the presence and inspiration of BBQ speaker BJ Liederman,
this group proposed and ranked several business models for compensating
musical artists for the distribution of their music over the Internet.
These models would also work for other IP. Care was taken to eschew
models that might lower the quality of life for the listening public.
Because of this effort, the old fallback of advertising was counted
among the revenue generators to avoid.
Significantly, in a well-supported argument, they arrived at a conclusion:
We of BBQ endorse a "blanket licensing" business model over other
models for IP distribution that were considered.
(It should be pointed out that there was not general agreement among
the BBQ group that the ISP should be the center of the billing process.)
The group also proposed and accepted the challenge to get John Perry
Barlow to speak at next years' BBQ.
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|))) General Interactive Audio: (Section
7) |
Continuing the work of the "Big Picture" group of last years' BBQ,
this group attacked the creation of tools for authoring scalable multiplatform
interactive audio.
On a personal note, I found the work of this group very gratifying.
The tools they examined are the most conspicuously missing element of
game audio, and are at the very core of our greatest problems. This
group's work reflects a major breakthrough in a journey towards a "general
solution" to interactive audio that I have been hoping for and talking
up since the day the IA-SIG was formed-MIDI control of. WAV files of
any size, which would come about as a result of a standardized format
(and thereafter tools) for integrating .WAV files (or other audio media
cues) and rules for interactivity into a file structure.
This group will propose a WG for the IA-SIG. They also created a fairly
extensive outline for an IA-SIG document, to be filled out by that WG.
As if that weren't enough. This group began a minimum specification
for a playback platform, so that creators of playback platforms in coming
years will have some idea of what audio capabilities are desirable,
and how to scale down appropriately if those capabilities aren't met.
A WG will be proposed for that as well.
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Thanks, BBQ Brothers, for
giving your all, for again doing the impossible, and for again exceeding
expectations, as expected. - FAT
section 3 |
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