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The Tenth
Annual Interactive Music Conference
PROJECT BAR-B-Q 2005
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
by The Fat Man, George A. SangerHoly Cow,
Ten BBQ’s done and gone.
We’re now sitting on ten years of spectacularly valuable and well-sorted data; the results of some of the most brilliant people I know brainstorming at full-tilt under close-to-ideal conditions. The topic, as in the past, is “influencing audio on computers over the next five years.” The 2005 report is here. Some of it is phrased carefully, some in a more cavalier manner, but it all shares the same fundamental properties: It is earnest, it is honest, it is meant to elevate the industry, it is not meant to benefit small groups at the expense of others. It is, I think, “good” in the best sense of the word that I can understand.
BJ Leiderman led the way into the conference with his version of “The Day The Music Died,” setting a focus for the whole conference on what exactly is the point of improving music on computers if the music doesn’t say anything worthwhile. Athan Billias gave us a new way to visualize the essential characteristics of a product, graphing products that are stand-alone versus part of a system, and hardware-based versus software based. Philip Merrill gave us the inside low-down on DRM, and Stephen Kay shared his experiences in creating the Karma workstation.
The groups kicked cowboy butt again, and here are the offerings:
The Open Resource Game Audio System Management group outlined the processes and proposed solutions to issues faced by audio content creators/integrators for games from pre-production through release, including potential markets for interactive audio.
In an unprecedented explosion, one group, originally meant to explore the role of the PC in the living room, split into three rogue groups:
The Devon’s in the Details addressed an issue that will certainly soon become critical, that of using a multiplicity of Audio devices via the home PC. Currently there are a large number of ways in which products can be connected to a PC, but multiple connected devices result in user-experience problems when trying to associate the streams with devices and controls. A solution was proposed involving a different mode of audio routing. By replacing traditional single-signal streams with a “crossbar,” a bi-directional multiple-feed stream, the routing becomes greatly simplified and increasingly capable.
The SRB’s tackled ubiquitous content distribution to and within the living room. In other words, they attempted to answer the question, “why can’t I access content from one location when the source is located in another location?” By suggesting an open, protected, interoperable content distribution and access system, they showed the way to a world with greater convenience and flexibility for the consumer, and increased profits for content owners.
The Couch Potato Accelerators gave the talk “Sex Lies and Media Centers,” looking at why the PC is the wrong device for the living room. They identified fundamental flaws in the PC industry’s various campaigns to dominate the living room. The solution outlined involved the following slogan: Make it easy, make it simple, and make it cool.
The Al Gore Rhythm Method, a/k/a the User Interface group wondered why audio interfaces on computers look like spreadsheets. Brainstorming the ideal DAW UI, the group explored the issue in terms of various personas who might want to use interfaces. Their solutions included suggestions involving adaptive UI environments that query the user and automatically configure themselves accordingly. They also explored different metaphors for visualizing and interacting with audio data.
Inspired by Miles Davis’ saying that he liked to “scare Whitey,” and a challenge by Dave Battino to come up with ten disruptive ideas, The Disruptors came up with and explored the following:
1. The personal soundtrack
2. Aural Reality Augmentation
3. High Performance Multimedia Collaboration
4. Composition (and composers) on demand
5. Control over your audio environment
6. Socialized Music
7. Software Emulation of Proprietary Hardware Systems
8. Outsourcing (esp. via the Internet)As I become older and look back on these years of BBQ, I realize more and more the value of honesty and work that is done not so much for the profit of the individual as for the benefit of larger communities. I also become more and more aware of the scarcity of such work.
And as each year passes, it becomes more true: I am proud to be part of the group that generates this wealth of information, effort, and Karma®.
Love and respect to all who give a damn,
The Fat Man,
George A. Sanger
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