Re: no MIDI input with dosemu ?

[Dave Phillips <dlphilp@bright.net>]

Stas Sergeev wrote:

> Why? Implementing midi input is trivial,
> but I'm puzzled as of what's the use.
> Dosemu needs a MIDI output as otherwise
> you can't play games. But as for midi
> recording, you can use the native Linux
> programs just fine. And it will actually
> work better, because under dosemu the
> timing is not always accurate. So why
> would anyone ever need that? 

No, Stas, I can't use the native Linux sequencers "just fine" and their 
developers know it. Unfortunately there is no easy way for them to 
accomodate my working method (which results from amenities of the 
particular DOS sequencer I like to use). I put about nine years into 
working with a particular program (Sequencer Plus, or Seq+ for short) 
whose working method is far more amenable to me than that of any native 
Linux sequencer. I'm not much of a keyboard player, I'm a guitarist, so 
I prefer a MIDI sequencer with exceptional QWERTY keyboard data entry 
features, and none of the native Linux sequencers approach the usability 
of Seq+ in this regard. Actually I can use Seq+ under DOSemu to meet my 
needs, but a few other users have written to me about wanting MIDI input 
with Seq+ under DOSemu. Apparently they're not comfortable with the 
native Linux MIDI sequencers either.

The developers of the native Linux sequencers know of my needs quite 
well (I've been corresponding with all of them since their projects 
began). The problem lies in some of their own assumptions and some of 
the restrictions forced on them by X11. Also, Seq+ includes many MIDI 
features not found in Rosegarden-4, MusE, Jazz++, or seq24. Timing is in 
fact very good, especially when run with a Linux kernel patched for 
low-latency (I use the Planet CCRMA system). MusE and Rosegarden both 
have trouble playing some of my MIDI sequences that Seq+ handles 
perfectly under DOSemu. The plain fact is that for my working methods 
Seq+ is superior to any native Linux MIDI sequencer. I say this not to 
criticize the Linux sequencers, but merely to indicate how far they have 
to go before they reach the maturity of an application like Seq+ (which 
by 1995 had almost ten years of development).

Btw, I'm uninterested in integrated audio/MIDI sequencing, which is the 
design philosophy behind the Jazz++, MusE, and Rosegarden-4 (seq24 is 
designed more like a hardware sequencer such as the old Alesis MT8 and 
again has little value to my work methods). I'm strictly interested in 
MIDI, and it seems to me that the Linux developers are putting more time 
into audio-oriented features than into MIDI-specific features. As I 
said, they know my opinions about these matters (and we're still 
friends, incredible as it seems).

If adding MIDI input capability in DOSemu is trivial, hopefully these 
reasons will convince you that it would still be greatly appreciated by 
some of us.

Best regards,

Dave Phillips