Digital Performer Systems/Bug Database
Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 6:44 pm
I promised you that I would have this posted by the end of the month. The end of the month is here, but I don't feel like the database is anywhere near finished. Nevertheless, finishing it beyond this point would involve much more effort than I can expend, and I would be harrassing everyone here incessantly, so let's call it a day, and I'll post what I've got. You'll need Microsoft Excel to run this, but there's a PDF (see below).
THE SPREADSHEET
Digital Performer Systems Database (MS Excel, 200K)
First of all... resize the window to fit your screen! I figure we all have pretty big monitors, but I made it on a 23" Cinema Display. I made it smaller before I saved it, but you'll have to do the final adjustment.
The spreadsheet is garish in color. This was helpful for navigating while entering data. There was very little consistency in data. Many people chose their own way of providing data, so it was impossible to use a macro to enter it. I had to make judgements about many of the entries, so it was just a slow, manual grind to put it all in the database. Often I had to write people for more info, or go searching through their general UnicorNation posts in hopes of finding clues. The colors helped me quickly find a section and locate the cells I needed to enter specific info.
The fonts were nice at one time, but for public distribution, I chose Helvetica, which everyone has. Nothing looks worse than an Excel spreadsheet designed for a particular set of fonts that you don't have.
The instructions are at the top of the spreadsheet in row 2. Basically, you click in a row below row 15, and the database activates. You can then sort the data by specific data points. Be careful interpreting the data. Serious problems are rated from 7 to 10. Below a 7 should be considered less of a bug than an occasional and random anomaly for statistical purposes. Yes, there are lots of degrees of shading, but if you're drawing statistical conclusions, the serious correlations don't begin until the problems reach a fairly high ranking. Keep that in mind as you sort by various data points and look for patterns in the other data.
Also, bear in mind that there are sometimes more factors at work than a single data point. For example: some people report no stuck notes, yet they use MIDI Driver version 1.3.2--the bad one. In most of those cases, you'll find the reason for that is one of the following:
1) they don't do MIDI
2) they use another brand of MIDI interface, and thus the MOTU driver does not pertain to them.
So, again, don't jump to conclusions until you look at the rest of the data.
So, I present you with a database. I hope it helps you figure out what you're looking for. If anyone wants to add their data or change it, do it directly in your copy of the database and mail it to me. (address is in the database) Then I can just copy and paste your entire row into my master file.
Excel is a powerful spreadsheet application, but it's not easy to use, and totally non-intuitive. Like DP, it helps to have the manuals. If you have problems using Excel, please refer to the manuals. I cannot do tech support on this. I'm sure that other people could have made this better, easier, and certainly more complete, but this is the best I can do at this time.
THE PDF
The Digital Performer Systems Database in PDF Format 0 140K (download it; it's usless in Safari)
If you don't have Excel, this PDF may help, but it is very hard to use. The PDF is organized by columns. Each page represents the next several columns as you move across the spreadsheet from left to right. For instance, page 1 displays columns A through J. Page 2 displays K through U. The same rows appear on every page, so if you are looking at someone's data in, say, row 22, then you'd follow row 22 across every page. Unfortunately, the PDF did not print the gridlines, so you'll have to use a ruler across your screen or just eyeball it very carefully. (Preview does let you select rows, which helps a little) If you have a particular problem, this PDF may help assuage your curiosity, but I doubt that you will be able to use it for any serious exploration of the data.
Thank you everyone for participating. Like the Tips Sheet, this couldn't be done without your help, so everyone who participated needs to take a bow and accept my gratitude for your contributions. Have fun using it.
Shooshie
THE SPREADSHEET
Digital Performer Systems Database (MS Excel, 200K)
First of all... resize the window to fit your screen! I figure we all have pretty big monitors, but I made it on a 23" Cinema Display. I made it smaller before I saved it, but you'll have to do the final adjustment.
The spreadsheet is garish in color. This was helpful for navigating while entering data. There was very little consistency in data. Many people chose their own way of providing data, so it was impossible to use a macro to enter it. I had to make judgements about many of the entries, so it was just a slow, manual grind to put it all in the database. Often I had to write people for more info, or go searching through their general UnicorNation posts in hopes of finding clues. The colors helped me quickly find a section and locate the cells I needed to enter specific info.
The fonts were nice at one time, but for public distribution, I chose Helvetica, which everyone has. Nothing looks worse than an Excel spreadsheet designed for a particular set of fonts that you don't have.
The instructions are at the top of the spreadsheet in row 2. Basically, you click in a row below row 15, and the database activates. You can then sort the data by specific data points. Be careful interpreting the data. Serious problems are rated from 7 to 10. Below a 7 should be considered less of a bug than an occasional and random anomaly for statistical purposes. Yes, there are lots of degrees of shading, but if you're drawing statistical conclusions, the serious correlations don't begin until the problems reach a fairly high ranking. Keep that in mind as you sort by various data points and look for patterns in the other data.
Also, bear in mind that there are sometimes more factors at work than a single data point. For example: some people report no stuck notes, yet they use MIDI Driver version 1.3.2--the bad one. In most of those cases, you'll find the reason for that is one of the following:
1) they don't do MIDI
2) they use another brand of MIDI interface, and thus the MOTU driver does not pertain to them.
So, again, don't jump to conclusions until you look at the rest of the data.
So, I present you with a database. I hope it helps you figure out what you're looking for. If anyone wants to add their data or change it, do it directly in your copy of the database and mail it to me. (address is in the database) Then I can just copy and paste your entire row into my master file.
Excel is a powerful spreadsheet application, but it's not easy to use, and totally non-intuitive. Like DP, it helps to have the manuals. If you have problems using Excel, please refer to the manuals. I cannot do tech support on this. I'm sure that other people could have made this better, easier, and certainly more complete, but this is the best I can do at this time.
THE PDF
The Digital Performer Systems Database in PDF Format 0 140K (download it; it's usless in Safari)
If you don't have Excel, this PDF may help, but it is very hard to use. The PDF is organized by columns. Each page represents the next several columns as you move across the spreadsheet from left to right. For instance, page 1 displays columns A through J. Page 2 displays K through U. The same rows appear on every page, so if you are looking at someone's data in, say, row 22, then you'd follow row 22 across every page. Unfortunately, the PDF did not print the gridlines, so you'll have to use a ruler across your screen or just eyeball it very carefully. (Preview does let you select rows, which helps a little) If you have a particular problem, this PDF may help assuage your curiosity, but I doubt that you will be able to use it for any serious exploration of the data.
Thank you everyone for participating. Like the Tips Sheet, this couldn't be done without your help, so everyone who participated needs to take a bow and accept my gratitude for your contributions. Have fun using it.
Shooshie