I work on layering system currently but I have some problems on the other hand.

As you already know I program Music-Painter using Java language. It's a beautiful language but not good enough for a project like Music-Painter, especially when we talk about audio support. I use a C library with Java to play audio nicely and there's a license fee for it, not cheap but it's ok. The audio library that I use now works with its own audio decode mechanisms meaning I have to provide you appropriate audio decoders which is necessary for playing audio formats like mp3, m4a, aac, this is the big problem. All these audio formats are patented. Their fee is reaaaally big and there's enourmous paper work and so on.

My plan is to sell Music-Painter someday and patents set a wall in front of me. So I need to get rid of the wall.

The best idea I have is dropping C audio library and to use already installed audio codecs in user's computer and break free So I need to learn express my logic in C++ language since Java couldn't help me. This will take a while. That's the bad side, good side is, I'll drop Java completely in future and code Music-Painter in C++ and it means, way much performance, freedom and better OS integration.

Wish me luck I need it.



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WHAT IS THE MUSIC-PAINTER:
Currently I develop a software that I named Music Painter. Main idea is live painting with music vibrations. When we combine it with digital brushes, textures, colors and artist's decisions, possibilities are literally endless.

Please download it and try for yourself. I need feedback

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GROUP RULES:
When you have a question related to the program, or, submit a work in the galleries, please state your OS like this:
Snow Leopard 10.6.x or
Leopard 10.5.x or
Tiger 10.4.x or
Windows XP, Vista etc.

And also, please state the release number of the program like this:
R8

This will help me to grab the problems faster and/or...
See and address improvements easily.
Thank you


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DOWNLOAD FOR WINDOWS:

Music-Painter currently requires 1 GB of RAM to run smoothly. I've tested on XP and Vista. If you have Win7, please test and let me know how it was. Also... I need to test the program on Intel Core Duo and AMD chips. Please note, there's two different kind of Core Duo: 1. Core Duo, 2. Core 2 Duo. I need a simple test run on Core Duo. Run the program, read the Canvas FPS value located on the Console Window title.

This release requires a fresh install, so there's no updater.

Download these files:
Main program (Self extracting 7Zip file):
Download from Rapidshare: [link]
Download from Megaupload: [link]

PLEASE RE-DOWNLOAD THE PACKAGES
List of packages:
Download from Rapidshare: [link]
Download from Megaupload: [link]


FIRST RUN:
Double click the Music-Painter 1.4-R8.exe
It should unzip and create a folder named Music-Painter. Go there and double click the Music-Painter.exe
the program will ask for a music folder to scan. Browse where you put your music.

(Windows version can open and play all popular music formats.
Please play as many formats as you can.)

Double click a song in the playlist manager.

Please remember to right click on the canvas to get a list of options that you can use while painting. If you'll remember only one thing, That's right clicking on canvas All you need is there. Start with open -> Sliders

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DOWNLOAD FOR MACS:

Music-Painter currently requires 1 GB of RAM to run smoothly. So, any Mac can run it theoretically. (10.4.1 or newer)

This release requires a fresh install, so there's no updater.

Download these files:
Main program:
Download from Rapidshare: [link]
Download from Megaupload: [link]

PLEASE RE-DOWNLOAD THE PACKAGES
List of packages:
Download from Rapidshare: [link]
Download from Megaupload: [link]



When all downloads are completed, double click Music-Painter1.4-R8.dmg file. It's a regular Mac process for installing new applications. I assume that you already know this.

FIRST RUN:
Find Music-Painter 1.4 folder in your applications folder.

Double click Music-Painter1.4 to run the program. It should run and ask for a mp3 folder to scan. Browse where you put your mp3 files. Usually this is your iTunes folder: Music/iTunes/iTunes Music

Double click a song in the playlist manager.

Please remember to right click on the canvas to get a list of options that you can use while painting.


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Please follow this [link] and read the instructions.


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RELEASE 1.4 - 8
This is an alpha release for Macs and Windows. Alpha means premature. Expect some weirdness


RELEASE NOTES:
- NEW: Liner tab in the Sliders Window. Now you can modify line drawer's behavior using the Sliders Window.

- NEW: Papers tab in the Sliders Window. Now you can modify paper colors before you tile any paper.

- NEW: Filters tab in the Sliders Window. Now you can apply filters like gaussian blur, invert, posterize and threshold on the Canvas.

- NEW: Canvas preview in the Sliders Window. Now you can change preview size as you needed.

- NEW: Updater. Now program can update itself, no need to download the program again and again. The program checks for updates when yourun it and asks for your confirmation to download updates.

- NEW: Spectrum monitor. There are four modes. Click on the Spectrum Monitor to change modes. To open Spectrum Monitor: Right click on the canvas and choose Open Window and Spectrum Monitor.

- Better support for importing images from Flickr.

- Better window management.

- Playlist Manager improved just a little bit more.

- Better console out.

- Reaaaally countless tiny improvements



KNOWN ISSUES:
- Vista and probably Win 7 may require you run the program as administrator. If the program runs but the canvas does not appear, quit the program, right click on the program icon, find 'run as administrator' option. If it happens please let me know. I'll try to fix this.

- If you delete an active color source, brush set or paper and then drag and drop a new one on the canvas, the program throws an error and stops working. Quitting and restarting the program is a quick workaround. I fixed the problem already and waiting for the next release. (Mac and Win issue.)

- Some computers refusing *some* keyboard input. Note: Please check your caps lock and/or click once on the canvas.

- Macs play only mp3 files. Working on a solution for opening all popular music formats. (Mac Issue)



TO DO LIST:
- Merge Brusher and Liner metaphores in one object.
- Database backup.
- "Save as" option
- Background color picker.
- New optional painting mode: If mouse pointer is not moving, don't paint!
- Another new painting mode: paint with preselected harmony.
- Stencils
- Paint without music option.
- Additional line drawing modes.
- Zooming on selected canvas area.
- FFT analysis.
- Windowed mode.
- Multiple canvas windows.
- Canvas layers.
- Reordering songs in a playlist.
- A menu bar.
- iTunes integration.
- Wacom tablet integration.

Do you need something else? Let me know.




PLEASE TEST THE NEW RELEASE.
I've tested the program on XP, Vista, Leopard and Snow Leopard. It worked good. Please test it and report problems. Submit your results in members gallery.