Unofficial modifications or beta OS

trupro wrote: PLANNED OBSELESCENCE DOG.

well as far as that is concerned, AKAI has not stated that they are not supporting the XL series (although i don't know what they have said about support for the 2k). as long as they are selling XL's they will continue to support it.. who would buy one if they knew they couldn't get it serviced or that were no replacement parts available etc?

i'm not sure what AKAI will decide in the matter but we can hope that they will at least address our concerns. If the OS update were to be available in a flashrom 8meg card.. the sampling capacity could be expanded on both models and perhaps the 2k users could also receive the update provided that there is not too much of a difference in the OS code.

this update would not jeopardize the other mpc models out there either because there are no new hardware features being added with this expansion. anyone who wants 96khz recording, adat out, built in HD and CDRW with all the bells and whistles will pay for a new 4000, z4 or z8. The main purpose of this effort is to make the software functions operate in a faster and more user friendly way.

for example, just as much as that Hummer looks good on the outside.. it still needs gas to run and the oil needs to be changed to keep it in peak condition.

depending on AKAI's commitment to it's users will depend on the depth of the update. for now though, before we jump to any more assumptions about what is or what is not going to happen lets hear from them first.


1-0ne

p.s thanks trupro for speaking on our behalf. we need all the help we can get and any person you talk to brings us closer to our goal.

""This is possibly for a Boot ROM (not used). The jumper just above it selects whether to boot from the Flash BOOT ROM or a ROM installed here."

is this infact a rom slot we can use to store the new OS? "


This slot is used to reflash the boot loader. This is something like a BIOS for a computer that tells the MPC how to boot up. Since this is stored in a flash ROM, it is possible to get corrupted, lost, etc. This provides a way for a service center to re-flash it. Even if you could put an OS on chip there, it would not give any more OS space since it is a limited capacity slot (in addition the existing memory contraints on the hardware itself to hold an OS. This is not equivalent to adding memory to a PC).

Akai has been making mpc and operating systems for years, and they still have bugs, so would you really trust some dude working in his basement to create an operaing system that's stable? Personally, I wouldn't put it in my MPC.. it took akai a LONG time to fix the step edit bug in the XL.. with all the changes we would like to see added, your kids will have grandbabies before akai got it right.
Honestly tho, all the limitations that the mpc has can be fixed with an external sampler. Need to record while the sequencer is playing, fixed. Need to assign the sequence to a pad, fixed, need to layer more thna 1000 sounds to a pad, fixed. There's no reason why the 2000 can't do what the XL can do, but akai want you to buy the XL for the few extra features.. think about it, why would anyone buy the XL, if they could cop a 2000 from ebay for $500, and slap an upgraded OS into it? When they stop selling the XL, then we 'may' see something new, but untill then, prey. They did it for the s-1000 owners (added timestretch and recording straight to disk) so it's possible it could happen.

. ..roxstar. ..
http://www.soundclick.com/creamofbeats

roxstar wrote:Akai has been making mpc and operating systems for years, and they still have bugs, so would you really trust some dude working in his basement to create an operaing system that's stable? Personally, I wouldn't put it in my MPC.. it took akai a LONG time to fix the step edit bug in the XL.. with all the changes we would like to see added, your kids will have grandbabies before akai got it right.
Honestly tho, all the limitations that the mpc has can be fixed with an external sampler. Need to record while the sequencer is playing, fixed. Need to assign the sequence to a pad, fixed, need to layer more thna 1000 sounds to a pad, fixed. There's no reason why the 2000 can't do what the XL can do, but akai want you to buy the XL for the few extra features.. think about it, why would anyone buy the XL, if they could cop a 2000 from ebay for $500, and slap an upgraded OS into it? When they stop selling the XL, then we 'may' see something new, but untill then, prey. They did it for the s-1000 owners (added timestretch and recording straight to disk) so it's possible it could happen.

. ..roxstar. ..
http://www.soundclick.com/creamofbeats

I hear you...but at the same time akai should realize that the main thing they have going for them right now is brand loyalty. If they show they respect the end users, those of us who have been using the mpc for years, they keep that loyalty going. If they ignore us, well, we start to ignore them... like you say: a cheap laptop goes for less then a grand now and while not powerful enough to run a whole studio, it makes a perfect companion to my "old" mpc2000 (when running the right programs). Why would a buy an mpc4000 then, if I know akai wont support it for more than three years?

If akai wants to keep cats interested in them, they need to work a little harder. For example, how come akai never made a mpc program editor? Why was it a second party deal? Its not like the mpc2000xl isnt one of the best selling machines they've had in years...

Point is, while everything you say is true, that doesnt give akai a pass not to keep working or us a reason just to be apathetic about it. I payed a grand for my mpc, at a time when I didnt have much money at all. I recomend the mpc to anyone looking for a groovebox (or whatever). Now Im not saying I "deserve" props for this from akai, but I think they should think about users like myself and others who are not going to switch up to a new platform just because you painted it blue!

Look at my equipment list. Im like a walking advertisment for akai! But at the same time support for all the equipment I use has been discontinued. Hmm...

anyone had any success contacting an AKAI rep? i've sent a few e-mail out myself just await a response.

i think the next move would be that website, any ideas aside from the survey and petition?


1-0ne

AKAI or not who will do this. a friend of mine said that A COUPLE OF YEARS BACK, a few hacker/tech freaks web sites had all sorts of info on an alternative os AND mods... probably got shut down cos the mpc2k was still popular...come back! now is the time to shine!

"but at the same time akai should realize that the main thing they have going for them right now is brand loyalty."

I would not agree. Like most other companies, they are geared towards pulling in new customers instead to keeping around existing ones. Akai, Roland, Waldorf, Korg, Sequential, Arp, Moog owners have been saying the exact same phrase above and it has had little impact. Do it make it right? I dunno. I just make do with what I have and go one.

I only `seems` like brand loyalty since you own one. What does the person that does not own one say? "I wish X company made something that I could actually buy." It sounds silly because it is, just like the `brand loyalty comment`. That is saying the same as "I would buy another peice from company X if they made something as good as the one I own now, cheaper."

mpc3000 wrote:"but at the same time akai should realize that the main thing they have going for them right now is brand loyalty."

I would not agree. Like most other companies, they are geared towards pulling in new customers instead to keeping around existing ones. Akai, Roland, Waldorf, Korg, Sequential, Arp, Moog owners have been saying the exact same phrase above and it has had little impact. Do it make it right? I dunno. I just make do with what I have and go one.

I only `seems` like brand loyalty since you own one. What does the person that does not own one say? "I wish X company made something that I could actually buy." It sounds silly because it is, just like the `brand loyalty comment`. That is saying the same as "I would buy another peice from company X if they made something as good as the one I own now, cheaper."

I dont think you understood what I was trying to convey. I dont think any company would say "Yeah, who cares about the end user once they bought our product. We want them new users who havent tried it yet!" That might work if you are selling crack, but the mpc isnt crack...

Akai, like all businesses, depends on previous owners to continue to buy thier new products... This need for customer staisfaction and brand loyalty is not as mysterious as you seem to think it is: People who already own hardware products are more likely to buy new hardware products. (For example, isnt the MV-8000 aimed at mpc users? It doesnt interest any of my friends who use laptops. )

I find it amusing that 4 of the 7 companies you listed went out of business a long time ago. Was that intentional? Are you really saying that Akai's non-comitment to updating the operating system of a product they are still releasing new is a symptom of the company's future demise?

Like you, 'Im all about "making due" with what I have and going on--the music I make is not limited by my gear. But there is, I think, a difference between making due and and being proactive. Im not waiting around for Akai to come up with a new OS.

"what does the person who does not own one say?" Ask all the people who didnt buy the buggy S5000/S6000 and instead started using Gigastudio. You think they came back to Akai when it released the Z8?

At this point I wouldnt recomend Akai products to anyone, at least anything new they come out with. But maybe that doesnt matter to Akai either: since they dont have to worry about customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, why care about word of mouth either?

Anyway, my real question is: when does the new update for the MPC editor come out?

humm,

i've just been talking to some of my buddies who are programmers and had them take a look at the OS but they don't know what to make of the coding. logically, if we were going to get a programmer to do this they would need to know what it was programmed in. does anyone know the answer to that question?

if we could find that answer it would be a matter of using a decompiler and maybe contructing a kind of a fake mpc system with vb or some other coding program.

maybe it's more complex than that but that's what they are saying to me.

1-0ne

"like all businesses, depends on previous owners to continue to buy thier new products"

Not really for this business. Many companies make it just fine without customer loyalty. If any musical gear manufacturer really depended on customer loyalty they would be out of business. Again, I do not necessarily agree that it is right, but can I blame them? No. Market research would tell you that there are not enough repeat customers to dedicate any significant resources to. This is even more so now with more people migrating to software and abandoning hardware altogether.

This goes a long way to explain things like color schemes.

"since they dont have to worry about customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, why care about word of mouth either?"

You may be more right than I even care to admit. Again, many companies make a calculated risk to dedicate limited resources to attaining new customers than keeping old ones. Even if there are going a few bad `word of mouth` owners (which are going to occur under any condition anyway).

"would need to know what it was programmed in. does anyone know the answer to that question?"

I do, but even if they did know what it was programmed in, they could do little with the exisitng OS file since it is something you could not `decompile` into anything usable. It is a V53, and the people that can do programming for it are pretty expensive (and there is a lot more to it than programming for a PC).

yo n8, keep at it... sounds like your on the right track.... couldnt be that hard i mean akai did it without roger.....
this could be sick!!! possibilities possibilities...
the main processor is 2x286`s...
heaps of room!!

im gunna do what i can to find out about the coding, but i dunno....

well they did come back out with a blue MPC...so maybe thats a sign. I don't believe that they will actually re-manufacture a product and totally abandon it. They could be working on it as soon as they get the bugs out of the MPC1000, or it could be done already, but they are focusing on catching up the 1000 so that sale don't go downstream on the 1000 and the 4000.

OK, the MPC IS crack... I'm addicted to this thing and I hate to give it up. N8, any luck finding someone to build the website for the petition?

mrfaia wrote:OK, the MPC IS crack...

mpc3000 wrote:"like all businesses, depends on previous owners to continue to buy thier new products"

Not really for this business. Many companies make it just fine without customer loyalty. If any musical gear manufacturer really depended on customer loyalty they would be out of business. Again, I do not necessarily agree that it is right, but can I blame them? No. Market research would tell you that there are not enough repeat customers to dedicate any significant resources to. This is even more so now with more people migrating to software and abandoning hardware altogether.

This goes a long way to explain things like color schemes.

"since they dont have to worry about customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, why care about word of mouth either?"

You may be more right than I even care to admit. Again, many companies make a calculated risk to dedicate limited resources to attaining new customers than keeping old ones. Even if there are going a few bad `word of mouth` owners (which are going to occur under any condition anyway).

I think we basically agree and your assesment is probably more realistic than mine. Should akai be like this? I dont think so. Are they like this? Yeah your right, they are.

So.... Lets not wait around for them to do this.

MPC3000: You know the code and you know the program so it sounds like you could do this (program a new os) but you dont want to, which is understandable as time is money etc... But do you know of any starving programmers out there who might be able to do it?

someone send an email to Roger Linn...didn't he redo or invent the MPC3000. Maybe he's willing to take on the project or give some guidance to someone that can.