Straight from Akai rep end of 4k support

Exchange tips and tricks for the Akai MPC4000
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By feline1 Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:21 am
Exporting from Acrobat Professional to Rich Text is a possibility, but the formatting goes to hell, you loose the cross-links, etc etc
And you'd still need to re-import it back into Adobe FrameMaker to build the updated manual - only a fool would try and work with 300+ page documents in Word.
Basically, without the FrameMaker source files,
updating the manual with all the OS updates turns from a 'couple of weeks' task into "months of godawful labour to do the same thing"

I'd be amazed if *someone* didn't have the FrameMaker source files *somewhere*, anyways...
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By scd Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:28 am
feline1 wrote:Exporting from Acrobat Professional to Rich Text is a possibility, but the formatting goes to hell, you loose the cross-links, etc etc
And you'd still need to re-import it back into Adobe FrameMaker to build the updated manual - only a fool would try and work with 300+ page documents in Word.
Basically, without the FrameMaker source files,
updating the manual with all the OS updates turns from a 'couple of weeks' task into "months of godawful labour to do the same thing"

I'd be amazed if *someone* didn't have the FrameMaker source files *somewhere*, anyways...


I know, it will take a lot of time, I was just suggesting the possibility.
Those files are not with Akai, that's pretty certain. How do you know it's made in FrameMaker and not Quark Xpress or something else?


One other option could be:
http://www.recosoft.com/company/press/news01092007.htm
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By feline1 Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:35 am
scd wrote:I know, it will take a lot of time, I was just suggesting the possibility.
Those files are not with Akai, that's pretty certain. How do you know it's made in FrameMaker and not Quark Xpress or something else?

One other option could be:
http://www.recosoft.com/company/press/news01092007.htm


I knew it was made in FrameMaker cos I've worked with Frame every day for about a decade and I can recognise the sort of structure and formatting you can easily get with it... but also the fact that if you press Ctrl+D in Adobe Reader on any of the PDFs, in the Document Properties > Description tab, the Application used to create the PDF is listed as Framemaker 5.5.5, this is a bit of a giveaway :P

I wouldn't consider Adobe InDesign to be a suitable tool for working with a document that size either - InDesign is great for shorter, colour & graphic rich docs, not long dry hundreds-of-page tech docs with tons of cross-referencing. FrameMaker is the tool for the job.
The only doc in the MPC4000 set not done in Frame was the Ak.Sys User Guide, which Steve Hollowsun did in Word.

By owenb Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:37 am
"I'd be amazed if *someone* didn't have the FrameMaker source files *somewhere*, anyways..."

maybe JJs got em! :D
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By scd Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:38 am
Sound like we need to find the *original* files indeed. Otherwise it's gonna be a to big of a task...

I'll ask around with Akai if they have any idea where to search.
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By feline1 Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:40 am
I was once told that the original MPC4000 docs were written in Japan in Japanese (presumeably in FrameMaker also) and translated into English by outsourcing to a translation firm. (This explains why they are generally technically and grammatically correct, but such a dry boring read!)

I do not know the name of the translation firm used.
Maybe they would still have a copy of the files.
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By nik Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:08 pm
How about dumping it all to a wiki somewhere and letting everyone get in about it?
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By feline1 Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:08 pm
I have emailed Steve Howell at Hollowsun,
to see if he has any names of original doc authors or the translation firm,
that might be of use in tracking down those FM source files, if they still exist...
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By Blue Haze Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:43 pm
Pilotwings wrote:I guess you guys will now have to pay hackers to infiltrate akai hq and steal the source code.


OR - have a disgruntled employee of nuakai "accidentally" copy/email the code to someone (apparently JJ) who could continue to improve on it...

It really is a shame that the "New Akai" suites don't see the benefit for one last software upgrade for the KING of the MPC line, the 4000!!! It would definitely take away a bad taste in the mouths of people who purchased the 4000 with the promise of additional features never realized. I do understand that there is only so much that could be done with the 4000's hardware, but that's not the point. My thinking would be to do a software upgrade that would utilize the FULL potential/ability of the existing hardware. (This would bring back customers who will ultimately look elsewhere for their musical instrument needs)

The reason for NO upgrade is simple. The new company (or almost any company for that matter) is only interested in one thing, THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR!!! If they cannot make a profit there is no reason to do it. OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW - Just like an auto manufacturer, they could make a car last as long as an aircraft but why would they when they can sell you a "NEW" car every five years. The only problem with the "New Akai" is that they apparently seem to want to totally abandon what the original company started which was making samplers - NOT JUST BEAT MACHINES for the musically illiterate (sorry if I offended anyone).

What can you expect from the new company which sells DJ equipment and budget effects units to do with Akai? In my opinion, not much.[/quote]

He has a point you know guys :?:
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By Blue Haze Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:45 pm
Kalei wrote:All this official BS from Wakai still doesnt explain why they wouldnt let the PREVIOUS independent coders FROM THE UK THAT ALREADY HAVE THE CODE to continue. Even if we, the users PAID for it. They could just have a meeting with the coders making them sign a contract about not letting the code out. This is a matter of a 2-3 hour effort on Akai's behalf, and theyre even in the same country as the coders.

* It wouldnt hurt Akai, instead it would make them look better.
* It would stop 4000 owners from giving Akai a bad rep.
* It would regain alot of peoples trust in Akai as a brand name.

But its like talking to a wall.



Maybe cuz they were all fired just like the Japanese staff were.
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By Kalei Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:31 pm
Blue Haze wrote:
Kalei wrote:All this official BS from Wakai still doesnt explain why they wouldnt let the PREVIOUS independent coders FROM THE UK THAT ALREADY HAVE THE CODE to continue. Even if we, the users PAID for it. They could just have a meeting with the coders making them sign a contract about not letting the code out. This is a matter of a 2-3 hour effort on Akai's behalf, and theyre even in the same country as the coders.

* It wouldnt hurt Akai, instead it would make them look better.
* It would stop 4000 owners from giving Akai a bad rep.
* It would regain alot of peoples trust in Akai as a brand name.

But its like talking to a wall.



Maybe cuz they were all fired just like the Japanese staff were.


What? Im talking about numark/akai here.
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By Blue Haze Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:35 pm
Kalei wrote:
Blue Haze wrote:
Kalei wrote:All this official BS from Wakai still doesnt explain why they wouldnt let the PREVIOUS independent coders FROM THE UK THAT ALREADY HAVE THE CODE to continue. Even if we, the users PAID for it. They could just have a meeting with the coders making them sign a contract about not letting the code out. This is a matter of a 2-3 hour effort on Akai's behalf, and theyre even in the same country as the coders.

* It wouldnt hurt Akai, instead it would make them look better.
* It would stop 4000 owners from giving Akai a bad rep.
* It would regain alot of peoples trust in Akai as a brand name.

But its like talking to a wall.


What? Im talking about numark/akai here.



Yup I`m talking the same if the same happened to Uk and America like Japan only the customer service staff were kept and the coders, engineers an others let go and a new team came in. Hence 4k is a legacy product from old akai like Andy been saying in the linked post.
Maybe cuz they were all fired just like the Japanese staff were.
Last edited by Blue Haze on Thu Mar 13, 2008 4:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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By feline1 Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:56 pm
By the way, according to an old email I found from Robert Ray,
the MPC4000 user guides were translated from Japanese into English by a translator (or translation firm) in the Netherlands...

no idea who they were though...
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By scd Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:57 pm
feline1 wrote:By the way, according to an old email I found from Robert Ray,
the MPC4000 user guides were translated from Japanese into English by a translator (or translation firm) in the Netherlands...

no idea who they were though...


Ah, that could be helpful. Guess where I live? 8)
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By feline1 Thu Mar 13, 2008 4:00 pm
well then, get your clogs on and started knocking on doors :lol:
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