Better Performance

First I would like to mention that I have contacted Ableton and have received permission to freely distribute the Ableton Live Intro "template/Live Set" (.als) file that works along with the software utility I have developed. This is very good news for anyone who is interested in this project including myself. This will cut down on the time it takes to get the software utility up and running from the time of purchase. It also saves me from writing a whole section dedicated on how to setup the Ableton Live Intro "template/Live Set" (.als) file from scratch. So I have already made allot of changes to the user manual.

There has been a slight delay (for the best)...
About 4 days ago, I had a few more idea's that would be great for the software utility so I had put the manual temporarily to the side. I had easily added one important feature without any problems at all. In the process of working out the greatest new feature I had thought up, I had came across a slight problem. When entering/recording in a new beat pattern into an empty MIDI clip in Ableton Live Intro for the first iteration (first time around) there is no problem at all. But let's say we want to do some MIDI Overdub, the problem is the playback of the MIDI notes that were pre-recorded in the MIDI clip ends up being processed again in an infinite amount, recording what has already been recorded over itself, that is only if the pattern building feature in the software utility is enabled. In order to enter in "additional" beat information at this time, the pattern building feature must be disabled. I plan on coming up with a fix for this (a MIDI playback firewall), but it may take some time. Even though I had ran into this problem I had also made some great progress on cleaning up unnecessary code today. In fact the code I had deleted wasn't obviously erroneous, but once I made the revision it had became absolutely apparent, *(clean code = better performance).

Started Creating The User Manual

Today I have decided to start creating the user manual/tutorial. I am done with the first quarter of written documentation. The visual media (screenshots) will be included when I have tested the instructions I have documented, to see if any steps are missing or invalid. After each section of the user manual has been thoroughly reviewed that is when I will add the visual guides. I have decided to wait on creating the video demonstration as that is the easiest part and I don't want to put off the user manual since it is a bit more difficult, I would like to get it done first. Another factor that made me start the user manual was that I want my audience to build confidence, in deciding if they want to purchase the software utility that I have created as the user manual will be freely available to download before purchase. The user manual will be packaged in a PDF(Portable Document Format) file. I use the freely available open source desktop publishing software called "Scribus" to create the user manual. If interested you may find more information about it at this URL:http://www.scribus.net

Introduction

I  have created a software utility that was originally designed to work in unison with the  Akai LPD8 MIDI controller and Ableton Live Intro. It also may be compatible with other MIDI hardware that by default simply works as a drum-pad trigger device requiring continuous manual user input *(hint). This utility makes the hardware more extensive in a number of ways extending the hardware's life and will also be an affordable investment for electronic musicians. At the time that I am writing this entry the actual utility features will not be disclosed. I will also be making a video demonstration of what the software is capable of, with a quick glimpse of the procedure in using it and how easy it is to setup. I will soon be creating an easy to follow tutorial on how to get started.