Light Minds Think Alike - All Comments

re: Wiki breakthrough…what we wanted in 1995

tromain — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:18:06 GMT

Finally! Great Post Mike.

re: It takes a village to raise a website

eugp — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:30:01 GMT

I am thrilled that you have got this site off the ground. The Wiki especially. Now I have to get to know how to use it and post meaningful things.

re: Useful Email services

Kevin McMadtown — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:08:15 GMT

I set up my Mail Goggles a year ago, and fortunately never had to use it, until I traveled to Asia.

You see, the time you chose the filter to be enabled is not the local time. So at 2pm I found my self struggling to do simple addition while trying to send a quick email. Using the windows calculator is difficult on a netbook too. Let it be known that the guy who designs your new consoles, can't pass Mail Goggles, sober.

re: Your Answers to "Eos or Congo?"

LuxExFulmen — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 06:26:04 GMT

As a long-time Express/Expression user, it appeared that my opinion would be highly predictable when this question was first posed to me. Determined to actually investigate the merits of both of these two excellent boards, I might have ended up a devout sailor under Captain Avab, instead of the screen-poking, slider-motoring Eos lover I am today, had I not posed to myself one simple question that I ask myself every time I hit the power button; how much FUN do I want to have today?

In truth, both boards are equally qualified to handle almost any lighting challenge I could think of, and the languages and process intricacies of each can be learned fairly easily. Coming from my Expression background I run my Eos almost exclusively in "Cue Only" mode so despite all else, I don't really consider it a Tracking console in any practical sense. So in a competition between boards equally capable and qualified, my heart shall always belong to the one that appealed to my inner child, as much as my outer programmer.

I still remember the training session, when Ann first told us to turn the fader page, and the surprise of watching the faders all jump back into the new page's positions. I envisioned choreographing fader ballets while I waited for the Director and the LD to finish arguing about the pattern wash in the house preset.

And then there were the touchscreens.

Growing up, I was fully aware that everything I needed to know about life could be found on Star Trek, the Next Generation; mankind would eventually overcome its petty infighting and pursue a deep-seeded yearning for exploration, you should never trust an egomaniac named after a letter of the alphabet, and that in the future, everything would be run off touchscreens. All of a sudden, the future was now.

With all due respect to the esteemed Microvision FX, I have 10 fingers; give me 10 sliders, and let them control as many submasters as I can think of. And give me 5 screens, all of them touchable, and each with a more vibrant and colorful and informative display than the next; I got into this industry for the very reason that I love to be "distracted" by color. Let color tell me something, whether intensity has increased or decreased, whether I'm in live or blind. If you need everything on your board to have meaning than give color meaning rather than getting rid of it.

And give me as many universes as you can possibly fit in one console; If I'm going to command the Enterprise, I want to boldly go where no one has gone before!

The thing which has always attracted me to ETC (aside from it's amazing technical support) is the fact that you have never lost sight of the truth I hold most dear, that just because something you do is work should never keep it from also being play. The simple compulsion to play with this board, beyond the necessities of my venue, have led me to log far more hours on it, to become far better at operating it, than I ever could have at a board I simply worked at, but did not play at.

This is why I chose the Eos; because when I work, I play.

re: A rejection letter from Apple . . . more iPhone app fun

LuxExFulmen — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 05:09:16 GMT

This actually brings up another good point. Given that the board needn't actually be controlled by the iRFR, but by some unseen off-camera device, why stop at things the iRFR can actually do?

This seems to call for a little industrial light and magic. Maybe the iRFR should be able to employ GPS technology to have moving lights track directly to it. Perhaps the video should feature the iRFR remotely controlling an Eos on a wheeled table as it careens down state street like a chase scene in a Bond movie. Perhaps the unit can double as a type 1 phaser for those unfortunate 10 of 12s when a surprise Klingon invasion has eliminated the last of your red-shirted stagehands. The sky is the limit with this one...

re: ETC's home again sits near top of "Best Places to Live" list

elsiejweddle — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:18:52 GMT

Id love to live there someday.

re: ETC's home again sits near top of "Best Places to Live" list

chiefjoseph — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:21:25 GMT

It really is a great place. But let us be clear and fair. As in 2007, the criteria for the rating is towns with between 8,500 and 50,000 people.

When Middleton won #1 in 2007, 8 out of 10 things in the writeup/video piece were actually about Madison, not Middleton. The piece cited the University, the capitol, the hospital, the Madison Farmer's market, all of which are in Madison. So I think the biggest thing that Middleton has going for it is its proximity to Madison.

re: Another Periodic Table!

Kevin McMadtown — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:35:53 GMT

Has anyone ever plugged a generic USB video game controller into Congo? It gives new meaning to "playing the lights"...

re: Good Humor Man

dlincecum — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:56:57 GMT

I think it goes under the heading - "Have fun and make money."

re: A new approach, design for Controls on etcconnect.com

els76uk — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:23:54 GMT

I noticed the new website today, and then read this post about the changes. I really like the new site - but agree with other posts, the "periodic table" symbols don't work for me, because they don't mean anything without mouseovering them (is mouseover a verb? it is now!). Perhaps someone clever needs to think of some kooky icons. That'll be a fun challenge :). But I do like the mouseover explanatory text which is well written and informative.

re: A new approach, design for Controls on etcconnect.com

john.kuehl — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:47:46 GMT

Sure, I'd agree also that the elemental symbols, as they appear now on product pages, can be perceived as a gimmick. I'd also just call them a secondary tactic aimed at a particular target user. Either way, my arguments for the elemental symbols being used with other consoles are:

a) The Periodic Table of Element, originally produced as a poster in support of the Element console launch at USITT before becoming an online feature, actually incorporates many concepts that apply to all or some of our other consoles, and some of the concepts do not apply to Element.

b) As I eluded to in my post, we haven't quite finished our work on utilizing the symbols on product pages. I hope soon to have that work done, and for the symbols to be gain strength as another tool that helps potential buyers understand what makes one of ETC's consoles different or similar to another. Particularly when it comes to the dualities of tracking and present, move fade and state, and LTP and HTP, which, once explained, can offer key insight for an "unwashed" consumer into how a console works and how it's programmed.

Naturally, I'm very interested in seeing additional comments on this, too! It's great to discuss the new stuff with people outside ETC...

re: A new approach, design for Controls on etcconnect.com

mgarrison — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:29:53 GMT

I agree with Derek. Keep the elemental symbols limited to Element.

re: A new approach, design for Controls on etcconnect.com

dlincecum — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:35:11 GMT

Thanks Derek - we will take that feedback. It is not intended to promote Element directly. We found that there was a need to let people know certain attributes of the product families and this was the vehicle we chose. I guess it is a bit of a gimmick. We'll listen for the input of others...

re: A new approach, design for Controls on etcconnect.com

derekleffew — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:43:39 GMT

I don't think I understand the concept of using periodic table symbols, particularly on non-element™ pages. It wasn't until I went to the element™ page that I realized the purpose of the symbols. My first impression was "Is ETC trying to make me learn non-intuitive, non-standard icons for expressions such as Lt, Dm, and Rf?" "Are these buttons on the console(s)?"

It's a mildly clever promotion for element™, but one hopes the gimmick is brief. Furthermore, is it even necessary to promote element™ surreptitiously on every other console's page? I expect sales of the element™ to surpass those of the Express (provided proper pricing and quality control).

re: A rejection letter from Apple . . . more iPhone app fun

smrsunboy — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:45:36 GMT

The funny thing about the "video" is how easily that can be faked using another RFU, laptop connected to network etc with the console. Sounds like a waste of yours and their time.

Wish apple would open up, open source is our friend!