Here's my couple thoughts on this popular subject:
I think that before we try to put lots of effort into making PD look nicer we should be trying to improve functionality. There are still a couple issues that keep PD from reaching its full potential, and IMO these are way more important than bitmap sliders or fancy fonts. I originally asked about the font changing just as a point of interest so that I could do something fast and simple to improve pd for my use, obviously there are other people thinking about PD's looks too.
The way I see it there are a few things that keep PD back (in no particular order):
- GUI interfering with audio -- I know this is one of the reasons
that this discussion started, but I think we've lost track of that a little.
- Audio dropouts when loading sound files -- In my opinion this is
one of the largest issues in terms of using PD as a performance instrument, which I think it is otherwise ideally suited for.
- Audio latency (i've only tested this on os x) -- can't get anything
under 13ms with any hardware.
So, I know I'm repeating myself a little here.. but I think that these are the top priorities for developing the audio side of PD... If any of these can be solved by changing the GUI around than that's great, but I feel like the discussion has become more about aesthetics than function. The way PD looks is important, but only after the major functional issues have been resolved.
/* Matt Nish-Lapidus
www.ekran.org/mn-l matt@ekran.org // mattn-l@rogers.com
"What's this fish doing in my ear?" */