Cycling ’74 has announced a major new upgrade to Max/MSP/Jitter.
According to David Zicarelli, Max 5 is based on being easier to use, easier to learn, and easier to deal with.
Highlights of Max 5
Easier to Use
- Multiple undo is available
- Objects interact with time in ways that are more meaningful than milliseconds
- The patcher is variable resolution and can be zoomed in and out
- A simplified and more consistent interface, identical on Mac and Windows
- A new object palette (with nice big resizable icons!) works as a visual catalog
Easier to Learn
- The documentation is completely integrated into the user interface
- A searchable database of objects, media, examples, and documentation integrates all of the provided material
- Introductory tutorials have been completely rewritten, and include integrated patches
- New interactive debugging tools make figuring out what your patch is doing (almost) fun
- Third-party object developers can now use all of our documentation tools for their products
Easier to Deal With
- The interface can easily be localized and customized
- A new file format is more readable, extensible and reliable
- Support for Unicode text and filenames
- A new interface layer — “Presentation Mode” – provides a new way to build user interfaces without cluttering your patch
- The installation and authorization experience is vastly improved
Max 5 will be released in the first quarter of 2008, and will include (and require) new versions of MSP and Jitter.
Since I have no Max experience other than using some of the VST plug-ins with the Pluggo run-time, I’ll recommend reading the CDM post on Max 5 for more insight and comments.
Visit Cycling ’74 for more information.
