Week 8 - The Maker Movement
I wanted to begin this blog post by first clarifying the following terms that we've come across in the course:
Free Software:
- The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
- The freedom to study how the program works and change it so it does your computing as you wish (freedom 1).
- The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbour (freedom 2).
- The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3).
Open Source Software
Open source software is software with source code that is publicly available under a license that gives users the right to study, change, and distribute the software as they wish.
Freeware
Unlike free software and open source software, freeware does not refer to or emphasise freedom in any way. Such software is still generally closed source or proprietary, such as Adobe Reader and Skype.
Back to the Makey Makey!
I felt this week was particularly significant to music education as it gave us an opportunity to explore a plethora of technological resources with can be largely designed and created by us as #SCMTME students! My personal favourite resource is the one pictured directly above. The basic principle behind it is that conductive (or electric) paint is connected with alligator clips to a circuit board which is then connected to a speaker. This project was intriguing to me as I am in the process of building DIY midi drum kits and am constantly re-considering my design to produce the most effective and efficient project possible. More specifically, I had considered using electric paint for the design of my drums, however for the larger size of drum pad I'm making, I feel that the piezo element would be far more effective. However, the electric paint would work really well for a smaller drum design (for example, finger drums!)
Reference List:
Amazon.com. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Rhode-Island-Novelty-Finger-Drum/dp/B00PAY0H2C [Accessed 27 Nov. 2019].
King. (2015, August 18). Free Software vs Open Source Software vs Freeware. Retrieved from https://www.maketecheasier.com/free-software-vs-open-source-vs-freeware/.