Re: bounties

[Kieren MacMillan]

Hi David,

>> As for 'best tool for the job', what job are you referring to?  Are
>> you sure it is the job that everyone else is trying to do?
> 
> Getting the music from your head to paper.

Not that my opinion matters here, but...  :)

That is the *least* important part of Lilypond for me -- in fact, I couldn't 
care any less about it, from the point of view of my usage.

This is the classic "composer" versus "engraver" debate that has come up 
several times on the lists. I literally *never* use Lilypond to generate 
compositional material: I compose strictly with paper and pen[cil] -- at the 
piano and away from the computer -- and *only then* use Lilypond to engrave the 
final score(s). The closest I come to using Lilypond to "get music from my head 
to paper" is when I have to orchestrate a short score [written on manuscript] 
under an extreme time crunch; then, and only then, it is sometimes preferable 
[read: necessary] to skip the "intermediate step" of a full-score manuscript.

I know this is not the way everyone uses Lilypond, and I love open-source 
software precisely for the reason that everyone has an equal kick at the can, 
even if it means that "too many" resources are going to something I don't (and 
likely won't ever) need. The more popular Lilypond is, the better chance I 
probably have of getting my Lilypond needs fulfilled. However, for me 
personally -- i.e., how I will spend my assistance and sponsorship time, money, 
and effort -- trying to make Lilypond a better *composing* tool is a total 
non-issue, whereas fixing the innumerable *engraving* problems remaining to be 
solved is everything.

> Well, I hate doing serious work outside of Emacs.

I don't like Emacs: I've tried it for a number of things -- Lilypond, LaTeX 
(number theory papers), etc. -- and found that it got in my way constantly. 
Different strokes...

> You'll be fine raising grant money as long as you make case studies of 
> typesetting and theses.

That's probably an accurate assessment, at least in the immediate term. I think 
the point about "non-serviced communities" (e.g., unsighted, less affluent, 
etc.) is a good one, too. Platform options (i.e., emerging devices, where 
FinSib likely won't go) will become important very soon. And so on.

> But that's the whole thing: you won't be able to sell Lilypond to 
> universities.

Personally, I'm not trying to "sell Lilypond to universities", at least not in 
the way that particular phrase suggests (i.e., convince them to replace their 
current FinSib setup with Lilypond). I'm trying to make a case to a well-funded 
university (Rice) with a proven track record in the development and promotion 
of digital, open, on-demand publishing (Connexions) and a fabulous music school 
(Shepherd School) that there might be a great way to extend their publishing 
platform into the [essentially untapped] sphere of print music, and 
simultaneously support the development of an open-source application/community.

Cheers,
Kieren.