Knut wrote:I think the OP's question is totally valid, and I agree with him that there is a tendency by some users to dismiss posts like this out of hand as unconstructive complaints. Even though this is not an official forum, I think it is a totally legitimate arena to spike some debate about what's going on with MM and why they haven't pursued this technology, which is what I think the OP is simply trying to do.
That said, I think the answer to the question is simple; it's a matter of resources. If Mark Adler had enough time, money and developers at his disposal to realise something like this, I sincerely doubt that he would have dismissed tablet support as a gimmick. However, MakeMusic hasen't released anything substantial for quite a while, and as far as I've read, there are no plans to do so in 2018 either. It seems pretty clear that MakeMusic is either struggling or taking their time to release something truly extraordinary, while in the mean time fixing as many bugs as they can and releasing the occasional minor update. The only planned substantial overhaul I've seen confirmed is Finale's text capabilities, which, although certainly needed, seems hardly enough to attract many new customers or wow a lot of the old ones.
Additonally, MM also has to weigh their commitment to Finale with that to SmartMusic, which, while it may not be of particular interest to many of us, seems to bring in a substantial amount of the company's revenue.
Whatever the case may be, tablet support would require time and resources that I think both MakeMusic and a majority of Finale users would rather spend differently. Personally, I have no doubt that this is the right move. Time will tell if the results will come soon enough.
Knut wrote:
I don't believe the OP is accusatory at all, but it certainly is provocative and challenges other forum members to debate the issue. But what's wrong with that? There seems to be a lot of emotion and loyalty issues surrounding notation software. Generally, people don't take kindly to criticism of their beloved programme, unless it's carefully worded with a very positive framing to soften the edges. Harsh or acidulous critiques of competitive products, however, is generally not a problem. It's fascinating, really.
Thank you very much Knut for your words, that is exactly what I meant.
I do agree that the post title is kind of provocative but please, don't take it in a wrong way! My intention was purely to create a debate among forum members, even knowing that this isn't an official MM forum.
Talking strictly about Finale's "untouchscreen" support
I don't mind if Finale can't handle pen input... actually, it can! I used Finale on my Surface Pro 4 with the pen, and it just reacted as mouse, no problem with that. (I think even palm rejection worked as well). My biggest complain is the lack of some basic gestures like "Pinch to zoom" or "Two fingers scrolling". I don't think having those features will harm anyone, actually it will make the user experience much more pleasant, faster and definitely is not a gimmick anymore. Never was...
MuseScore, Sibelius, Dorico, are moving in that direction, at least supporting some basic touchscreen gestures.
Talking about my way of english writing: I always believed that my english was good enough for forum posting... apparently not.
I apologize if my way of writing and/or expressing was not appropriate and led to a misunderstanding. I can still try in German, Italian or Spanish if you all want!
Greetings!