FAQ - Miscellaneous Questions about Transcribe!

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1. "Is there a Transcribe! discussion forum?"

   There is a music transcribers' forum which contains a lot of Transcribe! users including me. See this page.

2. "Does Transcribe! run on handheld computers?"

   Generally speaking, the problems here are: (1) Different computer operating systems requiring major rewriting of Transcribe! (2) Small screen sizes requiring major redesign of Transcribe!'s graphical layout. (3) Different user-interface features such as specialised scrolling controls or the "pinch" idiom on the iPhone, which would again require redesign/rewrite of significant parts of Transcribe!

   We do not at present support any operating systems other than Windows, Mac & Linux, so if you have a device running Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm, or BlackBerry then sorry, no Transcribe!

   Mac: We do not at present support the iPod Touch or iPhone but I may take a look at them.

   Windows & Linux There are an increasing number of "sub notebooks" "mini notebooks" or "netbooks" becoming available these days. They may not be truly handheld but they are quite small. They typically have screens from 7 to 10 inches, proper keyboard layout (though very small) and internet connectivity by WiFi. Built-in 3G network connectivity is coming soon. Most of them are available in both Windows and Linux versions. The Windows versions are running XP or Vista so should naturally be compatible with Transcribe!. The Linux versions do in fact usually seem to be compatible with Transcribe! though this has to be tested for each model as they all use different Linux distributions.

   • The various Asus Eee models. I have the Asus Eee 900 (Linux) which runs Transcribe! very nicely, see here for more info. No doubt the Windows version would be ok too.
   • The Everex CloudBook. Windows should be fine. Please let me know if you try Transcribe! on the Linux version.
   • Elitegroup ECS G10IL. (available Sept 2008) Windows should be fine. Please let me know if you try Transcribe! on the Linux version.
   • Micro-Star International (MSI) Wind Netbook. Windows should be fine. Please let me know if you try Transcribe! on the Linux version.
   • Giga-byte M912X mini-laptop. Windows should be fine. Please let me know if you try Transcribe! on the Linux version.
   • Acer Aspire One. Windows should be fine. Please let me know if you try Transcribe! on the Linux version.
   • The "One Laptop Per Child" OLPC XO-1. Windows should be fine and I have heard that Transcribe! also runs fine on the Linux version.

   I'm interested to get feedback if you try Transcribe! on other small machines.

3. "Does Transcribe! work on 64 bit operating systems?"

   The short answer is "Yes". Transcribe! is a 32 bit application and I don't have plans at present to bring out a special 64 bit version. This is because I'm not at all sure that there would be any benefit. 64 bit is very beneficial for programs that want to deal with files or memory more than 4GB (such as movie production or large databases) but Transcribe! is not such a program, and might actually run slower in a 64 bit version.
   Windows: Transcribe! has been tested and runs fine on the 64 bit versions of Windows XP & Vista.
   Mac: it isn't an issue, Mac OS X does not have separate 32 bit and 64 bit versions.
   Linux: to run Transcribe! on 64 bit Linux you need to have the "32 bit compatibility layer" installed. If your distro has not included this by default then it won't run and "ldd -v transcribe" says "not a dynamic executable". You can install the 32 bit compatibility layer with "apt-get install ia32-libs" or something like that, appropriate for your distro.

4. "How do you slow down music without changing the pitch?"

   Click here for a discussion of the subject.

5. "Where can I find someone to transcribe some music for me?"
   "Do you accept music transcribing jobs?"

   No, I'm too busy working on the software and running Seventh String. Visit Google and search for "music transcription service". Or post a message to the MusicTranscribers discussion forum. Click here for more info about this.

6. "Is it possible to transcribe music automatically?"
   "Why does the automatic transcription program I have bought, produce such a useless result?"

   Automatic transcription of music is very difficult and as far as I know there is no program that can produce a usable result, unless possibly on some very simple material such as a one-note-at-a-time instrument recorded without accompaniment. Even then it probably won't get the rhythms anywhere near, though it should be able to recognise the notes.
   Certainly there is software out there that claims to do automatic transcription (click here) but in my view some of these products make rather exaggerated claims about what they can do. If you need help with using such products, ask them - not me!

7. "How can I get work as a music transcriber?"

   I would suggest you check out existing services to see what they offer (see the question just above). Set up a website offering your services. And then use your imagination (but don't use spam) to make people such as musicians, music publishers, etc, aware of your existence. It might be worth contacting existing transcription services as they might want to subcontract. Also you could post a message to the MusicTranscribers discussion forum. Click here for more info about this.

8. "Is there any printed documentation?"

   No. The Help files are all the documentation there is. If they are missing anything, please let me know.

9. "Is Transcribe! available in any language other than English?"

   Not at present. Transcribe! is aimed at a small niche market and does not at present earn the kind of money that could justify such effort and expense. I consider that developing the software further is a more effective way to spend my time. Maybe in the future.

10. "Do you intend to continue supporting Mac Classic?"

    Version 6 of Transcribe! is available for Mac OS 7.5 - 9.2 (now known as "Classic" Mac OS), and a separate version for OS-X. Version 6.00 for Mac Classic will remain available for as long as anyone wants it but will not be updated any more.

11. "Do you intend to continue supporting Windows 95/98/ME?"

    Version 6 of Transcribe! is available for these Windows versions. It will remain available for as long as anyone wants it but will not be updated any more.

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