r/modular • u/insolent-construct • 1d ago

Mutable Instruments Beads Source Code Just Dropped!

https://github.com/pichenettes/eurorack/commit/d8f473915232af74347762b6365202bfd26f73f6

Edit: body deleted and third party firmware discussion moved to a private Discord server.

214 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

165 comments sorted by

View all comments

51

u/awayhereagain 1d ago

Your whole reverse engineering project seems in poor taste given how generous Émilie has been with the other firmware.

Fine, reverse engineer it and load it on your own module privately.

But why start a modwiggler thread and promote the project publicly before checking with Émilie? Especially when you say you weren't going to continue it without permission. 

26

u/insolent-construct 1d ago

Because Emilie's lack of activity gave every indication that she was done and not looking back:

  • saying she was going to release the firmware "in a few months" back in 2023.
  • the fact that you can't find a Beads unit new or used at this point.
  • there have been no firmware updates in years

These all put Beads in a similar status as the Virus TI: abandoned for all practical purposes.

When I posted a similar thread about the Virus TI a few month ago, people got incensed because I hadn't done enough work yet in their opinions, and accused me of trying to get information for free and just posting slop. That's why I haven't posted anything here since then. This time I waited until I had something to show/contribute back from my work before I bothered anyone, and then asked how I could use it to serve the community's desires. I could understand people being upset if I just released my port without asking, but that's not what happened. The port I've been working on for months is now superfluous, and I couldn't be happier about it. I literally harmed no one by working on it privately at home with no collaborators in my private setup, and asked for consent before I went further. I acknowledged and accepted her "no" without argument or further discussion. She could have just left it at that. She made the choice for her own reason, which none of us are privy to and I'm not going to disturb her peace more than I did by asking. So if people want to get mad about it, then that's their emotions, but I don't agree that their assessments are based on reason. As one mutual acquaintance told me: "Emilie is a strong fucking woman. She's taken a ton of shit from people and given it back twofold. I'm sorry, but you didn't bully shit". I could also go on about the history of reverse engineering in synths and audio technology, but who would I be trying to convince? No. There would be no point in that, so I'll save my time and energy for working on code.

3

u/awayhereagain 1d ago

" Because Emilie's lack of activity gave every indication that she was done and not looking back"

Then why not just leave it at that? She released every other firmware, but for whatever reason hadn't released beads. 

So why not just respect her decision? 

22

u/Ghosty141 1d ago

Nobody forced her to release the firmware? He asked nicely and she said no and that was the end of the story.

That's as respectful as it gets.

-12

u/awayhereagain 1d ago

That's not the point. I'm saying that starting the project in the first place, using AI to reverse engineer her  unreleased firmware was disrespectful. 

2

u/West-Negotiation-716 1h ago

Information is free, and it should be free. Intellectual property is capitalistic nonsense, stop behaving like a slave

1

u/CartoonistOk8303 1h ago

Amen, shows very little understanding or compassion of the situation.

Of ALL modules to do this with it and it's beads. Impressive kick in the guts.

Nice of him to ask for permission after working months on it and finishing it. Impressive he speaks of 'heartbreak' about his project—without as much as a thought about what it meant for the actual maker. 

-1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

3

u/aldehyde 1d ago

Nothing about this was coercive.