This is a little off subject from this list, but I was wondering if 
anyone knows how to encode a MIDI file on mac so PC users can listen to 
it on thier systems via the web.  My friend is trying to allow those 
interested in his research to listen to examples on his webpage, but 
often getting complaints back from PC users that they can't decode the 
MIDI files.  They are currently being encoded as .bin files.


Any reply would be helpful,

Thanx,  John Beahan 
 











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John Francis Beahan wrote:

> This is a little off subject from this list, but I was wondering if
> anyone knows how to encode a MIDI file on mac so PC users can listen
> to
> it on thier systems via the web.  My friend is trying to allow those
> interested in his research to listen to examples on his webpage, but
> often getting complaints back from PC users that they can't decode the
>
> MIDI files.  They are currently being encoded as .bin files.
>
> Any reply would be helpful,
>
> Thanx,  John Beahan 

unless i am mistaken, midi files should not have to be encoded at all.
their natural form is binary, right?  isnt that the purpose of midi
files, portability?

pete













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From: Michael Coble 
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John Francis Beahan wrote:
> 
> This is a little off subject from this list, but I was wondering if
> anyone knows how to encode a MIDI file on mac so PC users can listen to
> it on thier systems via the web.  My friend is trying to allow those
> interested in his research to listen to examples on his webpage, but
> often getting complaints back from PC users that they can't decode the
> MIDI files.  They are currently being encoded as .bin files.
> 
> Any reply would be helpful,
> 
> Thanx,  John Beahan 
> 
	
	Macintosh files have 2 parts, a data fork and a resource fork.  The resource
fork has all the icon information and a host of other changeable information,
like if you want your application program to have different languages in the
dialog boxes. All the resource information is proprietary information, so PC
and UNIX boxes can't use it.  Most of the time, if encoding a .bin Macintosh
file, then that means that it is a Macintosh binary file that has all the
resource information in it.  

	One solution is to export the MIDI file as a standard MIDI file and post it
to the net as raw data, not as as Macintosh binary format.  The software
program that exports as a standard MIDI file should make a file that is
readable to the Windows platform.  If the Windows box has Quicktime for
windows, or a suitable plugin to a browser, it can play inline to either an
external MIDI tone generator (if the user has one), or to the cheesy software
MIDI instruments in the plugin.

	hope this helps, 

-- 
Michael Coble, Time Inc. New Media, Pathfinder
Gallery: http://www.panix.com/~coble,  representing various artists
Home:    http://pathfinder.com/pathfinder/staff/mcoble/
Work:    http://www.pathfinder.com/