Basic Info

App Name	Musicope
App URL	http://musicope.com/
App Version Reviewed	4.6.2013
Test System Specs	Windows 8, latest Chrome, latest Jazz plugin
Supported OSes	Windows, Mac (not tested) - limited only by the Jazz plugin
Support Methods	Forum Based (here or at http://qa.musicope.com/ )
Upgrade Policy	Not Necessary - Online Game
Trial Version Available?	Not Necessary - Open Source
Pricing Scheme	Free / Donationware
Author Donation Link	Donate to czb, the Author
Screencast Video URL	http://www.youtube.com/playlist?feature=edit_ok&list=PLJTN2AzTomOZT0UsWmIzc1FMsbufIUIGs
Relationship btwn. Reviewer and Product	REVIEWER: I am the author of the game.

Intro:

I have put together a small online open-source piano game. You connect an electric piano to your computer, install Jazz plugin to make Google Chrome communicate with the piano and then you start playing. I use it almost on every-day basis and I must say that I am very happy about it. It really helps me to play songs that I like in an easy manner!

I have prepared three small videos about the game. The first video shows the game in action. The second video gives a brief overview of the game. The third video shows how to change default parameters of the game.

PS: Don’t laugh :D. I know that the videos are VERY amateurish ;).


Preview:



Introduction:



How to change game parameters.

Here is a sample link which loads songs from my dropbox public folder.
http://piano.musicope.com/list/?l_songsUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fdl.dropbox.com%2Fu%2F4571%2Fmusicope%2Fsample-songs%2Fsongs.json




Who is this app designed for:

Musicope is for anybody who would like to play a piano in an easy manner.


The Good


Musicope helps in playing a piano quickly and without the need to learn notes. It is an online game and it is open source! This means that you can very easily integrate it into your blog or modify it to your needs.


The needs improvement section


The game is in its alpha phase. I have used it only together with my piano Yamaha PSR423. The game surely has many bugs and lacks plenty of features :). As for now, I am the only developer. More developers and testers are welcome to make the game better!


Why I think you should use this product


This game helps you to play the piano in a very easy manner. No need to learn notes. The game is free and open-source!


How does it compare to similar apps

There is Synthesia which is an offline paid alternative. There is also PianoCrumbs which is online and very limited with a lot of adds. This game is open source and free. It lack features that Synthesia has, but since it is open source, nothing restricts you to implement the features that you like!


Conclusions

I hope you like the game :) . If you have any comments, if you find any bugs (and there are many), or if you would like to contribute in any way, do not hesitate to contact me.

Check out this file:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HPP_small.gif

Its size is 39.74 MB and it is displayed and downloaded instantly. How is that possible? Gif having 40 MB!

It looks to me that DimScreen written by Skrommel does not lower down the screen Brightness, but does some other magic instead.

So I suggest:
In Windows 7, you can go to "Adjust screen brightness" and modify the screen brightness without a need of fn keys.

There exists a Backlight Control Interface:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa372656(VS.85).aspx

There exists VB.NET example:
http://www.dreamincode.net/forums/blog/rodgerb/index.php?showentry=596

Would it be possible to implement it into AHK? If not then I will try to do my best to code it using C#, F# or anything else, so there would be an option to adjust a real LCD brightness :Thmbsup: But I must warn you that I have a zero experience with Windows API!

Best regards,
Oldrich

PS: One additional idea: zero brightness = turned off LCD screen