Kitten leverages some opportunities surfaced while Lynx Crowe was programming for a synthesizer, while working with Gibson, GWIZ Labs and University of California at Berkeley. The work at the time was called ZIPI and some history is provided at the UC Berkeley site, as well as at missinglynxsystems.com

Based on what UC Berkeley currently has posted on ZIPI, and a standard they seem to have developed since - OSCP - I asked Lynx to comment on where Berkeley and he have taken this protocol development since...

FROM LYNX CROWE:

Hi Norm,

I'm aware of OSCP, and how it relates to ZIPI. Remember, Kitten is nothing like ZIPI. MPDL was a layer 7 interface for musical instruments, and while it had an interesting addressing structure, it didn't work well, which is why they went to OSCP. While the critiques of ZIPI are correct, as ZIPI was defined then, they do not apply to Kitten, as it's a very different networking scheme, and only distantly related to ZIPI. I can do a complete critique of ZIPI vs OSCP vs Kitten, and if we need it, I will. Kitten is superior to IEEE-1394, and it would be more important to do a critique of that spec vs Kitten, than to waste more time on ZIPI and OSCP.

Regards,
-Lynx

FROM UC BERKELEY SITE:
cnmat.cnmat.berkeley.edu/ZIPI/

ZIPI Home Page
Introduction
ZIPI was first described in the Winter 1994 issue of the Computer Music Journal.

What happened to ZIPI?
ZIPI was first described in the Winter 1994 issue of the Computer Music Journal. As with all networking protocols, widespread adoption is critical to their long-term success. Since there were no products announced incorporating ZIPI and none currently in development, it is fair to say that ZIPI is history. I am not qualified to explain why this happened, but it is interesting to examine the ZIPI effort with a view to using its technical contributions in future systems.

Critique
Starting from the bottom up in the OSI layer model, let's look at the physical and data link model proposed in ZIPI. It is clear that IEEE1394 supercedes ZIPI in every respect. It is cheaper since it doesn't require a hub and has simpler interface requirements to modern, high-performance processors. IEEE 1394 is much faster than ZIPI. IEEE1394 includes an isolated, power distribution scheme and hot plugging, unavailable in ZIPI.

A key contribution of ZIPI is the Music Parameter Description Language. Much of the MPDL design involves details of minimal bit encodings for byte-oriented communications over the envisaged physical layer. The huge jump in network bandwidth since ZIPI and the high cost of converting from bit and byte encodings to floating point arithmetic suggest this part of ZIPI is also obsolete.

A contentous part of the MPDL proposal is an explicit addressing hierarchy which is constrained due to bit encoding decisions.

MDPL is the first music network proposal to afford explicit time tagging and latency constraints. MPDL encodes parameters from a rich control space allowing for wind instruments, bowed and plucked strings, and keyboards (MIDI's strength). For the first time, encoding of psychoacoustically-motivated paramaters are included, such as loudness and timbre space. Sound spatialization parameters are also included.

Another important contribution was a scheme to allow ZIPI devices to be queried.

These are lasting contributions that can be readily including in future protocols.

What's Next?
A new team with Adrian Freed and Amar Chaudhary, Sami Khoury, and a couple of the original ZIPI designers, Matt Wright and David Wessel, have developed Open Sound Control Protocol. This protocol, although borrowing nothing from the ZIPI specification itself, addresses many of the issues discovered in the ZIPI effort within the context of networking technology that will be available over the next 10 years.

cnmat.cnmat.berkeley.edu/OpenS...ntrol/

Here’s the Executive Summary of what was sent out to Northeast Ohio entrepreneurship development leadership, regarding Missing Lynx Systems...

Welcome your feedback.

Norm Roulet
norm@icearth.com
1-925-866-4123

Missing Lynx Systems, Inc.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The purpose of this business plan is to identify strategic partners who value the opportunity to personally help invent innovative products, reinvent Cleveland’s economy, grow a landmark multi-billion dollar enterprise, and profit greatly. This is an opportunity to work with “Thomas Edisons” to develop in Northeast Ohio the next Menlo Park.

Missing Lynx Systems, Inc., (MLS) seeks one or several strategic partners – individuals, foundations and/or corporations – interested to help fund, co-locate and expand this expert genius-based information technology (IT) research and development enterprise, to immediately commercialize two core inventions and further into production many others - with the majority of operations, production and manufacturing facility and job growth occurring in Northeast Ohio, quickly creating 100s of high-value jobs and strong tax revenues.

Missing Lynx Systems was founded in 1999 by D.N. “Lynx” Crowe and Mary Mason. CTO Lynx Crowe has been at the forefront of IT programming and engineering for thirty-nine years, having formally entered the business as the youngest employee in the history of renowned Collins Radio (now Rockwell) – at age 15 he was senior electronics technician on the NASA ground timing system for the Apollo space mission. He has since mastered over 60 computer languages and been lead or only programmer or engineer in the successful development of over 70 products… ranging from code we all use every day to SCADA systems for major distribution facilities. Now, Lynx will have an even greater impact on all our lives.

Missing Lynx Systems’ mission is to apply simple yet elegant technological solutions to everyday problems encountered in a wide variety of home, organization and industrial settings. Missing Lynx Systems is designing and engineering cutting edge technological products to manufacture and license for third-party production and distribution.

Our first two products, IBIS (Integrated Business Information Systems), a revolutionary Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, and Kitten, an undoubtedly superior network protocol and technology, each will grow into multi-billion dollar divisions or separate operating companies.

IBIS brings Fortune 100 ERP management capabilities to small to mid-sized enterprises, at nominal cost and migration effort – quickly paying for itself and significantly improving business operations effectiveness. In developing IBIS, Lynx has made full use of his breadth of IT and general systems theory knowledge of how businesses and organizations work, to develop the missing link between business management and organizational knowledge.

Kitten is a profound networking innovation, superior to Ethernet and every other protocol in use today. Kitten presents a solution that is faster, more efficient, more secure, less expensive, and easier to implement than what is currently available, and will meet any imaginable future needs.

Technically, Kitten is a plug-and-play, platform independent, peer-to-peer, dynamically reconfigurable, variable bandwidth, intelligent, deterministic, robust, self-addressing, stackable token ring, networking device and protocol which uses a new variable length addressing scheme that handles up to 99 trillion addresses, enough for MEM's and nanotech, and is fast enough to drive optic nets and handle multiple video conferences, in real-time, without slowing down the rest of the network.

The billions of dollars in revenues from IBIS will come from software license sales, service and support, while revenues from Kitten will come from application and technology sales, licensing, service and support. Market distribution for each can be realized in a number of ways, including:

• Direct Sales, Publisher Distributors, VAR and OEM
• Exclusive License
• Joint Venture or Partnership
• Multiple Non-Exclusive Licenses

Other products in development for production are:

• The Camera Assistant: a motion capture and programmable motion guidance system for the film and video industry.
• Mr. Foley: synthesizer for sound effects as well as music
• Catcall: the next generation of on-hold music and messaging for business
• All Software Synthesizer: CD-ROM software for musical synthesizers
• Real-Time Metatools: an advanced set of programming tools for real-time and embedded systems programmers
• Magic Glove: virtual reality-based control system for lighting/audio/set control
• Script X: XML/Java-based scripting and database product for media production

The following are leaders of the executive staff:

M. James Sawyer, Ph.D., CEO
D.N. Lynx Crowe, CTO and Chief Programmer
Mary Mason, COO, President, and Chief Designer
Bradford Lyau, MBA, Ph.D., Chief Public Affairs Officer

For Northeast Ohio, Missing Lynx Systems will quickly create 100s of knowledge-based jobs, to be filled by locally trained employees and select outside experts, co-located there to co-invent products and services. Names of these experts are available upon request. Be it said, Lynx Crowe is not the only genius on tap for this Menlo Park, and we expect to nurture a next generation of them right at home.

In addition to creating 100s of high value jobs, over our first three years there MLS will generate and spend $100,000,000s for payroll, vendor services, facilities, equipment and taxes, greatly improving the local economy. And MLS is committed to supporting urban Cleveland development, intending to convert existing factory or warehouse space into R&D laboratories, with live/work facilities, establishing a 24x7 high energy collaborative creation environment unique to any community – that will add to the creative renaissance already underway in Cleveland.

Missing Lynx Systems will operate in the best traditions of 3M, Collins Radio, Hewlett-Packard and Thomas Edison's conglomerate at Menlo Park – some of the finest wealth producing engines of all time. We encourage inventive, entrepreneurial, philanthropic Cleveland area leaders who want to contribute an important, high visibility gift to their community, and add substantial wealth benefits to their portfolios - read through this overview of our plans, and get in touch with the members of the executive staff to discuss where Missing Lynx fits in your legacy.

For more information, visit missinglynxsystems.com