You guys mentioned Max/MSP.

I just got really lucky and signed on as a 'representing artist' with Cycling 74, the company that makes Max/MSP (and Pluggo, Radial, Jitter and Ms. Pinky) so I am just getting to know it as we speak, because I've never been on the Mac side of things before. I'm learning Os X and Win XP currently and my head is dizzy with trying to keep it all straight. It is not a simple learning curve but damn near anything seems possible,including designing your own personal
DSP processing objects. To me, it's really exciting that they finally ported it to Windows.

I also know that they are working hard to port PLUGGO to Windows. Watch out for that one, Win folks........it is a really great set of plugins that is supported by a really active group of amateur plug in users, which means lots and lots of really quirky and idiosyncratic plugins for sonic mangling.

Some of my favorite plugins for mangling sound have come from free and really small shareware companies (On the Win side, check out Tu2 (www.brambos.com) which is an amazing looping mangler that can create a great funky set of rhythms out of any ambient or even random .wav file) and the AnalogX and DestroyFX plugins that are free DX plugins and Granulab, a fantastic realtime Granular synthesis freestanding program that is worth every single penny of the $25 they charge for it.

Pluggo is like those in spirit.

And, while I"m here, I'll way in with the fact that Tri Repetae is my favorite Autechre CD and also, as mentioned above, I love the Basscad EP with it's creative use of what sounds like African iron bells...........great stuff. I'm more of a rhythm and form fan, personally.

It is ironic because my own music is a lot more 'outside' than my good friend John Zorko (who makes truly beautiful ambient and dark ambient music) and I like Tri Repetae (the more inside record) and he likes the latest Autechre stuff, some of which I find unlistenable, frankly.

It just shows you that it takes all types to make a community, eh?