Editing Max (software) (section)

=== 1990s ===
Although Opcode launched its commercial version named ''Max'' in 1990, developed and extended by [[David Zicarelli]], the product was becoming a poor fit for Opcode, which was squarely towards commercial music production. Thus Zicarelli in 1997 acquired the publishing rights and founded a new company, Cycling '74, to continue commercial development.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Battino |first1=David |last2=Richards |first2=Kelli |title=The Art of Digital Music |date=2005 |publisher=Backbeat Books |isbn=0-87930-830-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/artofdigitalmusi00davi/page/110 110] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/artofdigitalmusi00davi/page/110 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://cycling74.com/company/|title=About Us|publisher=Cycling74.com|access-date=March 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://cycling74.com/support/faq_max4/|title=FAQ Max4|publisher=Cycling74.com|access-date=March 3, 2012}}</ref> The timing was fortunate, as Opcode was acquired by [[Gibson Guitar Corporation|Gibson Guitar]] in 1998 and ended operations in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.harmony-central.com/News/1999/Opcode-Changes.html |title=Harmony Central News |access-date=2018-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027094815/http://news.harmony-central.com/News/1999/Opcode-Changes.html |archive-date=2007-10-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

IRCAM's in-house Max development was also winding down; the last version produced there was ''jMax'', a direct descendant of Max/FTS developed in 1998 for [[Silicon Graphics]] (SGI) and later for [[Linux]] systems. It used Java for its graphical interface and C for its real-time backend, and was eventually released as [[open-source software]].
[[File:Setups @ One Step Beyond at Museum of Natural History 2010-09-09.jpg|thumb|200x200px|Various synthesizers and instruments connected to Max]]

Meanwhile, Puckette had independently released a fully redesigned open-source composition tool named ''[[Pure Data]]'' (Pd) in 1996, which, despite some underlying engineering differences from the IRCAM versions, continued in the same tradition. Cycling '74's first Max release, in 1997, was derived partly from Puckette's work on Pure Data. Called ''Max/MSP'' ("Max Signal Processing", or the initials Miller Smith Puckette), it remains the most notable of Max's many extensions and incarnations: it made Max capable of manipulating real-time [[digital audio]] signals without dedicated DSP hardware. This meant that composers could now create their own complex synthesizers and effects processors using only a general-purpose computer like the Macintosh [[PowerBook G3]].

In 1999, the [[Netochka Nezvanova (author)|Netochka Nezvanova]] collective released ''[[nato.0+55+3d|NATO.0+55+3d]]'', a suite of externals that added extensive real-time video control to Max.