Hacking NIMEs

Abram Hindle

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract:

NIMEs typically focus on novelty but the cost of novelty is often to ignore other non-functional requirements and concerns such as usability or security. Digital security has probably not been a concern for performers due to the duration of their performances and lack of disrespectful hackers, known as crackers, in attendance carrying the appropriate equipment and software necessary to hack a performance. Yet many modern NIMEs could be hacked from smart-phones in the audience. The lack of security hardening makes NIMEs an easy target --- but a question arises: if hacking can interrupt or modify a performance couldn't hacking itself also be performance? Thus would music hacking, live-hacking, be similar to live-coding? In this paper we discuss how NIMEs are in danger of being hacked, and yet how hacking can be an act of performance too.

Citation:

Abram Hindle. 2016. Hacking NIMEs. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1176026

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{Hindle2016,
 abstract = { NIMEs typically focus on novelty but the cost of novelty is
often to
ignore other non-functional requirements and concerns such as
usability or security. Digital security has probably not been a
concern for performers due to the duration of their performances and
lack of disrespectful hackers, known as crackers, in attendance
carrying the appropriate equipment and software necessary to hack a
performance. Yet many modern NIMEs could be hacked from smart-phones
in the audience. The lack of security hardening makes NIMEs an easy
target --- but a question arises: if hacking can interrupt or modify
a performance couldn't hacking itself also be performance? Thus
would music hacking, live-hacking, be similar to live-coding? In
this paper we discuss how NIMEs are in danger of being hacked, and
yet how hacking can be an act of performance too.},
 address = {Brisbane, Australia},
 author = {Abram Hindle},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.1176026},
 isbn = {978-1-925455-13-7},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 pages = {359--364},
 publisher = {Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University},
 title = {Hacking NIMEs},
 track = {Papers},
 url = {http://www.nime.org/proceedings/2016/nime2016_paper0070.pdf},
 year = {2016}
}