MIDI and Macintosh: Searching for a better mousetrap

This paper will explore how MIDI (musical instrument digital interface)-technology can benefit researchers interested in using Apple Macintosh computers for stimulus control and response timing. One example presented here will illustrate how MIDI equipment can be adapted to provide millisecond precision response timing that cannot be obtained with solely software-based timing techniques. Another example will show how to use MIDI to control sound-generating devices that far surpass the sound-producing capabilities built into the Macintosh. There will also be a discussion of how certain MIDI equipment can provide information on the velocity and the duration of a response that is not available with traditional laboratory hardware. The examples presented here rely on a commercial software library called MIDIBASIC that was designed to be used with Microsoft QuickBasic. The availability of a millisecond timer that can be called from QuickBasic may offer a special advantage for researchers who have previously written programs in an Apple II environment using AppleSoft Basic.