PD, also known as Pure Data, and Max/MSP/Jitters uglier country cousin is putting on the makeup. Two major differences from Max/MSP/Jitter is that PD is cross platform (Windows, Mac and Linux) and that it’s free. Another is that it has a reputation of being much harder to use. This has apparently been addressed in the latest release which sounds promising to noobs like me.
Peter Kirn over at Create Digital Music knows more about this.