[linux-audio-dev] Live music performing setup using VNC?

[Bengt Gördén]

On Mon, Jan 16, 2006 at 03:09:03AM +0100, Ferdinand Vesely wrote:
> Hello!
> 
> I'm not quite shure, if this belongs here, or to the LAU list, but I am
> subscribed here, so this is why I post it here. First, let me explain:
> I'm in an urgent need for a notebook, as I am a university student
> (from Slovakia) working as a part time PHP programmer and playing in a
> (prog)rock band. I don't have much money I can spend on that book and I
> need it now, so I am considering buying a refurbished IBM ThinkPad 600X
> (PIII/450MHz, 128 or 256 MB RAM, 12 GB HDD). I'm not very demanding,

Just some thoughts about laptops and audio. This might not be
relevant to you because you will work with VNC or something
similar in the end. But any way.

My experience is that it is some what a coin flip if you will be able
to do some real audio work with a laptop. Especially an older one. The
SMBus (system management bus) is in a lot of cases something that you
can't tamper with and that means that the management kicks in once in
a while. On my really lousy Acer Ferrari 3000 (soon to be exchanged
with an IBM/Lenovo) the SMBus starts every 50 second and then after 10
second the fourth time. This system management will affect your
xruns. I hear a click every 50 sec (and then after 10 sec also). This
is nothing that I can do anything about because it is not reachable
from software.

So I would not by a PC-laptop to do serious audio work. I don't know
every (in fact I've only tested 3 of them) vendor out there so there
could be good laptops two. If you really want to buy one. Try it out
with a Live-CD (for audio first).

I can't find the references now for the SMB-thing but it was Alan Cox
that saw this first. You should be able to find it in the kernel-list
archives. 

regards,


- Bengan -------------------------------------------------------------
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