[LAD] [LAU] So what do you think sucks about Linux audio ?

J. Liles malnourite at gmail.com
Wed Feb 6 23:36:30 UTC 2013


On Wed, Feb 6, 2013 at 3:18 PM, michael noble <looplog at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 11:58 PM, Dave Phillips <dlphillips at woh.rr.com>wrote:
>
>> What I'm more interested in is what *you* think is missing most or just
>> plain wrong about the situation.
>
>
>
> I started using linux for audio primarily for sooperlooper, which at the
> time (over ten years ago i think) was the best if not the only EDP
> emulation for any platform. It worked great then, and it still works great,
> so from that perspective, nothing is wrong with linux audio for me, except
> for the constant hand-wringing and complaining that something is wrong with
> linux audio!
>
> But of course, that is not the whole picture. Every now and then I wish
> there was a native linux audiomulch equivalent, for example, but then I
> usually get to thinking how wrong-headed such desires seem. Windows or OSX
> never really evolved as audio platforms trying to emulate Windows or OSX so
> much, they evolved as platforms for music creation in their own terms.
> That's somewhat naive and an over simplification I realize, because for
> sure different software packages emulated and influenced each other, and
> even MS and Apple have always had their tensions about who truly innovated
> various features (and even linux can stake a claim in that respect).
>
> But my point is that expecting linux to be just like one of those
> platforms seems dunderheaded to me. So one of the things wrong with linux
> audio (for me) is the constant stream of expectations to replicate the
> experience of other platforms. It may happen, but I don't think it is a
> worthy drive for development. Yes, certain features may be worth emulating,
> but often times I get the feeling that people have a working setup on
> another platform, and then complain mostly because they have to give that
> up when they switch platforms. They then  get increasingly frustrated as
> they realize things will just not be the same as they were when they had a
> working setup on the other platform. Which often makes me question why some
> people switch at all.
>
> A lot of the points raised in this thread are perfectly valid I'm sure
> from the perspective of the individuals raising them, and that's what this
> thread is about, but I'm going to take a stand against what seems to a
> trend of slagging the "audio geeks". For me that is exactly what makes
> linux unique, interesting, fun, and yes, sometimes frustrating. It is a
> system where the whole system is available to play and learn and grow as
> you grow as a musician or sound designer. Its never-ending openness and
> diversity limits its effectiveness in emulating windows or OSX, but linux
> offers an open palette of learning opportunities. Linux has taught me more
> about system design and the bigger picture of digital audio than Windows
> and OSX ever did. Of course, that's hard to quantify because who knows what
> might have happened if I didn't switch all those years ago (for one thing I
> might have made more music and spent less time learning about systems), but
> linux is what it is and I'd rather spend time taking advantage of what it
> is and then bemoaning what it isn't, as difficult as that can be sometimes.
>
> 2 minor units of currency
> Michael
>

Very well put.
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