[linux-audio-user] best DISTRO?

[tim hall]

Last Saturday 20 November 2004 05:13, chaotic at free.net.nz was like:
> Hi,
> I haven't switched to linux yet
> but it's totally the way of the future,
> you people are closer to the zeitgeist than most.
>
> I want to use my laptop for audio
> and Agnula DeMudi sounds like the way to go for that
> but i've read Debian has quite a learning curve.

A/DeMuDi has smoothed out some of the Debian curve. The main difference is 
that Debian-based systems tend to use text files in /etc/ for configuration 
rather than GUIs. It's possibly the easiest to actually install, but I don't 
have much to compare it with. It's the only system I've used and it works for 
me. :-) Debian gets fiddly if your hardware needs closed-source drivers.

User-friendliness is such a subjective thing. I dumped Windows for DeMuDi  two 
years ago and I have not regretted one moment. Frankly, any UNIX-style system 
is more user-friendly than WinXP.

> I need a user-friendly computer
> for other stuff, the usual things and video production,
> and also because my computer-knowledge is limited.

I hear applemacs are quite user-friendly };-]

> So far I've been considering Mandrake but what i've read here
> [http://groundstate.ca/mdkaw] says installing the low-latency
> patch will compromise networld security, which is something i
> will need.  Is there any way around this?

I don't know networld. The first workaround is don't connect your box to a 
network. A/DeMuDi kernels don't need patching, it's been done for you. AFAIK 
there are no security issues apart from the fact that some audio apps need to 
run with root privileges (suid), which is a potential security risk. There 
isn't really any way round this. I don't think it would make any difference 
what system you use.

> Ubuntu Linux [http://www.ubuntulinux.org] is Debian and user
> friendly, is there a way to combine Ubuntu with DeMudi?
> If the Low-latency kernel from Agnula could be combined with
> Ubuntu it could make a great/user-friendly platform for audio
> production.

I wouldn't go any further down that train of thought if you're new to all 
this. Do a straightforward install of either:

AGNULA/DeMuDi
Mandrake + Thac's rpms etc.
Fedora + PlanetCCRMA

SuSE is also known to work and uses supposedly user-friendly GUI config tools.
Free, Austin/Thac, Fernando and all the other developers on this list [&c.&c.] 
have worked really hard to make multimedia systems that work pretty much 'out 
of the box'. Install and use one of these systems for at least a year before 
considering any kind of custom approach.

cheers

tim hall
http://glastonburymusic.org.uk