[linux-audio-user] Opening up the discussion

[Joseph Dell'Orfano]

Just wanted to post my thoughts once again. I am a bona fide amateur
user, but serious enough to have a machine dedicated to my DAW. I have
been using PlanetCCRMA for a couple of years, with a delta 1010LT card
which worked out of the box. I loaded fedora core 2, followed the planet
instructions and had a completely functional DAW.

>From my perspective, I have been able to build my DAW without having to
sort through reams of documentation or sift through lists for answers.
Everything is nicely packaged already with PlanetCCRMA. 

-Joe Dell'Orfano 


On Sat, 2005-07-23 at 21:31 -0400, Dave Phillips wrote:
> Jono Bacon wrote:
> 
> >As some of you will be aware, I wrote the following article:
> >
> >  http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/7421
> >
> >After seeing this long thread on this list
> >(http://music.columbia.edu/pipermail/linux-audio-user/2005-July/025068.html),
> >I figured this poor schmuk should join up and share in some
> >discussion. :)
> >
> You're a brave lad, and you're most welcome here. :)
> 
> >Let me be totally clear here - I am really keen to explore everyone's
> >viewpoints about this subject. Although my views still stand, I am
> >more than happy to debate them, and I figured it would be great to
> >hear your thoughts on the list.
> >
> Very cool. The way I see it, your POV is certainly valid: after all, 
> your experience is what you experienced, and no amount of cheerleading 
> here makes it different.
> 
> You'll definitely hear us make recommendations re: bundles and distros, 
> but even that leads me to wonder about a few things, such as why I have 
> to advise a new user to install a particular distribution. Should he not 
> be able to use just any distro ? I know that certain versions of Windows 
> are recommended for audio work, but the matter is a little more 
> complicated in Linux-land.
> 
> Planet CCRMA and AGNULA/Demudi are wonderful, but you can't buy 'em at 
> Wal-Mart. You *can* buy a Red Hat or Debian distro there, but those are 
> quite unlikely to be acceptable for pro-standards audio work. The kernel 
> needs patched, lots of other stuff needs done, and none of it is going 
> to be especially clear or "easy" to a new user. I don't know what we as 
> a group can do to alleviate this situation. I don't get the impression 
> that the kernel and distro folk are very eager to set their sights on 
> pro-audio performance tuning specs.
> 
> >In the article I clarify the position that feature-wise, audio
> >production on Linux is pretty good. Many of the issues that I was
> >discussing were that some pre-requisite knowledge is required before
> >you can get started. It seems that to record on Linux you need to have
> >trawled through documentation, the archives for this list and read up
> >on the intracies of getting the different parts of the system working.
> >To me, this seems like a flaw in the offering - surely the user should
> >be able to get up and running straight away - they download their
> >package of choice, install and run. Would this not be better?
> >
> Indeed, see above. But in the absence of direct support from the 
> manufacturers we can only do what we can. Thank goodness for open-source. :)
> 
> >To direct the discussion further, I would be interested in your
> >thoughts on the following things:
> >
> > - do you all feel that it is fairly simple to get stated with Linux
> >and recording? Am I smoking crack? :)
> >
> It's simple enough for me, but I know exactly what I'm doing whenever I 
> install a new distro. Unless the user starts with a system such as 
> Demudi or PlanetC he's likely to be in for a rough ride. It's not 
> impossible to do it without the pre-formed systems, but it's certainly 
> easier to just go with the proven systems.
> 
> > - do you feel there is a seperation between a professional and an
> >amateur? So, the software would 'just work' for the amateur, but the
> >professional should really know the specifics of the system and how to
> >set it up.
> >
> I was thinking about it in terms of vehicles. You hop in your sedan, you 
> press buttons, push the shifter to D, and off you go. You hop in my 327 
> Chevy with four on the floor, no power steering, no power brakes... 
> well, it ain't gonna "just work", but I can demonstrate that it beats 
> the paint off your sedan. So perhaps the "just works" mantra is only 
> applicable within certain definitions.
> 
> Now, most folks might like the idea if driving that 327, thinking about 
> controlling that beast, but when they get inside and don't see the 
> familiar amenities, most will want their sedans back again. The ones who 
> learn to handle the Chevy do get something better for their efforts, but 
> real effort is involved.
> 
> Fortunately there's room on the road for both vehicles. :-)
> 
> > - if you do feel it is a bit tough to get up and running without
> >reading up on all of this, what do you feel are the barriers, both
> >technical and socially? I am curious to see whether these barriers
> >could be solved.
> >
> I see good stuff happening, particularly with Christoph's training 
> videos, and the such neat additions as JP Mercury's AVIs demonstrating 
> how to use his FreeWheeling. More movement in that direction would be 
> helpful.
> 
> >As I say, I am keen to engage in some constructive discussion here,
> >and I look forward to your thoughts. :)
> >  
> >
> I'm happy to see you here, Jono, and I hope we can make your visit 
> worthwhile. Please let me know if you have any specific questions, and 
> feel free to write either on-list or off.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Dave Phillips
> 
> 
-- 
Joseph Dell'Orfano <fullgo at dellorfano.net>