[LAU] Here we go again (slashdot)

[Jay Vaughan]

At 8:56 +0100 9/5/07, James Stone wrote:
>It's amazing how a flashy GUI can make people forget their Free
>principles.


I've been a Linux fanboix since the days of the minix-list posting, a 
Mac dilettante since the release of the tiBook, and a slashdot nerd 
since Chips&Dips, and all I can say about this is that if you don't 
like the site, either contribute to it in a way that brings about 
change, or don't bother reading it .. this is how it goes.

That said, every time there is a Linux music thread on slashdot, and 
there have been quite a few over the years, I eagerly digest 
everything offered .. and it seems to me that there has been nothing 
but positive, good news to be gleaned through all the baiting and 
badgering going on from both Windows-fanatic and Apple-fanatic camps, 
eager to get in there and dig their own holes around just how great 
Linux is for music-making, while some of us just quietly install, 
setup, config and use, use, use ...

I've a multi-platform discipline in my music-making studio - a nice 
Linux laptop with all the latest (Ardor, Jack, Bristol, rosegarden 
etc.) that runs extremely stable and is very well behaved for most of 
my jam sessions, paired to a Presonus FirePod, and as well a 
Powerbook running all the latest Mac-ware too, and in a pinch, if I 
needed it, I could boot to WinXP and Sonar and try that out as well 
.. but since I'm primarily a hardware-using musician with a room 
literally full of synths, and prefer to stay out of the virtual noise 
world, I don't have any glitches with either platforms that preclude 
me making music - they all Just Plain Work.  And that goes for Linux, 
100%.  Its a rock solid DAW for me, and I'm very proud of the 
progress thats been made by the Linux audio software community over 
the last decade .. its definitely a winning team, in my opinion, 
especially in light of the dismal scene of music software, in general 
(very, very slow progress towards new paradigms that would make more 
sense than your average Tracker..)

So maybe we shouldn't get too upset by a few snipey types on /., yo 
.. its clear the progress is superlative on the Linux audio front, 
and there is a lot of hope for more and more interesting ideas which 
implement Linux-style tools and techniques, on the horizon, yet .. 
which may also break a few rules along the way as well.

I, for one, welcome our non-Pro Tool using performance-based Linux 
Music overlords ..

-- 

;

Jay Vaughan