[LAU] pol

[shane richards]

I can attest that being "guerillas" can only go so far. I know Patrick, Paul etc. have also tried both the "technical" and the "buddy-buddy" approach. It's not working. I've commented before that all the engineers and musicians I've worked with are now not only comfortable with my "nerdy" system being patched in, but also interested in some of the tools we have as native.

 BUT

 It's when they ask about such things as hardware support - well, I wouldn't even know what to buy these days...and I've been a Linux enthusiast for 15 years now. When I finally find the information needed, it seems (to them) to be a little "BBS like", and it's a turn off for many people. The drivers list was mentioned earlier, and I often look at that list and think "I really can't be bothered figuring out which card contains what chip that doesn't conflict with some stupid video driver". The latter being a deplorable situation in Linux and really needs to be fixed - I mean video drivers/chips that conflict with audio? Ridiculous. And much of this you only find out *after* making said hardware purchase. People down this part of the world don't have that kind of money to spend - a new Hammerfall means hard saving (huevos y arroz!) for a year or so for a youngish person. That's a real gamble, and a turnoff.

 Now, if those pages featured the ocaissional advert for Linux friendly audio products/services, it might provide a "tipping-point" for a few people. I could point to a picture and say - what about this product? I've seen this at play - the difference in attitude after showing some of the Mixbus commercials is what enabled me to convince a few people to tryout Ardour, before perhaps buying its commercial spin-off, or donating. Also, I've noticed that a certain brand of hardware VST unit is Linux/wine under the hood. When I was able to point at that well-known name, sitting in the middle of the rack, attitudes immediately changed. The first thing they did was check the adverts on the net. Then came the smiles. These people couldn't give a hoot about philosophy.

 So if some ads on a website can improve the image and knowledge of what people on this list are doing, and help pay for a website, I'm all for it.

 Shane.

 PS: why is it that everytime this subject comes up, I'm in Ecuador? Spooky correlation...
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