[LAU] [LAD] Linux Audio 2012: Is Linux Audio moving forward?

[Patrick Shirkey]

On Thu, October 11, 2012 4:25 pm, Oon-Ee Ng wrote:
> On Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 11:14 AM, Patrick Shirkey
> <pshirkey at boosthardware.com> wrote:
>> Given the very real increase in adoption of Linux across the globe and
>> the
>> inevitability of Linux and x86 on the mobile form factor it makes more
>> sense for audio companies to be early adopters.  We know for a fact that
>> the early adopters in the mobile world are going to have a better chance
>> of earning the dollars than the ones who are late to the party.
>
> I'm a lurker and not qualified to comment at the level of others in
> this thread, but this statement just gives me pause (at my level of
> ignorance).
>
> Random list of early adopters of various sorts in the related
> smartphone/tablet category:-
> 1. Palm (where've they gone?)

They were the dominant player for almost 10 years.

> 2. HP + Microsoft (oops)

You mean Nokia not HP right? Until Microsoft effectively took over Nokia
they were the largest mobile phone manufacturer on the planet and were
very supportive of Linux and Open Source in general.

> 3. Blackberry (still alive, though)
>

They were also dominant in their segment for about 5 years.

> Early adoption has its benefits. And its risks. Not really a
> set-in-stone fact, AFAICT.
>

If you look at the application side there are also a large number of
developers and small companies that made a lot of money from being first
to market in mobile before the competition became too widespread and
intense.

Android has the largest mobile OS installation base on the planet. It has
just reached over 45% of the tablet market too. When the native Linux
desktop is running on the next generation of mobile devices straight up
GNU/Linux will become a viable business option for mobile hardware
developers.

If you choose to include Android as a Linux system then we already have
the dominant OS on the planet. Linux is ubiquitous across embedded,
server, desktop and mobile. That makes the major players in the audio
industry behind the game at the moment. I'm sure it won't take them long
to catch up though. At least we can count on them being highly competitive
when they realise that if they stay behind the curve they will get left
behind by the market.



--
Patrick Shirkey
Boost Hardware Ltd