[Consortium] RE: Linux Audio

Hi Collin, There is really no short answer to your concerns as you've touched upon many facets, all of which require an individual attention. What I can try to do is jumpstart discussion that may shed some light as to what can be done to assist you in transition. Here are some pointers you may want to be aware of: 1) Native VST on Linux is very much feasible (as a matter of fact there were/are a number of projects which are designed to make transition of VST plugins onto the Linux platform as seamless as possible). So, the problem is not in Linux, but rather the viability of its market and subsequently interest of VST makers to port their plugins over. 2) Apart from stuff stated in 1), we also have a somewhat dubious license from Steinberg (something we are working on right now, but no particular deadline and/or projected outcome can be given at this point in time) which discourages its seamless implementation into GNU/GPL and/or LGPL environment. So again, it is not necessarily that Linux audio platform is not capable and/or community is not willing, but it is a matter of factors outside our control. 3) There are a number of projects which utilize Wine engine to run Win32 code VSTs in Linux, but as you may guess, their success rate is difficult to quantify as neither Wine project nor the way how some of the proprietary VSTs utilize Win32 API are consistent. Hence, it is a hit'n'miss deal. 4) FWIW, Linux has now two frameworks for VST-like plugins (which are IMHO superior to VST API). Apart from the older LADSPA format, we also now have DSSI and L2. Alas, it is again a matter of the community (and more importantly industry) adopting these frameworks in order to allow for cross-pollination of plugins. 5) As far as the streamlining of the UI/GUI eye-candy and/or UI friendliness are concerned, I hope you'll agree that beyond the basic serviceability, this is pretty much in the eye of a beholder. Personally, as an artist, I would rather prefer to make a really cool piece with my laptop's screen looking like bunch of ugly glyphs, than wasting precious cycles on eye-candy whose UI merit is dubious at best (and more often than not serves to hinder my real-time-oriented endeavors, i.e. can you imagine repatching Reason in a live performance, using its pretty but otherwise in essence kludge interface). That being said, there are genuine efforts at beautifying audio-oriented UIs (see Hydrogen, Ardour, Jamin), but please also understand that most of the LA contributions are labor of love and as such are designed around very limited resources. That being said, since our efforts are freely shared within the community, it would be nice to see everyone's involvement in making the overall experience as enjoyable as possible. What this means is that even if someone does not have the programming chops, they could still contribute graphics and/or other things that would help us get there. As for the rest, perhaps the community would like to comment more? Best wishes, Ivica Ico Bukvic, D.M.A. Linuxaudio.org Director Virginia Tech Department of Music - 0240 Blacksburg, VA 24061 (540) 231-1137 (540) 231-5034 (fax) ico(a)linuxaudio.org http://www.music.vt.edu/people/faculty/bukvic