28 Nov
2004
28 Nov
'04
9:03 a.m.
Last Saturday 27 November 2004 21:36, Lee Revell was like:
On Sat, 2004-11-27 at 15:43 -0500, Lee Revell wrote:
Just to save people some googling here is a thread that documents the
long and colorful history of pro audio hardware manufacturers blatantly
ripping each other off, often leaving the victims with no legal
recourse:
http://homerecording.com/bbs/archive/index.php/t-74439.html
IMO the issue is not whether RME's concern is valid - clearly it is.
Sorry, but arguing otherwise makes us look stupid and naive. The issue
is how to address this concern. If that means a closed source Linux
driver, fine.
Maybe the reason no firewire hardware is supported is because Behringer
and their ilk would instantly have all the info they need to copy the
design and mass produce it. Doesn't matter how cheap the device is to
design - it will _always_ be cheaper to rip someone off than design it
yourself. They can even sell at a loss, due to huge cash reserves -
they only need to sustain it long enough to put the competition out of
business. In the case of the "Swizz Army Tuner", the original designers
were ripped off by Behringer, but a lawsuit would have bankrupted them
_even if they won_ so could not take action.
I think many people in this thread underestimate how cutthroat the
hardware business is.
Yeah, If I was the MD of RME, after reading some of the responses on this
thread I'd be thinking of flippin' the bird at all these ungrateful linux
users. We're a minority group and I think the onus is on us to convince RME
to produce a driver for their firewire hardware, politely and if necessary,
via the florists ;-). OK, so closed-source drivers are far from ideal, but
better than a hole in the head.
It means that the drivers can't be bundled with distros and we won't be able
to provide users & developers with technical support, which is a great shame.
However, I suspect a certain amount of well-reasoned persistence will pay off
here. Sure, our numbers on this list aren't great, but they are significant.
People are now migrating to GNU/Linux systems on a daily basis, even the
'newbies' on this list are probably considered to be 'computer gurus'
amongst
their immediate circle of friends. This list is the tip of an iceberg.
OK, _very_ few people are using firewire technology for music, up till now I'd
considered it the preserve of mac/motu users. I think we should continue to
support RME where licenses allow and look forward to the day that they
release their firewire drivers :-). I think we should keep up the pressure on
manufacturers like MOTU too. They'll see sense eventually. ;-]
Mine is an equally naive viewpoint, but with the knowledge that a little bit
of positive thinking can go a long way, especially when backed up with a
well-researched wish-list and plenty of patience. Three years ago, I thought
owning my own DAW on next to no money was a bit of a naive pipe-dream.
Uh, ... be careful what you wish for! ;-)
tim hall
http://glastonburymusic.org.uk
Did this
happen?
Maybe not to them but look at Mackie and Behringer.