14 Apr
2012
14 Apr
'12
8:38 p.m.
This is indeed a huge problem. USB devices should work across the board but
many do not or there is no mixer window available, etc. I have a Lambda which
works fine for audio and midi but no particular software support beyond ports
showing up on alsa and jack.
I have a dman2044, not the highest end but more than passable "pro" audio card
with a nice chunky breakbout box which uses real connectors, to 1/8 inch toys.
This is an obselete piece of hardware with no drivers beyond Windows 98! One
would think that the manufacturer would lose nothing by releasing interface
data to the community so an alsa driver could be developed. I guess they would
be happier if I buy a newer one, i.e. a Delta (which works with alsa). I'll
take a second hand one if someone wants to part with it but I have little
money for more and more hardware,just to have the same excuses a couple of
years down the road.
I beseech developers and manufacturers: Even if you are not interested in
opensource, creative-commons, and such, once a product is at the end of its
life cycle, please release code and specs to the community. Products that are
still actively sold and supported, at least yield information to the community
so we can develop drivers and software to continue using them. There is
nothing to lose and all to gain. We will love you for it and be more willing
to buy your products in the future