Re: [LAU] introducing l2ork

I agree that parts of the site are incomplete, mainly because the site is still growing (just as we are through our maiden L2Ork voyage that began this fall), so some confusion is naturally warranted. That said, Alex has described it very well. L2Ork basically is a laptop orchestra that uses Linux rather than Mac platform (as is the case with PLOrk and SLOrk), and as such is as far as I know World's first laptop orchestra using Linux. Since we are still in early stages of development, a lot of things are up in the air. As of right now what I can divulge about the project is following: HARDWARE: Apart from homebrew speakers, we are using MSI Wind netbooks, wiimotes and nunchuk as main sources of input (in addition to obviously keyboard and mousepad), UA-1G soundcards (basically rebranded UA-1EXs under Cakewalk-Edirol brand). The speakers have built-in preamps and allow easy exchange of discrete 6-channel and mono setup using two different types of cables (one is 6-pin XLR to 6 mono TSs, the other is 6-ping XLR to RCA). We currently do not use balanced audio feeds as each system is self-enclosed and requires minimal cable lengths. As a result, we've encountered no ground loop issues and/or similar major degradations in audio fidelity. Speakers have theoretical range of 50Hz-30KHz. That said, 50Hz sounds rather weak so we also supplement our setup with subs. Theoretical peak amp power of the three embedded amps is 15 Watts per channel, while each speaker cone peak amp power is 25 Watts. We've retrofitted amps to improve sound fidelity (based on online docs for the Dayton DTA-1 class amps). For more info on this one please see online videos. Regarding the actual loudness, suffice to say to run these at maximum possible strength without distortion for prolonged periods of time will undoubtedly result in hearing loss. SOFTWARE: We use modified version of Ubuntu 9.04. Rather than issuing tons of various scripts/patches, we maintain an in-house disk image of the entire HD. This thing should be available soon for download for those who wish to burn their bandwidth :-). This is mainly because we don't have enough man hours to actually build user-friendly patch system for the amounts of updates we issue on a weekly basis. At some point we may opt for a better way of packaging these. Main audio platform for the time being is a modified version of Pd. Some of the changes to Pd have been already shared with the Pd community, others will become available once we work out the kinks. ART: Currently, most of our efforts revolve around harnessing the power of hand gestures through wiimotes and nunchuk, in conjunction with keyboard and mousepad. Likewise, we are actively exploring ways of interconnecting the ensemble (e.g. imagine one performer generating a note and by doing so also altering someone else's instrument properties, etc.) through as set of custom-built monitoring tools (using Pd). I understand that this does not tell you a lot about art and this is mainly because we are still in the process of learning and discovering... I'll gladly share more as we reach new milestones. MISCELLANEA We will try to post more video footage as we find time to do so. Right now our priority is on the development/production/performance. That said, I am hoping to post more in the coming weeks. As of right now, footage mainly focuses on the toughest piece of the puzzle--the speakers. Down the road, we will provide more details on other, more straightforward aspects as well. So much for now. Thanks all for your replies. These are all very good comments that will help us greatly improve the site content, particularly FAQ section. Best wishes, Ico