Re: [linux-audio-user] Opening up the discussion

Jono Bacon wrote: You're a brave lad, and you're most welcome here. :) Very cool. The way I see it, your POV is certainly valid: after all, your experience is what you experienced, and no amount of cheerleading here makes it different. You'll definitely hear us make recommendations re: bundles and distros, but even that leads me to wonder about a few things, such as why I have to advise a new user to install a particular distribution. Should he not be able to use just any distro ? I know that certain versions of Windows are recommended for audio work, but the matter is a little more complicated in Linux-land. Planet CCRMA and AGNULA/Demudi are wonderful, but you can't buy 'em at Wal-Mart. You *can* buy a Red Hat or Debian distro there, but those are quite unlikely to be acceptable for pro-standards audio work. The kernel needs patched, lots of other stuff needs done, and none of it is going to be especially clear or "easy" to a new user. I don't know what we as a group can do to alleviate this situation. I don't get the impression that the kernel and distro folk are very eager to set their sights on pro-audio performance tuning specs. Indeed, see above. But in the absence of direct support from the manufacturers we can only do what we can. Thank goodness for open-source. :) It's simple enough for me, but I know exactly what I'm doing whenever I install a new distro. Unless the user starts with a system such as Demudi or PlanetC he's likely to be in for a rough ride. It's not impossible to do it without the pre-formed systems, but it's certainly easier to just go with the proven systems. I was thinking about it in terms of vehicles. You hop in your sedan, you press buttons, push the shifter to D, and off you go. You hop in my 327 Chevy with four on the floor, no power steering, no power brakes... well, it ain't gonna "just work", but I can demonstrate that it beats the paint off your sedan. So perhaps the "just works" mantra is only applicable within certain definitions. Now, most folks might like the idea if driving that 327, thinking about controlling that beast, but when they get inside and don't see the familiar amenities, most will want their sedans back again. The ones who learn to handle the Chevy do get something better for their efforts, but real effort is involved. Fortunately there's room on the road for both vehicles. :-) I see good stuff happening, particularly with Christoph's training videos, and the such neat additions as JP Mercury's AVIs demonstrating how to use his FreeWheeling. More movement in that direction would be helpful. I'm happy to see you here, Jono, and I hope we can make your visit worthwhile. Please let me know if you have any specific questions, and feel free to write either on-list or off. Best regards, Dave Phillips