well, seems like the discussion has run out of interest when i was away, and everything that does matter has been said for the moment, but i'll try to put some my thoughts in english anyway. so. why do i think linux audio rules: 1) because any gnu/linux system is the construction set by its nature. 2) because it is very well suited for advanced users (i'm not a developer, that's important!) and gives us as much control over any and every aspect of the whole system as we want. in fact, linux audio is the niche thing for those reasons. it's absolutely ok. it just uses a different approach than the mainstream products, and this SHOULD happen with something in the audio production realm. say, if i want to build a dedicated GUI-less environment running MIDI-driven supercollider on a cluster of laptops, there should be a construction set that allows me to do it. the coolest thing about linux audio is that it is capable of doing such things just right. but on the other hand, that's why i am very sceptical about the idea of keeping linux audio in line with mass products. don't get me wrong, i'd like such things as wider range of suported hardware or more cool soft synths. but the approach of hiding more and more internals behind smarter and smarter single-buttoned user interface drives the whole cool linux audio thing to nowhere. literally. consider playing with system internals vs hiding them as two antitropic vectors. the resultant will be zero. there is a well known basic in unix-like systems: using the right tool for right task. so if one wants an audio production environment where everything works out of the box, he/she should consider going mac. and if one wants an audio production environment where everything is believed to work right out of the box, he/she should consider going windows. and linux audio should stay primarily for those who want to know what they are doing and why. and there will feng shui and harmony be all over the world forever :)))))