Last Saturday 27 November 2004 21:36, Lee Revell was like: > On Sat, 2004-11-27 at 15:43 -0500, Lee Revell wrote: > > > Did this happen? > > > > Maybe not to them but look at Mackie and Behringer. > > 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
