On Fri, 2005-01-21 at 17:07 -0600, Ryan Gallagher wrote:
> "running newly-developed proprietary software atop Linux underpinnings"
>
> It's what I'll call a "grab-n-dash" get a low latency OS and give
> nothing back. Someone please tell me I'm wrong. :(
You're wrong ;) Here are a few reasons why, off the top of my head:
- Any product using Linux adds clout to the OSS movement.
- A lot of (business) people think that OSS developers are a bunch
of Hippies who are opposed to the idea of making money with software.
If there are enough commercial products involving Linux, maybe they'll
understand that OSS is entirely compatible with commercial interests,
which will also strengthen OSS in general.
- So far, few audio companies have found it necessary to port their
products to Linux because the market is still too small. However, I'm
expecting some of the software that's currently embedded in devices
like OASYS or Lionstracs Mediastation to give rise to audio applications
for Linux, simply because the development effort would much smaller than
porting stuff from an entirely different system. This might help solve
the chicken-and-egg problem of Linux audio (few users because there's
little software, little software because there are few users...).
- A lot of people in the audio world consider Linux unsuitable for
professional audio work. Serious tools using Linux might help change
that perception.
That said, I did find this line about "newly-developed proprietary software"
slightly objectionable because they seem to imply that proprietary software
is a mark of quality, or else they wouldn't have mentioned this in a
marketing document.
Cheers,
Peter
