Just wanted to post my thoughts once again. I am a bona fide amateur user, but serious enough to have a machine dedicated to my DAW. I have been using PlanetCCRMA for a couple of years, with a delta 1010LT card which worked out of the box. I loaded fedora core 2, followed the planet instructions and had a completely functional DAW. >From my perspective, I have been able to build my DAW without having to sort through reams of documentation or sift through lists for answers. Everything is nicely packaged already with PlanetCCRMA. -Joe Dell'Orfano On Sat, 2005-07-23 at 21:31 -0400, Dave Phillips wrote: > Jono Bacon wrote: > > >As some of you will be aware, I wrote the following article: > > > > http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/7421 > > > >After seeing this long thread on this list > >(http://music.columbia.edu/pipermail/linux-audio-user/2005-July/025068.html), > >I figured this poor schmuk should join up and share in some > >discussion. :) > > > You're a brave lad, and you're most welcome here. :) > > >Let me be totally clear here - I am really keen to explore everyone's > >viewpoints about this subject. Although my views still stand, I am > >more than happy to debate them, and I figured it would be great to > >hear your thoughts on the list. > > > 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. > > >In the article I clarify the position that feature-wise, audio > >production on Linux is pretty good. Many of the issues that I was > >discussing were that some pre-requisite knowledge is required before > >you can get started. It seems that to record on Linux you need to have > >trawled through documentation, the archives for this list and read up > >on the intracies of getting the different parts of the system working. > >To me, this seems like a flaw in the offering - surely the user should > >be able to get up and running straight away - they download their > >package of choice, install and run. Would this not be better? > > > 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. :) > > >To direct the discussion further, I would be interested in your > >thoughts on the following things: > > > > - do you all feel that it is fairly simple to get stated with Linux > >and recording? Am I smoking crack? :) > > > 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. > > > - do you feel there is a seperation between a professional and an > >amateur? So, the software would 'just work' for the amateur, but the > >professional should really know the specifics of the system and how to > >set it up. > > > 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. :-) > > > - if you do feel it is a bit tough to get up and running without > >reading up on all of this, what do you feel are the barriers, both > >technical and socially? I am curious to see whether these barriers > >could be solved. > > > 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. > > >As I say, I am keen to engage in some constructive discussion here, > >and I look forward to your thoughts. :) > > > > > 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 > > -- Joseph Dell'Orfano <fullgo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
