Dana Olson wrote:
On 2/1/06, Ruben Lopez <rl1205@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Wed, 1 Feb 2006 08:27:38 -0500, Dana Olson was like:
On 2/1/06, robin <robin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
I actually use Ubuntu, I'm just trying to get it as close to DeMuDi
as possible.
Just curious... why wouldn't you just use Demudi instead of Ubuntu (or do you just prefer Ubuntu)?
DeMuDi is too far behind the times, for one.
In what sense? There has always been a testing distribution, which uses
latest package versions (from testing) at the time of release, as well
as the stable one.
I moved to Ubuntu because
I was bored of maintaining Debian Sid on my desktop.
For some time Demudi has been linked against Debian testing (etch)
I like the fact
that they have a really good desktop Linux out there, they give out
free pressed CDs, and they have predictable release cycles. Plus I
like Gnome.
There is always a doubt with Ubuntu, not belittling their good
intentions and practices to date, that their priorities may change at
some future date.
Demudi has never been a "desktop pc" distribution, but a specialised
audio project with additional packages provided by the main Debian
project as the user requires.
Also, DeMuDi is in a bit of trouble with that sponsor pulling out, so
it doesn't seem very stable. And Free is trying to get everything into
Debian anyhow, which means it will all filter into Ubuntu down the
line.
True that Firenze have withdrawn financial support which means Demudi is
now a purely voluntary project but in the short period since then new
contributers have come on board. Demudi is alive and well. Also Demudi
has been part of Debian for some time as a custom Debian distribution.
Although I didn't have any issue installing DeMuDi, there are some
people who use Ubuntu who couldn't get it installed. Ubuntu configures
everything for them, so they're happy and can get into Linux easily. I
want to support that, and my goals in making ubuntustudio.com are not
to undermine any of the other audio distros, but instead to provide
help for Ubuntu users.
In short, I do just prefer Ubuntu, but Debian and DeMuDi do not feel
as cohesive and polished as Ubuntu does.
Granted that some may miss the bells and whistles but functionality has
been the main priority so far. Ubuntu, correct me if I'm wrong, doesn't
function as an audio workstation ootb (in the sense of integration and
performance patching), judging from the few emails received from Ubuntu
users wanting to use Demudi packages.
Besides that, when I tried DeMuDi, a lot of apps didn't even launch
from the menus, and the mixer for my soundcard seemed a little screwy.
By focusing on Ubuntu, I can learn a lot more about how things work,
while helping out other Ubuntu users at the same time. It almost makes
me feel like I'm contributing to the community in some small way.
User reports are an essential part of F/LOSS projects and Demudi
provides a ticketing system for user reports and of course the friendly
user mail list.
I have been discussing with Mark and some people from Canonical/Ubuntu
about getting Ubuntu to the point where all the manual stuff is
minimized, with a -rt kernel as an installable option, and decent
music apps added in. Dapper has almost everything missing from Breezy,
aside from apps that are not in Debian, and weren't even officially
part of DeMuDi (om, mx44, dssi, to name a few).
Parts of DSSI are included with Demudi plus some more apps are available
at http://willem.engen.nl/debian/ which are Demudi compatible.
I think there is room for another option for musicians, don't you?
The more the merrier. One particular multimedia/audio distribution is
not going to suit everyone. That's down to individual tastes.
robin
