On 2/1/06, robin <robin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > 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. Okay, let me rephrase. Debian is too far behind the times. I use Gnome, and it doesn't get much closer than Ubuntu, as they release at the same time as Gnome. That was another big reason I chose Ubuntu in the first place. And as I mentioned, it just doesn't feel polished. There can be no denying that Debian takes forever to get updates for a lot of things. Just look at how long they delay Gnome and remember X.org? Yes, they have their reasons, I know that. But I don't run an alpha, sparc, arm, whatever. This is just a preference. Maybe I'm impatient. Oh well, whatever. > 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. And if that is the case, then so be it. I don't feel that way about them, but who knows. If they do turn their back, I'll suffer with Debian again until something better comes along, based on Debian. > 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. Right, hence why I want Ubuntu to become a better distro. There is no reason it cannot do both, just like Edubuntu, Kubuntu, and so on. > > 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. Well, last I heard from Free (a couple days ago), he was pretty much the only one working on DeMuDi, and he had been working on uploading his DeMuDi packages back into Debian and coordinating with the other package maintainers. If the project really was alive and well, and the future really was certain, I don't understand the moves. It doesn't make sense to me that it is just coincidental timing. Do I think DeMuDi is going away? Perhaps not, but without financial support, he can't continue going full force on DeMuDi, and it will fall even further behind, I believe. Canonical offered some limited sponsorship and resources, but I don't think any decisions were made about that. Anyhow, as stated, I ran Debian Sid, not Testing, not Stable. I could sacrifice features and advancements and use DeMuDi if I wanted to, but I choose not to, and so, I am working on making Ubuntu better for me. It's fine if you want to use DeMuDi, and it should be fine if I want to use Ubuntu. > > 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. Not yet, but it might in the future. That is why I am in conversation with some people from Canonical to see that it happens at some point. And in the meantime, rather than Ubuntu users trying to use DeMuDi packages, they can go to UbuntuStudio.com and read the wiki, contribute, etc. Really, from what I've seen, there isn't a whole lot of difference in DeMuDi, aside from the patched kernel and perhaps some updated packages for music software. > > 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 am not a DeMuDi user, I only installed it once a few months or so ago to see what the fuss was about and how it compared to Ubuntu. And to me, it felt like a regression on the desktop, which was something I tried to get away from when I switched from Debian in the first place. > > 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. http://demudi.agnula.org/packages/PACKAGES.LIST doesn't list any part of DSSI in it that I recognize. Maybe there's a different package list? Yes, I am aware of Willem's repository, and there's nothing stopping me or any other Ubuntu user from making a similar 3rd-party repository for Ubuntu... But my goal is to see the use of 3rd-party repositories minimized, if not eliminated, for Ubuntu in the future. >> 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. Precisely. DeMuDi works well for people who like it, but Ubuntu currently does not. So my efforts are going towards Ubuntu for the time being. Dana
