Subject: [linux-audio-dev] Audio-oriented Linux distribution
From: Paul Winkler (slinkp_AT_ulster.net)
Date: to elo 05 1999 - 01:44:10 EDT
The hypothetical audio-oriented linux distribution seems to be a topic
of some interest. Those folks interested might like to keep an eye on
some kernel patches that might help us with the problems of realtime
work (latency and dropouts):
http://www.gardena.net:80/benno/linux/audio
Roger Larsson <roger.larsson_AT_skelleftea.mail.telia.com> sent me that
link for the Audio-Quality HOWTO. I asked if these patches might
eventaully make it into the kernel; Roger replied that kernel 2.2
feature freeze is imminent, but he has hopes for getting it into 2.4. In
the meantime, if the patches prove stable enough, we might think of
distributing them with the audio distro. From benno's page, it looks
like pretty substantial performance improvements are possible. This
could be another important step in making linux a music/audio platform
of choice.
On a tangent:
Would the hypothetical audio-linux distribution be targeted to
experienced Linux users, or to newbies, or both? If newbies, I've been
thinking about something lately. This doesn't have anything to do with
audio specifically... There's an awful lot of documentation that comes
on any linux CD: man pages, texinfo, HOWTOs... But I know that when I
was first starting out, it took me months to realize just how much was
there, how to find it, and how to read it when I found it. By contrast,
Winblows users can learn by trial and error and searching the built-in
Help system. Of course they will eventually need answers that the
Windows Help can't give, but still, it's a great resource because it is
so centralized -- you can always get into Help, it behaves the same for
every program, etc.
This is a highly non-trivial problem to solve, but it seems to me that a
newbie-targeted distribution could do a few reasonably simple things to
be more welcoming:
* A text file (let's call it NewUser.txt or something like that) placed
in your home directory that gives you a few quick introductory lessons:
e.g. 10 essential commands; how to switch to another virtual console so
you can try the examples in this file; how to shut down the system
properly; where are the HOWTOs and a quick overview of what's in them;
what's a man page and how do you read it; what is "info"; how to start
X-windows; what is "bash" and some tips on using it; what are the linux
newsgroups and how do I search archives of them; where to find a list of
good linux books, etc. etc. etc. All this information is already present
in any linux distribution, but it takes a long time to find it!
* /etc/issue could by default have some real simple tips, like "New
user? Please read the file NewUser.txt in your home directory. (Your
home directory is where you start out when you log in, after typing your
password.) A good way to read the file is by typing the command "less
NewUser.txt"..." Something short that makes it very obvious how to get
started learning the system.
* X could be configured to, by default, pop up a window with some basic
tips on using X (like how to copy & paste... ummm... can't think what
else right now.) It should also tell you how to make the window stop
popping up once you're sick of it. We could also include something like
"Josh's Linux Guide" as a bookmark, or even the default home page, in
whatever is the default browser (netscape?). Josh's guide has a lot of
great newbie information and is redistributable:
http://jgo.local.net/LinuxGuide/
(although the links seem to be broken right now.)
* There should be somewhere, easily findable, a document that gives some
basic tips on teaching yourself linux effectively. I went to a LXNY
meeting (new york's free software group, a pseudo-LUG), at which Michael
Smith presented an abstract of a paper he was going to present at the
Bazaar, with a lot of good ideas on this, specifically ideas on taking
notes as you do things (see "man script"!)... things I wish I had known
two years ago.
Thoughts on this? Am I way off-topic?
---------------- paul winkler ------------------
slinkP arts: music, sound, illustration, design, etc.
zarmzarm_AT_hotmail.com --or-- slinkp AT ulster DOT net
http://www.ulster.net/~abigoo/
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