Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] BeOS everywhere
From: Benno Senoner (sbenno_AT_gardena.net)
Date: ke tammi 26 2000 - 10:22:12 EST
On Tue, 25 Jan 2000, Fredrik wrote:
> It seems that BeOS is no longer the "media OS", it's the "internet appliance
> OS" or possibly the "internet media appliance OS": >
> http://www.benews.com/story/2791.1.html >
> I had great hopes for BeOS once, as i was hoping to use it instead of Windows
> for my commercial audio software. Only one of those (Logic) is being ported to
> BeOS now. Some ports of pro audio software (e.g. Steinberg Nuendo), have been
> canceled or put on hold because of Be Inc's new "internet strategy". It seems
> that without the focus on media applications from Be Inc, BeOS won't make it
> in the Pro Audio arena. Now to the REAL question. What does this mean for
> Linux? It's the only "alternative pro-audio OS" left for x86 workstations
> IMHO. >As it has more mainstream momentum, it has a much better chance of
> being "the >next atari", than BeOS ever had.
> So, what do you think?
> /Fredrik
That is just what happens in the commercial-OS all the time,
MONEY is driving the market, that means since BeOS wasn't unable
to grab a big marketshare on the desktop, and some appliance-vendors
were interested in their OS because it works good for this HW (fast multimedia,
small mem footprint etc), they switched to the "internet-appliance-world",
their only chance for survival.
I can feel the pain of software developers which are trying very hard to make a
super product, and then when a big-boy (like Compaq etc) steps in with their
appliance stuff, all the ambituous BeOS desktop goals disappear suddently.
I think what scares audio SW vendors developing on linux is that
the linux audio area is still work in progress ( ALSA still in the development
stage, no application integration, bad realtime-behaviour until now etc).
But I think it would not be be a bad investment to port commercial audio-apps
to linux, since linux will not go away anyomre.
Suse has made a very smart move by supporting ALSA.
Redhat , Caldera , Corel etc should support the audio development too.
(Redhat sponsored the OSS/Free modularization, but now Alan Cox is
busy with more important stuff :-) )
(by paying some opensource developers or doing in-house development).
Anyway I see the linux audio field only prosper in near future, and it's really
great to have an OS where the audio API is not driven by money but
by developers, each of them having great ideas.
Finally I think Linux on te audio scene will be more than "only" a next atari.
:-)
Benno.
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