Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] lowish-latency patch and toolchain
From: Iain Sandoe (iain_AT_sandoe.co.uk)
Date: Mon Jul 10 2000 - 04:10:05 EEST
Mon, Jul 10, 2000 Tom Pincince wrote:
>>It's no good testing it with my workload! It has to be tested with
>>yours. So please, get down and get testing. There isn't a lot of time.
>
> This is *the* key issue here. Simply saying that audio apps require an
[...] lots of stuff with which I (mostly) concur.
In defence - we are testing as fast as we can get the stuff together (AFAIK
there's only me working on the LinuxPPC audio profiling - which is a shame
because the G4 knocks spots of the PIII for DSP)...
====
However, it is a big restriction of the computer in a 'one person' home
set-up to have to boot completely different configs for different cases.
I personally don't think there is really any great drama for the
professional studio use - they will be spending $$$ on a fairly powerful
machine + all the outboard gear etc. etc. It probably doesn't matter too
much of that has a fixed config.
====
It is not enough to have mission-critical and not-important as two classes.
I think it would be worth:
(a) expanding the mission critical areas to include:
1/ those aspects affecting networked audio machines (i.e. shared processing
and/or remote control of plug-ins etc.)
2/ IPC mechanisms that support a data-flow streaming model for multiple
co-operating audio apps.
(b) having a "highly desirable" category with the aim of getting 'most' of
what an average user wants to work alongside the audio.
====
It is (currently) reasonable to be restrictive with machines like the Mac -
because the configuration is **easily** maintainable by the end-user
(musician - not kernel hacker).
We cannot say that is true of Linux (yet) and it is too much to expect such
a user to frig with the multitude of sins that is the equivalent of MacOS's
"extensions manager".
This latter point is going to need serious addressing before we can get
widespread adoption of Linux in the "home/project" studio anyway...
just my £0.02
Iain.
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