Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] New powermacs?
From: Marc Lavallée (odradek_AT_videotron.ca)
Date: Sun Jun 22 2003 - 07:56:05 EEST
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Le 21 Juin 2003 19:53, Ivica Bukvic a écrit :
> For instance, I would love to see KDE drop the ugly artsd and use either
> Jackd or alsa's dmix plugin, but that is not going to happen because
> they believe that artsd is better (for whatever odd reason).
If enough people believe that artsd is bad and jackd is good, then the KDE
team might change their mind. But it's not the KDE team that should
really care about sound issues, it's the Linux kernel team. Alsa is
replacing oss and jackd should be integrated to the kernel through alsa.
> If, only if we could do this small step of setting the platform-wide
> standards (and here I do not speak only in terms of audio), we would
> have OSX unified framework in Linux where it would make sense to make
> user-friendly tools that sit on top of that framework (regardless of
> its continuous development -- at least we would have one framework to
> deal with).
OSX is a closed platform. Unless OSX becomes free software (not only part
of it), we should not even think about a common sound framework for
GNU/Linux and OSX. Standards should never come from closed source
software vendors and patent mungers like Apple. It's better and safer in
the long run to develop open standards on open platforms like GNU/Linux.
I agree that professional sound on the GNU/Linux platform is a bit
difficult at first and that some tools are not totally friendly. But the
more I use those apparently unfriendly tools, the more I like them, so
all is needed is to create graphical interfaces for those who refuse to
learn command line tools for whatever reasons.
Impressive examples of graphical software tools to use soundfounts:
http://swami.sourceforge.net/
http://personal.telefonica.terra.es/web/soudfontcombi/soundfontcombi.html
> Perhaps we should make a mended version of GPL that would have exact
> permissions like the original GPL license, but in addition would ask
> that the software cannot be run on top of proprietary OS. This way, we
> can make our software indigenous only to free/oss OS's and hence create
> unique benefits that come from using Linux (and other open-sourced OS's,
No! Why patent the technology used in the GNU/Linux operating system?
There's nothing wrong about running free softwares on a closed source
platform, and it would be very wrong to add the restriction you're
suggesting to the GPL licence, which already prohibits to close the
source and/or sell a modified GPL software without providing its source.
OSX is derived from BSD because its license allows to close its source.
The benefit of the GNU/Linux platform if to stay free (as in speech), not
to build a monopoly. Even if Apple would be using alsa and jackd, the
GNU/Linux platform would become an better alternative, but we should not
forget that the goal is not popularity, it's liberty.
- --
Marc
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