Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] Slashdot: linux-based music keyboard workstation released
From: Thomas Webb (magusofthedark_AT_yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Nov 12 2003 - 06:12:20 EET
> I love people when people makes such allegations.
> Where did you get the proof that it is crippled ?
> It's a full fledged PC with
[...]
I love when people quote me out of context. The next
thing i said was "withold the cripple, but double the
cost" It is the full-flegedness that I dislike.
> but the target of the keyboard is the professional
> musicians that want
> a turnkey solution or developers that want to create
The main problem I have with this is the idea that the
best thing for musicians is a turnkey solution. That's
the advantage of a computer. This workstation has all
of the advantages of a computer, but also all of the
disadvantages. The benefit of hardware is its
simplicity. Extra functionality here does nothing but
obfuscate. The funnest and most intuitive synths to
work with are the ones that are knob-laden and menu
sparse.
> To quote Domenico, the main hardware engineer of the
> keyboard, according
> to him
> the Mediastation is the Ferrari or Lamborghini of
> keyboards :-)
> The company is small and can not produce high
> volume, low margin gear.
I respect Italian design - from lamborghini to ducati
to farfisa to gucci (use the google!) However, I don't
understand the appeal of expensive inneficiency. I
think the pinnacle of car design is the optimal
combination of cheapness and niceness (like Toyota),
not the maximization of the latter (Lamborghini, Rolls
Royce). This applies to any piece of hardware.
> There are tons of boards (just look at
> linuxdevices.com), but unfortunately
> audio is quite demanding in terms of CPU power so
> you end up using
> a standard ATX PC board again.
huh? The news here is that someone is actually using a
PC board to make hardware. The norm is cheaper,
smaller processors that are more specialized. That's
why I can't run konqueror on my korg.
> If you use a cheap embedded linux board you will
> have to add powerful
> audio hardware, middleware layers, DSP with custom
> applications etc ...
> that will drive up the cost again.
DSPs are cheap. Call TI and you can get some free
samples. you don't need to "add" powerful audio
hardware. This scenario you are referring to of the
super-expensive synth only refers to if you insist on
using only off-the-shelf parts. Obviously, this isn't
wnat the big synth manufacturers have to contend with.
For them, it's circut design, DSPs, etc. high initial
investment, but in the long run, much cheaper parts.
Okay, so this is a nice expensive computer. Great. I
just don't see this in any way as big inroads into
embedded Linux and audio.
-ciao, Thomas J. Webb
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