Subject: Re: [linux-audio-user] Compiling information - totally [OT]
From: Glenn (liquidgroove_AT_mindless.com)
Date: Wed Sep 19 2001 - 09:43:47 EEST
Thanks for all of your help and comments. I can't wait to give it another
shot this weekend, and hopefully get it to work. I think that many of the
installation instructions that I've received for different hardware and
software has often been quite good line for line instructions, but sometimes
just one step doesn't seem to work without some background knowledge. I'm
going to document my experiences a bit in hope that they could be a useful
resource for other Linux audio newbies. I appreciate the support and tips
from the people on this list.
I'm also glad that this spawned a little discussion about linux for
musicians and that you don't think it is too off topic. I'm sure that this
has been taken into consideration before, and very much so with the folks
involved with Demudi, but it is something that needs to keep coming up if
linux is to really break into the hobbyist/semi-pro/professional audio
production market.
Musicians are NOT wanting to recompile and do OS maintenance on this level,
but they will do it. What most will not do is spend extraordinary amounts
of time learning how the OS works in order to be able to install basic
functionality. Many musicians feel that Windows is too much work, Hence the
Mac's popularity. This is quite a task for Linux to take on, but I think it
can be done. I know many musicians who are really interested in Linux. I
see more and more interest at Berklee College where I work and had gone to
school, as well as among other audio professionals. People want to try it
and see it in action, I hope that I can show them.
Glenn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob" <kudla_AT_pobox.com>
To: <linux-audio-user_AT_music.columbia.edu>
Cc: <linux-audio-user_AT_music.columbia.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2001 6:28 PM
Subject: Re: [linux-audio-user] Compiling information - totally [OT]
> At 06:17 PM 9/18/01 +0200, Jörn Nettingsmeier wrote:
> >while that may be true, you're missing an integral part of the *FUN*
> >of linux. :-D
>
> I experienced that 'fun' about a hundred times from 1993-1995, thank you!
>
> Actually, in all seriousness, I had to do it again a couple years ago for
a
> client's unhappy Caldera box and discovered it hadn't become any less time
> consuming or annoying as I rolled on out of there at 1am. I figured my
> Slack-running friends just kept doing it out of habit; I had no idea it
was
> supposed to be 'fun' but rather 'indicative Linux still needs work to be
> usable by most people'.
>
> Since my entire aim in computing the last few years has been converting
> non-technical professional people into Linux users, I've learned to think
> in their terms. Anyone intending to target such users (e.g. the majority
> of working musicians) needs to consider this viewpoint as well, especially
> since their environments tend to lack full-time sysadmins (hence their
> usual reliance on Macs.)
>
> Either that, or someone will have to write a "Compile Kernel Wizard" with
a
> happy little clown (er, or dragon) telling you what the difference between
> CONFIG_M686 and CONFIG_MK7 is, that automatically builds it with a little
> blue status bar, and that keeps a backup to which it automatically falls
> back when it turns out Joe User picked the wrong options. Or.... we can
> let the various distributors handle kernel configuration and packaging,
try
> to keep as much functionality in userland as we can, and let end users be
> end users.
>
> I don't think this is "totally [OT]" at all; this is a real issue of
> particular importance to vertical markets where nearly all the users are
> non-technical from a CS standpoint. The arts certainly fall into that
> category, the inevitable exceptions aside.
>
> Rob
>
>
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