Subject: Re: [linux-audio-user] Snd article on-line
From: Dave Phillips (dlphilp_AT_bright.net)
Date: Wed Oct 10 2001 - 16:53:22 EEST
Patrick Shirkey wrote:
> In the interest of good customer service and bringing Linux to the
> masses or the ESL peoples do you mind some slightly subversive
> constructive criticism? All IMO of course.
Please do send criticism ! I'm trying to bring Snd's power closer to its
surface, but I'm of course operating from only my limited point of view.
All suggestions and comments are most welcome.
> - One thing that would add greatly to the readabilty would be to put the
> screen shot of your setup right beside the CE shot. Preferably using the
> same colors as the CE wave display. Snd has four options for colors
> right? Mac and Doze users are heavily influenced by pictures so it would
> encourage them to read if they had a visual comparison from the start.
> If the wave displays are nearly identical it will provide less initial
> distraction for them to get over.
>
> They say the first 2 seconds provide 90 percentage of the overall
> impression in an interview and I think this applies to presentations as
> well. If the wave displays are nearly identical it will provide less
> initial distraction for them to get over.
Ach, I thought about doing just that, but the deadline hit me first.
Very good point though. The second part of the article will indeed show
my working setup from that time. I'm pleased to note that I've already
added the buttons for cursor control, and I'm currently working on
adding widgets for controlling LADSPA plugins.
> - I found the language to be very heavy on lingo. This doesn't bother
> me but for a windows or mac user I sense it would turn them off. Mostly
> I'm talking about the use of the names of the languages. I can see
> where this would be helpful or interesting for advanced computer users
> who are making the switch but for newbies/complete novices I think it is
> info overload.
Hmm...I'm not sure how much of it I can avoid. As I point out, Snd is
very definitely *not* from the Windows/Mac audio software world, its
biases are quite different. After working with Snd this closely I've
concluded that it's a unique beast, but it's worth trying to make it a
little friendlier beast.
Perhaps I'm giving Windozers and Mac users more credit. I'm averse to
dumbing down explanations, but I take your point, and I could surely
benefit from reading a manual or two, such as the docs for CE or one of
the other well-known editors.
> - What is the possibility of providing a single zip file of all the
> deps? When I started using linux I was even unsure about using gzip so
> having things in zip format for mac/doze switchers would make them feel
> more comfortable. Even if it is just for the first couple of months.
> You could provide the normal links too for people who don't need this
> kind of hand holding.
Good idea. Fernando Pablo Lopez-Lezcano has been working the PlanetCCRMA
packages, wrapping up all the CCRMA software into a single RPM or
tarball, so perhaps he would wrap 'em up in a zipfile too. I've
considered doing what you suggest (rolling up the deps into a single
file), just haven't had the time to do it yet. I'll pass the idea on to
Fernando.
Btw, this brings me to a point I'd like to make to all readers on LAU:
What you're suggesting is something that a non-programmer could do with
relative ease (and maybe a little hand-holding), and there are other
tasks that non-programmers could undertake that would help programmers.
I realize that this kind of dialog between programmer and user is not
common in the Win/Mac world, but it's at the very heart of Linux
applications development.
> These are the few things that jumped out at me on the first read.
> Hopefully you can use these ideas for the next/future editions.
I appreciate your comments, Patrick, thanks for taking the time to
respond to my article.
Best regards,
== Dave Phillips
The Book Of Linux Music & Sound at http://www.nostarch.com/lms.htm
The Linux Soundapps Site at http://sound.condorow.net
Currently listening to: Brian Eno, "Music For Airports"
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b28 : Wed Oct 10 2001 - 16:25:43 EEST