Subject: Re: [linux-audio-user] Anyone heard rumors about ProTools??
From: Ross Vandegrift (ross_AT_willow.seitz.com)
Date: Tue Jun 25 2002 - 23:04:41 EEST
On Tue, Jun 25, 2002 at 12:29:29PM -0400, Dave Phillips wrote:
> What do other readers here think about this scenario ? I'm far from a
> final point of view: I'm not so welded to the aims of the FSF as Richard
> Stallman, but I would much rather have high-quality open-source Linux
> audio software. OTOH I have to admit that I'd be very tempted by an
> off-the-shelf PT for Linux. I suspect this rumor is just that: a rumor,
> but an interesting one. So what do you think about it ?
If given the choice between high-quality commercial software that will
run on my GNU/Linux box and lower quality, but *still functional*, free
software, I'd choose the free software any day.
However, I must confess to still rebooting into my aging Windows 95
installation to do music. Why? I can't hack it with the free tools
yet. If Cakewalk was available on GNU/Linux, I'd buy it because it
would be one less non-free software package I'd have to use. And
Windows is a big one.
Now, the day I could open, save, edit, and compose in MuSE I'd write off
the Cakewalk purchase and throw it all away for free software. And
inthe meantime, I'll continue trying the free stuff for myself.
What's worse? It has to be all or nothing. I can't compose and
sequence in Windows and then reboot to do digital work with free tools.
Any product, proprietary or otherwise, that removes my dependance on
Windows removes my dependance on one more non-free piece of software.
And the free tools will get there. I can't wait until MuSE is more
complete and I can write silly hacks for it - I've always wanted a way
to define the time signiture or tempo of a song by a function. Cakewalk
will *never* let me do that.
For an analogy, it's the same situation with CAS - I'm a math major and
much of our work is given on a level that assumes you have a computer
algebra system at your disposal. I happily paid for a Maple Unix
license. But the day one of the GPLed CASes does everything I need,
I'll switch faster than light.
Ross Vandegrift
ross_AT_willow.seitz.com
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