Re: [linux-audio-user] Attracting more Linux audio developers

From: Mathias Friman <mathias.friman@email-addr-hidden>
Date: Sun Dec 10 2006 - 11:31:25 EET

On Sat, 2006-12-09 at 19:17 +0100, Leonard Ritter wrote:

> On Sat, 2006-12-09 at 09:54 -0800, Tim Howard wrote:
> > Hello,
> > It seems that there is a general sense of frustration among the
> > linux audio community with attracting more developers, users, etc. to
> > start using Linux for serious audio work.

Where can you read about using Linux for serious audio work? It is for
sure not in the mainstream press around here. You have to be seriously
involved in the Linux community to see that there is a platform for
audio work on Linux. Perhaps I was just ignorant because I was not
interested in pursuing my old tracking-career during the 90's on Linux,
but as late as in July, all I knew about the Linux audio community was
the tiny little bit held by Audacity.

Four or five months later, I have a decent low latency system that I can
use for hobby recording. I don't know how many more months it would take
me if I decided to go into audio development.

[cut]

Leonard:
> what you say is not true. they're coming. i migrated from windows to
> linux. we ported a few plugins. energyxt is being ported. there will be
> more and more, and i do not believe it requires any special effort or
> bounty to persuade them. slowly, people are going to realize that
> windows is a dead end. sometimes all you have to do is wait, and help
> the people who just arrived to find a good start.

The question is, where is this good start? If all the people on this
list got together to form a basic documentation of how to set up a
studio in Linux, you wouldn't have to answer the same questions over and
over again. :) Instead, as a new user, the only solution is endless
googling in largely outdated 30-row-textfiles that does not explain more
than is absolutely necessary.

One cannot develop something one does not understand.

Example:
When asking on this list where to find information about understanding
the .asoundrc-file, I get the answer:
"You shouldn't need .asoundrc. If you do, there's a bug in ALSA".
I got a helpful answer aswell, but that is not the point.

Perhaps stupid questions deserve stupid answers, but that is not what I
asked. :) Before asking this question, I tried consulting the ALSA
developer docs, did endless googling on the subject and tried other
mailing-lists and forums. Maybe the information was out there and I just
didn't find it. And it may very well be completely unnecessary to know
anything about the .asoundrc-file, but when trying to ask stupid
questions and answer them through documentation, it is a bit
frustrating. No offence, you who answered me. :)

Instead of getting questions about realtime kernels twenty times a year,
EVERY year, why not put together a documentation that new users can use?
One that is not written by Paul Winkler in 2000 and has references to
kernel 2.2.x

The intellectual capacity and the knowledge is here. I'd be happy to
compile something like this, I even like to write, but I need some
material to start from. And you guys are the experts.

Just my $/€0.02

Highest regards,
Mathias
Received on Tue Dec 12 00:15:23 2006

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