Re: [LAU] [LAD] Linux Audio 2012: Is Linux Audio moving forward?

From: Alexandre Prokoudine <alexandre.prokoudine@email-addr-hidden>
Date: Thu Oct 11 2012 - 03:11:51 EEST

On Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 3:21 AM, Patrick Shirkey wrote:

>> Let me put it this way. I'm a musician who was drawn by some magic
>> force to your landing page. I've looked at your pretty pictures or
>> maybe listened to some music samples. What's my next step? Judging by
>> what you said the next step for me would be to visit my Facebook page
>> to see if
>> any friends uploaded new cat pictures :)
>
> I don't see how you get to that conclusion.

Because so far I've seen no trace of mentioning an interaction with visitors.

Hence let me repeat my question: what's my next step?

>>> It works pretty well and we wouldn't be where we are now without it.
>>
>> And where are we exactly? Lemme see. We get this kind of discussions
>> every third month or so. Is that a sure sign that we are anywhere? :)
>
> It's an ongoing discussion. So is Linux Kernel development. Are you
> implying that kernel development is stalled too?

Oh, we were getting along so well, and now you are using clumsy
analogies. There is no doubt that the Linux kernel is doing well on
servers and mobile devices. It has strong niches. What's the strong
niche for Linux audio in terms of actual installations?

>> Everything comes at a cost, one way or another.
>
> Did anyone pay you for your time?

Of course. Don't *you* get a paycheck for a work that needs time to be done?

> How much income are you relinquishing by
> taking part in this discussion?

A certain amount.

> Perhaps you are actually investing your
> time and resources so you can get a payback at a later date.

Anything's possible.

>> I'm not sure what exactly you mean by placing the word "competition"
>> into quotes, but we are nowhere near to compete (with few exceptions).
>
> Speak for yourself. As a community Linux Audio has been competing for the
> past 15-20 years.

...and losing? :)

Let's talk in absolute numbers. How many albums have been produced,
mixed and mastered entirely with free software in the last 12 months?
How many of them are available via iTunes or even Magnatune?

What about soundtracks for BF's open movies? How did it happen that
neither Jan Morgenstern nor Joram Letwory are using Linux?

> You have a very closed view of the community if you think that a few
> people making some music in their spare time represents the Linux Audio
> Community.

I'm not sure how you came at this conclusion, so I couldn't possibly
comment on that.

>> Jeez, Patrick, it's not about us believing or not. It's about being
>> able to show a professional-quality record here and now. And to show
>> that producing it doesn't take any longer than producing it on Mac or
>> Windows with proprietary software.
>
> We already have that. The number of people releasing work done with Linux
> Multimedia tools is constantly expanding.

Stop right there :)

I'm not questioning the availability of the records per se. Once
again, I'm talking about _professional-grade_ recordings. Any kid who
got himself Mixbus can export directly to soundcloud. Good for him.
Will it stand a test by Bob Katz? Think again.

Yes, I know there are few studios that use Ardour. I've seen pictures
at http://ardour.org/node/3248 (incidentally, what ever happened of
MIS and Ron Parker?). How do I find those studios? How do I listen to
what they do with free software?

Paraphrasing Linus, talk is cheap, play me a record :)

> Almost all major motion pictures are made with Linux these days.

How does it relate to Linux audio?

> I've heard music on the BBC that was made with Linux Audio tools.

How do I verify that?

> We have several audio and multimedia companies
> that are very publicly making money from Linux software and hardware
> running the Linux platform.

Several against just how many?

>> The first question you get when you mention Ardour in a professional
>> community is "OK, can you show me who's using it and what they do with
>> it?" I like that you are trying to meet that demand, but I'm not sure
>> that it's going to work the way you want it to.
>
> The questions I have received are
>
> - q. What are the physical limitations ? a. very few.
> - q. Does it support VST ? a. yes.

-q. Will any of my VSTs run? a. it depends -- thanks, but no, thanks.

> - q. What are Pauls rates for custom work and is he available ? a. I'll
> ask him, he's generally a very responsive :-)
> - q. Is Ardour the right solution for our goal? a. Maybe, what is it you
> are tying to achieve?

Judging by the questions, you spoke to 3 persons, neither of which
cared about support for his hardware :)

OK, granted, the VST question is the usual one. But not the others :)

>> Probably I will never know what made MOTU so angry about Linux, but
>> I'm quite prepared to believe that some fanatics had called them a big
>> evil corporation, because they didn't see a market in Linux at the
>> time. And seeing how often this kind of characteristic turns up even
>> here, I'd say that part of the community needs a DNA fix.
>>
>
> Most likely they got bribed more money not to release their drivers and
> support Linux than they expected to received from sales.

Oh, LOL. Conspiracy theories, how I missed you.

> Of course this
> just works in RME's favour so MOTU loose out in the long run by looking
> like dicks to the global Linux Community which numbers in the millions and
> loosing customers to RME as everyone knows that RME products are high
> quality and tend to work very well on Linux.

You know, when I published the interview with FFADO and ALSA folks, I
actually did a bit of research and plotted a chart from publicly
available stats. Since you obviously have no idea, I suggest you just
look at the numbers yourself:

http://www.ffado.org/?q=usage/overtime

Ye gods, over last 8 years (or so) MOTU lost whole 4K users out of
those millions? What a horrible, unspeakable waste! :)

</sarcasm>

> They also loose out on the association with Linux as a high end solution
> which may not matter to their core market but definitely matters to the
> Linux market.

In other words, they lose on the association with a platform that a
handful of people consider to be a platform for producing music
professionally. Which is what their primary business is. Ts ts.

Alexandre Prokoudine
http://libregraphicsworld.org
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Received on Thu Oct 11 04:15:10 2012

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