On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 6:58 PM, Dave Phillips wrote:
> Too many distros.
> Too many audio-optimized distros.
> Not enough native plugins, esp. instruments.
> Inconsistent support for VST/VSTi plugins.
> Too many unstable/unfinished applications.
> Too many "standards" (esp. wrt plugins).
> Poor external/internal session management.
> Poor support for certain modes of composition (think Ableton Live).
> Lack of support for contemporary hardware.
> Confusion re: desktops, and GUI toolkits.
> Too difficult to set up audio system.
> JACK is a pain.
> Too much conflict/fragmentation within the development community.
Some of these points are certainly bogus (VST, RTAS , DX and AU are
less than LADSPA , DSSI and LV, really?), but some are sound.
The core issue here is that the community is mostly comprised of a)
developers who b) have little to no experience of using state of the
art commercial software and c) are too self-centered.
The a) part means that typically teams are not capable of designing
usable UIs and presenting results of their work in an appealing manner
(one person cannot do everything). Hence people don't know even about
things we do well, or they see something they would never want to use,
even though deep inside the software is all nice and fluffy.
The b) part means that in a number of cases we are trying to do
something people think is stupid (and rightfully so). For instance,
the whole idea of separating MIDI sequencing from DAW features is,
frankly, retarded. Fortunately we seem to be past the point where
people argue that it's the right way to go till they are blue in the
face.
Finally, the c) part is all about fragmentation.
On the positive side, most production software on Linux now supports
native VSTs (I think, Rosegarden and OpenOctaveMidi are the only
exceptions), LV2 is gaining momentum, and JACK session seems to
silently have won the "connectivity war".
Personally, in 2013 I hope to see a Kickstarter campaign to record a
nice free SFZ library. Especially since some of the people in the
community *cough* Fons *cough* have the relevant experience and a lot
of expertise.
> So, in your honest and bold opinion as user and/or developer, what do we
> lack most and what can we do without that we already have ? Please feel free
> to expand your remarks as you like. I'm planning an article on the topic and
> will likely use selected comments, subject to approval of course.
And thus a new uberthread begins :)
Alexandre Prokoudine
http://libregraphicsworld.org
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Received on Tue Feb 5 20:15:03 2013
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