Re: [LAU] another linux audio bashing thread on slashdot

On Monday 28 October 2013 10:44:40 Barney Holmes did opine:

> Quoting Brett McCoy <idragosani@email-addr-hidden>:
> > On Mon, Oct 28, 2013 at 5:48 AM, michael noble <looplog@email-addr-hidden>
wrote:
> >> Must be that time of year again when slashdotters get a bee in their
> >> bonnet about how useless Linux is for audio production. Enter at
> >> your own risk...
> >>
> >> http://ask.slashdot.org/story/13/10/27/0534248/ask-slashdot-best-cros
> >> s-platform-linux-only-audio-software?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&ut
> >> m_medium=feed
> >
> > Ha, I stopped reading /. a long time ago. I can see not much has
> > changed...
>
> Same here. It seemed to turn into a cynicism fest in many
> circumstances. If this kind of post (no I didn?t go in, I have enough
> anger already) is anything special or just the usual I don't know.
> However there is a HUGE watershed going on at the moment that
> undoubtedly is spilling well beyond the borders of open source land.
> Something extraordinary IS happening and I don't see why anyone should
> be embarrassed about giving themselves a pat on the back or even
> getting others to pat them on that back ! An enormous amount of work
> by thousands upon thousands is paying off. The fruits started
> happening with Android, despite proprietary drivers (if Google had
> refused that none of the mobile phone manufactures would have even
> used Android!), then Ubuntu, as well as the less visible internet
> servers and embedded technologies. But the one that takes the biscuit
> for me is Steam announcing SteamOS. This is going to be a huge change
> in what has been a long standing corporate culture of
> Microsoft/Nvidia/Intel. Video games are the quintessential example of
> the Real Time application. Graphics and sound all running as a real
> time application. There's hints of where this is going in things like
> the 3D synth by Robert Gareus. Look at the 3D menu / interface that
> you can spin around in Borderlands 2. It amazes me that we are not
> already using 3D window managers and are still stuck in static 2D land
> (go ask Ted Nelson about that).
>
> Where does this take Linux Audio Users ? Well the future is bright.
> What's over that horizon ? I've been looking at Blender Game Engine
> for doing VJ visuals (it can play full frame video within the game
> engine and spin that around a'la a high end vision mixing desk).
> Combined with sound who knows what kind of 3D dynamic sound mixing
> environments could be created ?
>
> So Linux bashing, go easy on them.
>
> DJ Barney

I have not yet looked at SteamOS, but you are claiming realtime for it.
That pulls my curiosity trigger because one of my hobbies is CNC
machinery, and its realtime demands are far more stringent than some .1
millisecond accurate audio delivery. Currently we are running linuxcnc on
2.6.32-122-RTAI, but that RTAI patch is invasive as hell, and extremely
difficult to apply to a newer kernel, so we are running on Ubuntu-10.04.4
LTS yet, with an occasional hiccup at other functions.

If SteamOS is claiming real time, just how "realtime" is it? We need to
have an I/O heartbeat running at a 20 to 25 u-sec rate, with not over a 3
u-sec jitter in that timing to run well. Currently the intel atom based
boards are the goto boards for that, but we could sure use some additional
iron in the mix, which oddly, seems to point toward the BeagleBoneBlack
because of its bank of programmable realtime units (PRU's) and a true feast
of I/O pin availability that can serve as the step pulse generators.

I have an old HP box with a 1 Ghz athlon in it that could serve as a proof
of concept box if this is downloadable and buildable on it.
So, what say you that have tasted this?

Thanks.
>
> > --
> > Brett W. McCoy -- http://www.brettwmccoy.com
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > -- "In the rhythm of music a secret is hidden; If I were to divulge
> > it, it would overturn the world."
> >
> > -- Jelaleddin Rumi
> >
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> > Linux-audio-user@email-addr-hidden
> > http://lists.linuxaudio.org/listinfo/linux-audio-user
>
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Cheers, Gene

-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Immanuel Kant but Kubla Khan.
A pen in the hand of this president is far more
dangerous than 200 million guns in the hands of
         law-abiding citizens.
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