WE WANT LINUX SUPPORT!!!!

[photonal]

If Hollywood can't live without Linux, the internet can't work without Linux, what's the next step?

Ableton forum is running on Linux as well and free software. Open up your mind! Be creative!

Well I am opening my mind - that's why I'm doing the linux course. But doing it has made me realise what a mess Linux is in right now (and many of my co-students agree).

Sure for rendering farms/web servers is linux great (it seems that much of the grunt rendering work is done on Linux but the creative content is created on other platforms) - but I was thinking more in terms of how would a company like Ableton would support so many different distros and kernel versions? (which would be a drain on Ableton resources)

[Pasha]

@photonal I do not agree. My 75 year old father can work with Ubuntu and runs updates on it. The installation is easier than installing Windows XP. Even partitioning is much easier than with other systems.

Linux is as good as it can be. All Disney/Pixar movies are renderend on Linux for example. And Hollywood prefers Linux over Windows and OSX and that's a fact! The Matrix, Titanic, Gladiator, Superman Returns, What Dreams May Come, Cats and Dogs, Shrek, The Perfect Storm, Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Antz, Chicken Run, Deep Blue Sea, Star Trek: Insurrection, Fantasia 2000, Men in Black, Hollow Man and many many more, were created with Linux software such as RAYZ, Maya or Shake.

And that software they are using is not for free. Not cheap, thousands of dollars. Expensive stuff. Yes, on Linux, because it rocks!

If Hollywood can't live without Linux, the internet can't work without Linux, what's the next step?

Ableton forum is running on Linux as well and free software. Open up your mind! Be creative!

I agree with you but only partially. I give your father kudos because mine, is not even close to using a cell phone, think a computer! Linux is ready for prime time for the masses as your experience with your parents states but not for other areas IMHO.The Asus Netbooks are that gorgeous because of Linux.. Android will use Linux... but Hollywood and studios have IT Geeks to keep the stuff running. I think that the worst thing is to be forced to become a do-it-yourself IT dept, for the joy of composing music. Ardour (one of the best Multi Track Recorder) is distributed as a source code tar ball that you have to compile on your system. This is not for the most of us. Even with my Linux experience I had to give up some time ago. I believe Linux is far superior when compared to everything because you can 'develop' your personal OS like no other. Do you like Gnome, KDE, XFCE E17? do it. It's YOUR system. However I think that is not (still) ready to be deployed to the DAW folks. The examples you reported belong to the Movie industry and that's not a case you need Servers and horsepower to render FX and make montages. Linux provides brute force with a fraction of the cost but implies that you can manage the beast without getting bitten.

Beside that: Long Live the Penguin!



- Best
- Pasha

[noisetonepause]

Ardour (one of the best Multi Track Recorder) is distributed as a source code tar ball that you have to compile on your system.

WTF?

All free software is distributed like this - but not exclusively.

I can install a pre-compiled version of Ardour with a few clicks in my package manager, or one command in a shell (on FreeBSD it would be some COMPLETELY UNREADABLE!! like 'pkg_add -r ardour').

Modern Linux distributions don't expect you to compile anything yourself - especially not Fedora, Debian or Ubuntu which are the ones mentioned in this thread.

[Pasha]

Ardour (one of the best Multi Track Recorder) is distributed as a source code tar ball that you have to compile on your system.

WTF?

All free software is distributed like this - but not exclusively.

I can install a pre-compiled version of Ardour with a few clicks in my package manager, or one command in a shell (on FreeBSD it would be some COMPLETELY UNREADABLE!! like 'pkg_add -r ardour').

Modern Linux distributions don't expect you to compile anything yourself - especially not Fedora, Debian or Ubuntu which are the ones mentioned in this thread.

I wasn't criticizing this method which I know it had worked several times for me (transcode) but what about the less geeks?

- Best
- Pasha

[jonny72]

Live on Linux will be a great plan! a future investment. they could even make their own build of Linux, with Live buildin!

That is a great idea. I use a Mac, but a custom Ableton distribution of Linux for running Live would be of interest and I'd definitely at least try it out. By heavily customising it for Live we could end up with the best performance and stability.

There is a big Linux community as well so I'm sure there would be plenty of people to help out with it . Maybe Ableton could run it as a community project, they take care of Live and the community works on the Linux side of things.

I'm sure there are plenty of people that only run Live when they are performing / working so having to boot in to a Linux partition wouldn't be that big an issue if there were benefits.

Best reason yet for Ableton to go down the Linux path.

[noisetonepause]

I wasn't criticizing this method which I know it had worked several times for me (transcode) but what about the less geeks?

Come again? Criticising which method?

[tedriot]

I'M SICK OF APPLE AND MICROSOFT.
I'M A MUSICIAN, NOT A COMPUTER TECH!

WHEN I OPEN MY COMPUTER, I DON'T WANT IT TO DO ANYTHING THAT I DON'T WANT IT TO.

I'M SICK OF THESE ****** CORPORATIONS.

I'VE WASTED 12 YEARS OF MY LIFE WAITING FOR SOFTWARE AND OS COMPANIES TO GET THEIR CRAP TOGETHER WHILE THEY SUCK MY POCKETS DRY.

Same here +1

A mini linux version on a bootable ableton live cd would be perfekt :p

[adventurepants_]

I'M SICK OF APPLE AND MICROSOFT.
I'M A MUSICIAN, NOT A COMPUTER TECH!

WHEN I OPEN MY COMPUTER, I DON'T WANT IT TO DO ANYTHING THAT I DON'T WANT IT TO.

I'M SICK OF THESE ****** CORPORATIONS.

I'VE WASTED 12 YEARS OF MY LIFE WAITING FOR SOFTWARE AND OS COMPANIES TO GET THEIR CRAP TOGETHER WHILE THEY SUCK MY POCKETS DRY.

Same here +1

A mini linux version on a bootable ableton live cd would be perfekt :p

it would be awesome, but I think a lot of linux geeks dont understand how absolutely tiny the DAW market is. its miniscule in the scheme of things. It would be a disaster for Ableton to devote any of their resources to this at the moment.

[Machinesworking]

I think they could do it. Find a few other brave companies to team up with, or even just work directly with Jack Labs. They did that, and others will follow.


Honestly I'm contemplating doing a Linux machine already based on ReNoise, and Energy XT, plus Reaper, and zyn sub FX.... A good soft synth, DAW and sampler is about all I need anyway.

[adventurepants_]

I think they could do it. Find a few other brave companies to team up with, or even just work directly with Jack Labs. They did that, and others will follow.


Honestly I'm contemplating doing a Linux machine already based on ReNoise, and Energy XT, plus Reaper, and zyn sub FX.... A good soft synth, DAW and sampler is about all I need anyway.

i dont think it has anything to do with being brave, its just a foolish business decision, to further segment a tiny market.

most software companies spend more on their support infrastructure than anything else, and adding a third layer of expertise for an OS that has many flavours cant make sense. Add to that the fact that Linux users have an expectation of not paying for software.

The two most consumed types of software in the world are Office suites and Games. If MS thought there was any money in designing Office for Linux, they would have already, and the fact that Linux is ignored by %99 of AAA game titles means the game studios dont think there is a buck in it either.

Im all for innovation, but i cant help feel that any moves Ableton make in this direction will compromise the quality of the software that im currently paying my bit to help them develop.

[leedsquietman]

I understand the OP's frustration with Microsoft and Apple. I feel dirty and compromised using either, given their selfish, ultra profit driven and don't give a crap for the end user. And yes, Apple are just as bad as MS in my book, selling broken ipods and making unilateral decisions on hardware and software with no though to their users (many of whom are totally in love and devoted, which is part of the problem, like an abused spouse, they live in denial and allow themselves to be beaten time and again in the belief that next time will be the last ... until the next time). MS - utter w*nkers, releasing 3rd rate bug ridden software and flooding the market so we have no other choices except to pay a premium and go with the other devil, Apple. If Steve Balmer or Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had a head on collision in thier cars and both ended up losing their life, I would not lose one iota of sleep and think that maybe Karma was at work after all.

Rant over. But Linux is not a viable choice right now - very few audio cards are supported, VST and AU are not officially supported, and there is too much uncertainty as to which distribution of Linux to use. Plus the fact that many of it's user base are attracted to the fact that Linux offers a lot of free software, and some have principles to never buy software on Linux (not business server users, but home users). Where will the sales come from ?

[adventurepants_]

I understand the OP's frustration with Microsoft and Apple. I feel dirty and compromised using either, given their selfish, ultra profit driven and don't give a crap for the end user.

thats quite a whine.

let me introduce you to my friend capitalism. You have luxury items like Live for the very same reason that MS and Apple (and Ableton) are profit driven.

I dont see much high quality DAW software coming from Cuba or Venezuala.

[autodidactic]

...But Linux is not a viable choice right now - very few audio cards are supported, VST and AU are not officially supported, and there is too much uncertainty as to which distribution of Linux to use. ...

I think you've hit the nail on the head. If Ableton was going to make a move towards Linux they'd be alone and that is what is stopping them first and foremost. I think if linux users want to lobby for audio support, I think they should convince the Ubuntu developers to approach the top cross-platform hardware, host and plugin manufacturers and ask them:

1 - What can we do to our OS that would make a port as painless as possible for you.

2 - If we do these things, can we get a firm commitment on porting at least a small but meaningful portion of your product line and add more to the list as demand grows?

Another way to get more development would be for a company like Dell to do with Linux what Apple did with BSD. I think Dell has enough resources and Apple has had enough success for Dell to consider such a move.

[leedsquietman]

Sure.

What I wish is that we had more competition. At the moment, MS and Apple have a communist like grip on the computer market and Linux in it's present state is not in a position to offer serious competition for anything but the server market.

I just get tired of fanboys, PC and Mac. We use their machines BECAUSE WE HAVE TO, rather than because WE WANT TO. This allows them to be incompetent and selfish repeatedly and we just have to suck it up.

But you're right. I could go to Cuba, (where I would get better medical care for free than in the USA and access to cheap cigars) and use hardware

[duluxdog]

What the fuck? Buy the White Mac Book. There, you have a 13" laptop with firewire, with an OS that won't wreck your shit. Happy now?