Should Ableton have support for linux??

Martin Gasser · Post by **Martin Gasser** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:17 pm

That's a bit ridiculous. Selling a Linux port of Live would require Ableton to include a patched version of Linux in the package, in order to guarantee for flawless functioning of the software. There is not "one Linux" as there is one OSX or one Microsoft Windows. Linux is a more or less lose collection of Open Source software that is in no way controlled by a company, which is a good and a bad thing at the same time. Sure, it is *possible* to make Linux ready for audio work (one good example is the first version of Final Scratch, which ran on a customized version of Debian Linux), but a standard distro simply is not (for the records: Being able to play back MP3s does not mean that Linux is also usable for real time audio processing, which requires - among other things - a patched low latency kernel with preemptive scheduling).

So, no, I don't think it's sensible to wait for a Linux port of Live - it will not happen, unless Ableton is willing to invest a huge amount of development ressources into a small business segment.

Linux is good thing for doing experimental stuff (e.g., in SuperCollider, PD et al.), but if you want a stable setup that is usable in everyday life, use Windows, or - even better - get a Mac. It's still worth the money.

Martin

friend_kami · Post by **friend_kami** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 2:24 pm

Martin Gasser wrote:That's a bit ridiculous. Selling a Linux port of Live would require Ableton to include a patched version of Linux in the package, in order to guarantee for flawless functioning of the software. There is not "one Linux" as there is one OSX or one Microsoft Windows. Linux is a more or less lose collection of Open Source software that is in no way controlled by a company, which is a good and a bad thing at the same time. Sure, it is *possible* to make Linux ready for audio work (one good example is the first version of Final Scratch, which ran on a customized version of Debian Linux), but a standard distro simply is not (for the records: Being able to play back MP3s does not mean that Linux is also usable for real time audio processing, which requires - among other things - a patched low latency kernel with preemptive scheduling).

So, no, I don't think it's sensible to wait for a Linux port of Live - it will not happen, unless Ableton is willing to invest a huge amount of development ressources into a small business segment.

Linux is good thing for doing experimental stuff (e.g., in SuperCollider, PD et al.), but if you want a stable setup that is usable in everyday life, use Windows, or - even better - get a Mac. It's still worth the money.

Martin

im sorry, where have you been lately?
http://linux-sound.org/distro.html

bear in mind, this is an outdated link.

djn8 · Post by **djn8** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:06 am

I don't use linux, but I'm aware of it's capabilities. And I think a Linux version of ableton would rock my socks off. And I would finally have a good excuse to ditch windows for a dedicated linux machine.

Linux is faster and more stable than windows, but unfortunatly this is but a dream. The demand isn't there so I don't ever see it happening.

friend_kami · Post by **friend_kami** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:46 pm

djn8 wrote:I don't use linux, but I'm aware of it's capabilities. And I think a Linux version of ableton would rock my socks off. And I would finally have a good excuse to ditch windows for a dedicated linux machine.

Linux is faster and more stable than windows, but unfortunatly this is but a dream. The demand isn't there so I don't ever see it happening.

the people developing energyxt disagrees.

Dj-Grobe · Post by **Dj-Grobe** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:54 am

futureSol wrote:Funny thing is that Max OSX is based Unix - which Linux is based on too. Most programmers use linux or macs anyway, so providing a stable linux version would really only require someone to write and implement a good compiler

I think its more of an issue of releasing Ableton to Linux users who are more likely to hack the software and do things like release it as OpenSource or propagate free or cheaper versions.

True, only a small amount of the general computing public use linux but its performance is far and away better than windows...especially Vista, i have 2GB of ram in my laptop and Vista uses 35-40% of it just to run. Same laptop with Linux runs at about 8% memory load. Why do you think Macs run so well... its just a flavor of linux on controlled hardware. Linux is made to run on any machine - which is why people run into problems b/c hardware vendors don't support linux - so you have to hack your hardware (even your mouse) to work right.

However, the power of Ableton combined with the easy of changing how hardware works in Linux, could really lead to some really cool outcomes using customized/hacked hardware. Also with retailers starting to sell Linux based systems (WalMart sold out of their $200 Ubuntu based desktop the day they released it) it [linux] will become more and more popular operating system.

I'm all for a linux flavor of Ableton, but I can see the reasons why they wouldn't release it, at least for right now.

For vista user i sugest read this, and really sugest disable superfetch and you have lot of free mem for ableton.
Superfetch not is good really if you use your machine only for produce, for daily home or officeusage really work great, but not for studio.
I really sugest disable and test.

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/11/3 ... uperfetch/

Sintec · Post by **Sintec** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 6:56 pm

this is pretty much a chicken and egg situation in my mind. Because music software doesn't run in Linux musicians don't run it, therefore software developers don't develop for it, therefore musicians don't run it....

It'd be nice if the guys at Ableton had the time & money to develop a version of their software that'd run in Linux. But I guess for the time being I'm stuck with running Windows

halfhead · Post by **halfhead** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 3:11 am

not really. im a musician, as are most my friends and 90% of them are linux users. we all want ableton on linux for reasons obvious to linux users.

and there are programs on linux for musicians but its hard to stop using ableton and use another program.

anyways, poop on a stick

nytel · Post by **nytel** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 9:19 pm

I just 'converted' over to Ubuntu and if it wasn't for audio recording, I'd totally go with linux.

Audio recording in Linux... well there's nothing! No solid program other than Ardour, but it's not Ableton! I love Ableton and wish I can completely forget about windows, but I really don't want to pay for the Linux either, nor are they're any VST companies that would start coding for Linux. I say start this train rollin!

JuSchu · Post by **JuSchu** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:13 am

i think that there are not enough linux user who would buy live, is not a reason don't make a linux version. the point is, that when there is a linux version of live, there will be much more linux users in abletons target group, because they just switched to linux for live. it's not an additional investment. it'S free.

ok...there are not many vst runnig on linux. but ableton has got 4 synts and 3 samplers. i think this will be enough FOR THE FIRST TIME. i evan would have no problem with that when it's not only for the first time.
but why are there no vst (or not so many) for linux? because there is no major-seqencer that suports linux. it's again the chicken-and-egg-situation.
because live is very common right now (much people evan uses logic, cubase or hardware to produce but have live for their gigs), i think the plugin-developers will follow very fast.
and then there is an egg (or a chicken) and other sequencer-developers can follow, too.

the only point is, that someone got to start. and why not ableton.

hoffman2k · Post by **hoffman2k** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:00 am

No, get it running properly on OSX first. (No voting option for me? Urgh, Linux N00bs!)

crushkill · Post by **crushkill** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 2:05 pm

I am following closely the viability and workability of Ableton Live with WINE (http://www.winehq.org). Wine , if you didnt know, allows windows applications to be run under linux/unix systems.

The workability has actually come a long way since a few years ago, and Ableton runs *almost* perfectly -- currently there is a direct draw bug that causes some of the internal options / windows within ableton not to display any text properly.

I believe this is one of the final hurdles for running wine within linux/unix systems and I think we should all be more pro-active in pushing the developers of wine to look at these particular bugs!

Honestly, if i can get the few audio applications i use to run in linux, I will give up windows completely -- a goal I hope to reach soon!

The final bug regarding this ddraw issue is here :

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=13526

If this issue interests you at ALL , please create a bugzilla account on the wine website and VOTE for my bug! This will increase the visibility of this particular issue and of audio applications in wine altogether -- their main focus right now seems to be getting various games to work , I'd like to change that!

Please let me know your thoughts on this and any other suggestions you guys may have regarding getting ableton running in linux!

Thanks ..

ShenShenDrax · Post by **ShenShenDrax** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 8:25 pm

I'd love to see Live on Linux.

Does anyone know: have Ableton ever made any comment about it? We can add a thousand posts saying it'd be easy or hard, but the only opinions that matter are those of the decision makers at Ableton.

noisetonepause · Post by **noisetonepause** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:27 pm

ShenShenDrax wrote:Does anyone know: have Ableton ever made any comment about it? We can add a thousand posts saying it'd be easy or hard, but the only opinions that matter are those of the decision makers at Ableton.

I don't have express permission (I haven't asked) to quote anybody and it was nothing like an official statement, but going by what the Ableton employees I've talked to about this have said, it's not something they're working on or likely to start working on any time soon.

forge · Post by **forge** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:53 pm

noisetonepause wrote:
ShenShenDrax wrote:Does anyone know: have Ableton ever made any comment about it? We can add a thousand posts saying it'd be easy or hard, but the only opinions that matter are those of the decision makers at Ableton.
I don't have permission to quote anybody and it was nothing like an official statement, but going by what the Ableton employees I've talked to about this, it's not something they're working on or likely to start working on any time soon.

+1

I think it's a novel fantasy but I don't ever see this happening

noisetonepause · Post by **noisetonepause** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:01 pm

forge wrote:I think it's a novel fantasy but I don't ever see this happening

Oh, it will happen if Live doesn't drop off the face of the earth. It's just a shame that Ableton will be the followers and not the leaders in what is an almost inevitable transition away from Windows - it might take twenty years, but it's going to happen.

Should Ableton have support for linux??

Would you use Ableton-Linux?

Yes!