A new computer - let's load it up!

[Oren]

Hmmm. Sad to hear you're having problems.

Will,
I went into this armed with some advice from "Doc Folderol" regarding patience and perserverance, treating it as a learning experience. With this attitudinal orientation "problems" morph into opportunities for learning. (except when I get mad and start throwing things...)

I wonder if this is time to have another look at 64studio? I can't remember exactly what the problem was you had before, display problems wasn't it? In any case I can't see they would be insurmountable and this distro does give you a lot of the stuff already correctly configured.

Believe me, sailor, I've been looking very carefully at 64studio. The problems loading 64studio on this machine (which is, by design, remarkably similar to yours ) were not actually mine - they were Jonathon's (the builder). I'm not clear on where the snags occurred...

I am responsible for 4 computers, one all-purpose, two for music, and my wife's laptop. All of these will eventually run on Linux, and I want to develop my skills with this in mind. Ubuntu is currently available in three versions: studio (audio/video), server, and general-purpose. They all use the same kernel and Gnome desktop, and are updated/upgraded as a "family", allowing a user to comfortably work with his/her various special-purpose computers. The Ubuntu concept seems like a well-integrated Linux solution, and my new music computer is rock solid with this Ubuntu-based Ultimate Edition distribution.

My personal inclination is to jump right into 64studio, but in an uncharacteristic fit of rational thinking....it seems reasonable to try Ubuntu Studio with the hope of being able to establish an Ubuntu theme across the four computers. If it proves to be substandard with regards to audio processing, then I can invoke 64studio and work through whatever installation glitches may exist.

Am I wimping out here ?




Will

[folderol]

It seems you have a pretty good plan of action here in reality. I would add that both 64studio and ubunto are derived from debian, and both have gnome as the default window manager.

Mind you, I've been experimenting with a number of other distros recently, mostly for office-based stuff.

Saying your computer runs 'linux' is like saying your car has an 'engine'.

[Oren]

Will,

Here's the new computer with a freshly erased hard drive, and Ubuntu Studio newly installed. Comes with a thoughtful whack of audio software, including all of your favourites, and a few I've never even heard of before. Currently running six of the larger JACK-connected audio applications at 64 frames, with only one x-run occurring (when introducing one of the apps).
Firefox and Synaptic package manager also in operation concurrently with audio applications - apparently no conflicts.

If initial impressions are any indication, we've arrived....

Oren.

[Wyatt]

Will,

Here's the new computer with a freshly erased hard drive, and Ubuntu Studio newly installed. Comes with a thoughtful whack of audio software, including all of your favourites, and a few I've never even heard of before. Currently running six of the larger JACK-connected audio applications at 64 frames, with only one x-run occurring (when introducing one of the apps).
Firefox and Synaptic package manager also in operation concurrently with audio applications - apparently no conflicts.

If initial impressions are any indication, we've arrived....

Oren.

                                              

Cool,

Wyatt

[kara]

Great news Oren 

k

Will,

Here's the new computer with a freshly erased hard drive, and Ubuntu Studio newly installed. Comes with a thoughtful whack of audio software, including all of your favourites, and a few I've never even heard of before. Currently running six of the larger JACK-connected audio applications at 64 frames, with only one x-run occurring (when introducing one of the apps).
Firefox and Synaptic package manager also in operation concurrently with audio applications - apparently no conflicts.

If initial impressions are any indication, we've arrived....

Oren.

[folderol]

Oooo. That's a latency of less than 3mS

Hmmmm <thinks>

You have both Rosegarden and ZynAddSubFX on there don't you.

Perhaps you might like to try a little experiment if you have the time and inclination.

Here a a zip of a Zyn. parameter file, and an RG file. It's not a terribly wonderful tune, but from 2:15 onwards it can really stress a system. I'd be interested to hear what latency you can get with it

[rharv]

Excellent turn of events partner!
3ms is quick. Very nice.
Sounds like you may have just crossed the line from student to mentor..

[Oren]

Wyatt, Kara, Will, Bob,

Thanks for your continued interest and encouragement! The hard part is now over - from here on in it's all wine and roses 

Bob,
Part of the reason I undertook this maneuver is so I'd be able to help our friends make the transition from XP to Linux when the time is right. My inclination to learn in a methodical manner makes it easy for me to pass on information in conveniently assimilable bits. (wait 'til you see this stuff in action... )

Will,
I may have to approach you for a step-by-step on how to load those files into Zyn and Rosy. I'll give it a go on my own, first. Thanks for the opportunity to put the system through its paces.

What's that in the air...? Oooo, the sweet smell of success

Oren.

[rharv]

Hmmmm
The Dynabolic site that El pointed us to says my xbox will run it using ver 1.4.1
This could get interesting.  If I could use it for actual audio apps instead of just as an FTP storage space that would be really cool.  Another helper music computer.  Free.

[folderol]

It's me again


Well, Oren, I thought it best to carry on here rather than hijack Wyatt's topic completely!

It is strange how you don't realise you have got into a different set of habits when changing OS. Some things don't change much. Some are not so convenient. Some are more convenient.

A few things I have configured on my system is for clicking on a window pane to not bring it to the top, and moving it by its title bar to not take the keyboard/mouse focus. Also scrollwheel forward in the title bar rolls the window up to just the title bar and scroll back rolls it back down again like a blind. I find these setting combined, massively increase my productivity.

I think you highlighted one of the principle differences with any Open Source package though, in that you look for solutions to problems instead of waiting (hoping?) for the vendor to supply them.

I'll leave you for a while to find time to try out that composition. But if you really do get stuck just yell. One hint. Start Zyn. before Rose.

[Wyatt]

It's me again


Well, Oren, I thought it best to carry on here rather than hijack Wyatt's topic completely!

Seriously..no problem at all..I am in limbo now until I'm not..and you guys are more than welcome!!

Wyatt

[Oren]

After charging around my new computer, finally settling on Ubuntu Studio as the O/S, and then throwing all I could at it "to see what it can do"....I lapsed into an odd moment of sobriety, and decided it was time to stop dorking around. Anomalies were showing up, and it began to be difficult to remember what accessory software I'd thrown in, which I'd removed, and what adjustments I'd made.

So, into the computer store to have the 500 GB hard drive completely sanitized, then a fresh install of Ubuntu Studio. Download all the updates, and determine how to proceed...

The basic O/S chores have always worked nicely - cool!
JACK, Ardour, and Hydrogen will provide me with a solid place to start.
Rosegarden and ZynAddSubFX (and maybe Qsynth) can be added one I'm conversant in the first three.

Ardour seems like an ideal recording/mixing/mastering application. If Ardour needs additional capacity to be an effective mastering tool, adding JAMin via JACK may be wise. I'm still not clear as to why one would keep Audacity around - seems redundant to me.... 

It will be months before I can execute tests like the one Will thoughtfully supplied to see how well the system handles high-demand tasks. Working with the basic tools and keeping the software clean and organized is the approach that suits my personality. Looks like play-time is over (but it was fun!)

Oren.

[Wyatt]

Oren,

Sounds like a plan to me..mess around to get a feel for the territory, then simplify matters so that the project is approachable.

Sounds like you have quite a powerful setup there. Keep up the good work.

Wyatt

[Oren]

...Sounds like a plan to me..mess around to get a feel for the territory, then simplify matters so that the project is approachable...

Wyatt,

Yup! Messing around is now officially over, and simplification is the next item on the menu 

Perhaps the biggest challenge is making the choices.
Under Windows, there are a lot of ways to accomplish a task, sufficient to accommodate most tastes in workflow. Linux just gets mind-boggling - and if you don't like the existing options, you can sit right down and program your own version of how it should be done.

Any word on the new build?

Oren.

[Wyatt]

Any word on the new build?

Oren.

I was supposed to take delivery last Friday..but all the parts haven't arrived, even yet.

So the time-table is definitely in no-mans land right now. I have been able to do a little
toward prepping for the file transfers, but only precious little at that.

Like the guy said, "Patience is what you use when impatience is no longer working."

I will update when I get a clue.

Wyatt