It’s been busy busy busy… I have been reading up on distro after distro. I don’t have a definite choice made yet, but I feel I know a lot more about Linux versions.
As for a start date, we still can’t agree on when D-Day will be, other than it will be soon.
The big news is that we have gained another guinea pig. I was by a chap named Daniel, another EeePC user very keen on home recording and production. Daniel describes his likely input as
“I'd say that my input would be more like that of a 'home user'. I might be able to throw a system together from parts, but I have no formal computer education, so I was thinking I could cover that kind of angle too. See if I can find an equivalent to my mobile phone computer software, or investigate that different 'on demand' television services.”
Daniel’s PC at home is loaded with Cubase and various plug-ins. He puts this to good use recording his own guitar playing and audio dramas. He had the following suggestion to make:
“Although my EeePC is not powerful enough full blown recording, but I could test the water with it. I have a podcast audio drama recording session soon, I'll see about getting some software installed and do a 'field test'... hopefully that'll make good reading. It'll still get recorded on the studio's PC, but no reason why I can't take a laptop and spare mic along! The test could be to see if I can do the same things with Linux and open source freeware as with my £375 copy of Cubase and the fortune I have spent on plug-ins.
I think that Daniel will bring a new dimension to the project, particularly from the amateur musicians perspective. I did not fully appreciate just how expensive home audio recording software can be. I had a quick look around and their are a few enthusiasts out there developing such applications for Linux. With Daniel a self confessed “home user” it will be fascinating to see how much you can get for nothing. The cost of audio software is no doubt keeping some talented people out of the home recording game, perhaps open source can offer the tools that are required?
Keep looking back. I want to get a countdown started on this in the very near future.
I guess that the research that we are going through now is typical of anyone who is going to make the change to Linux. In that respect, Windows does tend to be easier. You simply don’t have to worry about which version to plump for. Essentially there is only one.
