Well, here we are, getting close to the release of Ubuntu Studio 11.10 aka Oneiric Ocelot and a few topics come to mind for immediate discussion.
Oneiric Development
Sadly, development is crawling forward in between periods of stark inactivity. Our goal was to transition to XFCE during this development cycle. Unfortunately, it seemed that almost everyone of those actively involved were busy outside of Ubuntu Studio. Development stagnated for several months but I think we are building momentum again and making progress.
Therefore it seems that while we may make a transition, it will not be the thorough or complete transition for this release. It is embarrassing, but it is also true.
So, it would seem that two development cycle will be required to complete the transition to XFCE.
We are currently testing the Beta 1 image. You can help test as well (please do!) by going to the QA Website and choosing the appropriate architecture to test. And be sure to report your results!
I tested (and reported) the image last night and I will forewarn you that it currently is not aesthetically pleasing at this point. Our main concern at this point is to make sure everything works, then we can make it pretty.
Currently the current theme and settings are still the default XFCE settings but Cory is still working on this. So, "pretty" is still in the plan ;)
Help
We still need help for almost everything. But this time I want to be slightly more selective in my solicitation.
We certainly need people for almost every aspect but one quality (well, perhaps two actually) I would like to highlight: self-reliance and initiative.
People who can take a general direction (i.e. "find out how to set the background for the new lightdm greeter"), find answers/solutions with minimal input from the team (i.e. go find other code that has already done it, ask the lightdm developer, or just play with it), and yield a results (i.e. "I figured out how and this is how you do it...") are greatly needed. We appreciate anyone who wants to help, but if the team spends time to walk someone else through it then other major changes will not occur. It's a paradox and it sucks but that is where are at.
I knew practically nothing about development and no one directly mentored me. I asked lots of questions, did a lot of research (all hail the mighty Google), and experimented/tested a lot. It can be done, even if you don't know much currently, but you need to have tenacity.
Also I want to state that internally we have shifted from using the term "developers" to "contributors" for the team. This may seem like semantics, but it is more than just that. There truly isn't that much "developing" going on as we don't write a lot of code within the team...but we do a lot of other things like creating themes, creating packages that adjust settings, testing, artwork, yadda, yadda, yadda.
The fear was that the term didn't accurately reflect what we did and it seemed to hold exclusive connotations. People shied away from help because they weren't "developers". But everyone (and I really, really mean that) can contribute :)
Probably the best way to really get into the mix is to visit us on Freenode IRC at #ubuntustudio-devel. Be sure to stay there for a while and don't leave after three minutes because no one says anything back. We are all busy and in different time zone so you may need to wait several hours before you receive a coherent reply.
Of course, IRC visits aren't absolutely required to help because there's always monthly QA testing and documentation that needs to be created and maintained.
Audience
A confluence of activities yielded an interesting result....the majority of the active team feels that we should define our audience as musicians who are new to Linux. This is still a continuing process so we might refine or adjust this definition.
But the general feelings was that other multimedia distributions are addressing other areas of the user space spectrum and Ubuntu already has a connotation of being accessible for users new to Linux.
Therefore, Ubuntu Studio could directly support those who are new to Linux. They might either have used a multimedia OS or may be transitioning from Windows or Mac.
Unsurprisingly, articulating an audience and a goal suddenly gave a clearly defined direction to the project that had been lacking and many of the questions we had simply had answers. Troy predicted this phenomenon to me over a year ago.
We would certainly appreciate any feedback on this subject.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Xoom Tablet Review
In this blog I review the Xoom tablet.
Reasons for Purchasing the Xoom
I have been considering purchasing a tablet for several months as the form factor would be a benefit in contrast to my laptop. And although I was originally drawn to the Xoom I had intended to purchase a slightly less expensive tablet.
However, when Staples (I presume a US only national electronics store) offered a $100 USD coupon for tablets I choose to purchase a 16 gig, wi-fi only model running Honeycomb 3.2 for $399 USD.
Intrinsic Attributes
I haven’t extensive experience with other tablets so I will not be able to contrast the Xoom.
The first thing I noticed the weight of the tablet. It is not prohibitively heavy, but it was far heavier than I expected. But I would prefer a solidly built tablet rather than the crappy, plastic lid to my wife’s laptop that pops apart from a light, sharp knock.
The bevel seems very minimal which I expected to be a good feature but I have largish hands I found that my fingers habitually end up touching the screen. This is not absolutely horrible but it is slightly distracting when menus suddenly appear or the screen changes otherwise when I do not expect it. I have gotten better at avoiding this as my use has continued and the use of a portfolio case has greatly reduced this as well.
I find the power button and volume controls suboptimal.
The power button is inconveniently located on the back of the tablet, especially when using the portfolio case opened and folded back at which point the power button is inaccessible. The button is quite responsive even if it is located unconventionally.
The volume controls seem to offer the inverse situation; they are well placed and very accessible, but the buttons themselves are difficult to use as they are very unresponsive to touch. Additionally, the buttons do not protrude much and I have trouble determining which button I am touching. Including an immediately accessible (i.e. within two taps) on-screen volume control via the the lower right menu icon would greatly improve this situation.
The on-screen keyboard is adequate, although slightly too narrow for my (somewhat large) hands to fit comfortably. I am a touch typists, I do not need to look at the keyboard, and I use all my fingers, but on the Xoom I find that typing with my first fingers from both hands (and sometimes only one hand) and looking at the keyboard to be the quickest if I value accuracy. The voice-to-text functionality is quite helpful in some cases and I have even used it during conversations on IRC.
I am aware there are on-screen keyboards available for purchase in the Android market that splits the keys and moves them close to the sides for use with thumbs although I have not explored this yet. Friends that have Android tablets have highly recommended purchasing one. Another option is to purchase the Bluetooth keyboard available from Motorola, although this seems to violate the purpose of the tablet to me.
I have heard complaints of how some applications scale on the screen. I noticed an icon on the bottom right of the screen that allowed the user to choose is the applications is the scaled to fit the screen or zoomed to fit.
Lastly, I have found the battery life exceeded my expectations. Granted I do not use it extensive throughout the day, but I do use it daily and charging is required after approximately three days use.
Internet
The browser is sleek, stable, and functions well, featuring some very well designed (if slightly hidden) functions that are helpful.
The UI is clean and very functional, managing screen real estate well. And as opposed to Fab’s experiences, I have not suffered a browser crash yet.
Flash was not installed by default but was easily available in the Android market and has functioned well.
Two-finger zooming is available, which is not only a helpful feature but sometimes a necessity to select a small link on the screen.
The typical controls (back, search, etc.) are available when you are scrolling down the page by touching the header for the current tab . This was a very helpful feature although I stumbled upon it by accident.
Holding down a link brings up a small menu that will allow you to open that link in a new tab, among other options. Again, this is a very handy functionality that I stumbled across by accident.
In general I found the browser to meet all of my needs, although I tend to view specific pages rather than randomly surf the internet.
Email
The Xoom includes a native Gmail application by default and it works wonderfully. The UI is uncluttered and exceptionally functional and it integrates with Gmail without problem. This could be a study of functional minimalism for other developers.
It functions as well as I could expect and I can only offer one criticism; since my hands do not fit the onboard keyboard and I haven’t bought a split-keys, thumb-type keyboard yet, I do not actually answer many emails with it. I can poke out simple, quick replies with my pointer finger(s), but alas, that is not my style as I am naturally garrulous. So at this time I generally only use it as an email reader.
Google Books
A significant amount of my time on the Xoom is spent reading and my use of Google Books has yielded an extremely pleasant experience with only a few niggles of mention.
Google Books has a clean, uncluttered, and intuitive UI. I would not say that it is superior to others, but equivalent and certainly very functional.
Books can be searched and purchased through the Android market. Prices are a pleasant as I have generally found that I can purchase an ebook cheaper than the identical paperback at the local brick-and-mortar store, which is a sharp contrast to other ebook retailers (I’m looking at you Amazon).
I recently discovered a handy feature; if during lunch at work I were to open a book in a browser at my desktop then the book is at the same spot I stopped reading the night before with my Xoom. I concede that this is more a functionality provided by Google Books, but it is still appreciated.
The first niggle is the Xoom’s weight, as noted above. At 1.6 pounds (730 grams) I find it comparable to a large book, although certainly less bulky or cumbersome to such a book. It doesn’t seem heavy at first, but sustained reading begins to make it uncomfortable to hold with a single hand.
The second distraction to mention is the screen lock. I prefer to read with the tablet like I would hold a sheet of paper, i.e. long dimension vertical. In order to lock the screen I need to get into the system settings and look for the toggle and I would conversely need to unlock it when I am doing other tasks. I admit that this is not difficult, but other tablets have made this far more accessible. I would suggest adding the screen lock toggle to either the settings icon for Google Books or adding it to the lower right menu icon.
Google Music
Much like the Gmail application the Google Music application is straight forward, uncluttered, and functions easily.
A downside is that Google Music still seems to be in closed Beta. I imagine this disappointed to many but it will open soon enough.
And since the music is streaming you don't have to store anything on the tablet.
YouTube
Until know I have generally eschewed YouTube as I find most of it is rubbish. However, after discovering the Yogscast and their Minecraft series of videos I now watch quite a bit from time to time.
The default YouTube application is nice, although I find the UI slightly crowded. I would suggest moving the suggested videos window onto the type of sliding window that is hidden until the double arrow window bar is tapped.
Watching videos, including HD, is wonderful and the Xoom handles video exceedingly well. In full screen mode the UI is minimized, uncluttered, and fades from view leaving the screen clean.
Video Chat
The inclusion of a forward facing 2MP camera suggested that video chat would be readily available across the preferred platforms. Unfortunately video chat is currently not available in either Skype or Google+ hangouts. I was especially disappointed by the exclusion of hangouts, although I understand that this may be coming.
The good news is the Google Talk is included by default and works very well.
But I would still like to be able to have a video chat with multiple people with my Xoom.
What I Haven’t Done
The time I spend with tools tends to be on tasks for which I find them useful and I don’t generally spend a lot of time mucking about with them. To wit, there are many areas that I have not, and simply may not, explore with the Xoom.
I have not downloaded many applications from the Android market. I buy what I know I want and research them a bit before I even consider buying them. So I don’t feel qualified to comment on the market.
I haven’t downloaded and watched any movies. With only 16 gigs of memory I suspect I would need to actively maintain a minimalistic library of videos on the Xoom. I could have bought the 32 gig model or add an SD card, but I didn’t and I haven’t.
I haven’t even plugged in the USB cable yet. It’s still in the clear plastic bag from when I opened the box. I will open the bag and use the cable when I have need. I just don’t need to yet.
Lastly, I haven’t really played any games on it. I did spend some time with Angry Birds just to experience it. But I have limited time and if I spend any time on games it’s on Minecraft.
Suggestion
The lower right menu icon is a convenient access to the typical settings. Just not the settings that I typically want to access.
I would find it excitingly useful if I could choose what setting were visible when I tap the lower right menu.
Summary
Obviously I use many of the Google services and they are well integrated and supported on this tablet. And I use them for a majority of my experience with the Xoom. So much so that I might start joking it's the Google Xoom.
Do I like the Xoom? I do, very much so. It certainly has integrated well into my consumption of electronic media and I might spend up to two hours a night using it. But that use is more in a consumptive manner than a creative one.
Would I recommend it to all my friends? No I would not. But I would have a hard time recommending any tablet at all.
Tablets are still fairly expensive (even with the coupon) and I could not say that it would holistically replace a laptop for most people. For example, I typed this blog on my desktop machine and not the tablet.
However, if you have the disposable income and are looking for a good "toilet computer" to consume media, I would certainly not dissuade you from purchasing this tablet.
Reasons for Purchasing the Xoom
I have been considering purchasing a tablet for several months as the form factor would be a benefit in contrast to my laptop. And although I was originally drawn to the Xoom I had intended to purchase a slightly less expensive tablet.
However, when Staples (I presume a US only national electronics store) offered a $100 USD coupon for tablets I choose to purchase a 16 gig, wi-fi only model running Honeycomb 3.2 for $399 USD.
Intrinsic Attributes
I haven’t extensive experience with other tablets so I will not be able to contrast the Xoom.
The first thing I noticed the weight of the tablet. It is not prohibitively heavy, but it was far heavier than I expected. But I would prefer a solidly built tablet rather than the crappy, plastic lid to my wife’s laptop that pops apart from a light, sharp knock.
The bevel seems very minimal which I expected to be a good feature but I have largish hands I found that my fingers habitually end up touching the screen. This is not absolutely horrible but it is slightly distracting when menus suddenly appear or the screen changes otherwise when I do not expect it. I have gotten better at avoiding this as my use has continued and the use of a portfolio case has greatly reduced this as well.
I find the power button and volume controls suboptimal.
The power button is inconveniently located on the back of the tablet, especially when using the portfolio case opened and folded back at which point the power button is inaccessible. The button is quite responsive even if it is located unconventionally.
The volume controls seem to offer the inverse situation; they are well placed and very accessible, but the buttons themselves are difficult to use as they are very unresponsive to touch. Additionally, the buttons do not protrude much and I have trouble determining which button I am touching. Including an immediately accessible (i.e. within two taps) on-screen volume control via the the lower right menu icon would greatly improve this situation.
The on-screen keyboard is adequate, although slightly too narrow for my (somewhat large) hands to fit comfortably. I am a touch typists, I do not need to look at the keyboard, and I use all my fingers, but on the Xoom I find that typing with my first fingers from both hands (and sometimes only one hand) and looking at the keyboard to be the quickest if I value accuracy. The voice-to-text functionality is quite helpful in some cases and I have even used it during conversations on IRC.
I am aware there are on-screen keyboards available for purchase in the Android market that splits the keys and moves them close to the sides for use with thumbs although I have not explored this yet. Friends that have Android tablets have highly recommended purchasing one. Another option is to purchase the Bluetooth keyboard available from Motorola, although this seems to violate the purpose of the tablet to me.
I have heard complaints of how some applications scale on the screen. I noticed an icon on the bottom right of the screen that allowed the user to choose is the applications is the scaled to fit the screen or zoomed to fit.
Lastly, I have found the battery life exceeded my expectations. Granted I do not use it extensive throughout the day, but I do use it daily and charging is required after approximately three days use.
Internet
The browser is sleek, stable, and functions well, featuring some very well designed (if slightly hidden) functions that are helpful.
The UI is clean and very functional, managing screen real estate well. And as opposed to Fab’s experiences, I have not suffered a browser crash yet.
Flash was not installed by default but was easily available in the Android market and has functioned well.
Two-finger zooming is available, which is not only a helpful feature but sometimes a necessity to select a small link on the screen.
The typical controls (back, search, etc.) are available when you are scrolling down the page by touching the header for the current tab . This was a very helpful feature although I stumbled upon it by accident.
Holding down a link brings up a small menu that will allow you to open that link in a new tab, among other options. Again, this is a very handy functionality that I stumbled across by accident.
In general I found the browser to meet all of my needs, although I tend to view specific pages rather than randomly surf the internet.
The Xoom includes a native Gmail application by default and it works wonderfully. The UI is uncluttered and exceptionally functional and it integrates with Gmail without problem. This could be a study of functional minimalism for other developers.
It functions as well as I could expect and I can only offer one criticism; since my hands do not fit the onboard keyboard and I haven’t bought a split-keys, thumb-type keyboard yet, I do not actually answer many emails with it. I can poke out simple, quick replies with my pointer finger(s), but alas, that is not my style as I am naturally garrulous. So at this time I generally only use it as an email reader.
Google Books
A significant amount of my time on the Xoom is spent reading and my use of Google Books has yielded an extremely pleasant experience with only a few niggles of mention.
Google Books has a clean, uncluttered, and intuitive UI. I would not say that it is superior to others, but equivalent and certainly very functional.
Books can be searched and purchased through the Android market. Prices are a pleasant as I have generally found that I can purchase an ebook cheaper than the identical paperback at the local brick-and-mortar store, which is a sharp contrast to other ebook retailers (I’m looking at you Amazon).
I recently discovered a handy feature; if during lunch at work I were to open a book in a browser at my desktop then the book is at the same spot I stopped reading the night before with my Xoom. I concede that this is more a functionality provided by Google Books, but it is still appreciated.
The first niggle is the Xoom’s weight, as noted above. At 1.6 pounds (730 grams) I find it comparable to a large book, although certainly less bulky or cumbersome to such a book. It doesn’t seem heavy at first, but sustained reading begins to make it uncomfortable to hold with a single hand.
The second distraction to mention is the screen lock. I prefer to read with the tablet like I would hold a sheet of paper, i.e. long dimension vertical. In order to lock the screen I need to get into the system settings and look for the toggle and I would conversely need to unlock it when I am doing other tasks. I admit that this is not difficult, but other tablets have made this far more accessible. I would suggest adding the screen lock toggle to either the settings icon for Google Books or adding it to the lower right menu icon.
Google Music
Much like the Gmail application the Google Music application is straight forward, uncluttered, and functions easily.
A downside is that Google Music still seems to be in closed Beta. I imagine this disappointed to many but it will open soon enough.
And since the music is streaming you don't have to store anything on the tablet.
YouTube
Until know I have generally eschewed YouTube as I find most of it is rubbish. However, after discovering the Yogscast and their Minecraft series of videos I now watch quite a bit from time to time.
The default YouTube application is nice, although I find the UI slightly crowded. I would suggest moving the suggested videos window onto the type of sliding window that is hidden until the double arrow window bar is tapped.
Watching videos, including HD, is wonderful and the Xoom handles video exceedingly well. In full screen mode the UI is minimized, uncluttered, and fades from view leaving the screen clean.
Video Chat
The inclusion of a forward facing 2MP camera suggested that video chat would be readily available across the preferred platforms. Unfortunately video chat is currently not available in either Skype or Google+ hangouts. I was especially disappointed by the exclusion of hangouts, although I understand that this may be coming.
The good news is the Google Talk is included by default and works very well.
But I would still like to be able to have a video chat with multiple people with my Xoom.
What I Haven’t Done
The time I spend with tools tends to be on tasks for which I find them useful and I don’t generally spend a lot of time mucking about with them. To wit, there are many areas that I have not, and simply may not, explore with the Xoom.
I have not downloaded many applications from the Android market. I buy what I know I want and research them a bit before I even consider buying them. So I don’t feel qualified to comment on the market.
I haven’t downloaded and watched any movies. With only 16 gigs of memory I suspect I would need to actively maintain a minimalistic library of videos on the Xoom. I could have bought the 32 gig model or add an SD card, but I didn’t and I haven’t.
I haven’t even plugged in the USB cable yet. It’s still in the clear plastic bag from when I opened the box. I will open the bag and use the cable when I have need. I just don’t need to yet.
Lastly, I haven’t really played any games on it. I did spend some time with Angry Birds just to experience it. But I have limited time and if I spend any time on games it’s on Minecraft.
Suggestion
The lower right menu icon is a convenient access to the typical settings. Just not the settings that I typically want to access.
I would find it excitingly useful if I could choose what setting were visible when I tap the lower right menu.
Summary
Obviously I use many of the Google services and they are well integrated and supported on this tablet. And I use them for a majority of my experience with the Xoom. So much so that I might start joking it's the Google Xoom.
Do I like the Xoom? I do, very much so. It certainly has integrated well into my consumption of electronic media and I might spend up to two hours a night using it. But that use is more in a consumptive manner than a creative one.
Would I recommend it to all my friends? No I would not. But I would have a hard time recommending any tablet at all.
Tablets are still fairly expensive (even with the coupon) and I could not say that it would holistically replace a laptop for most people. For example, I typed this blog on my desktop machine and not the tablet.
However, if you have the disposable income and are looking for a good "toilet computer" to consume media, I would certainly not dissuade you from purchasing this tablet.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Ubuntu Studio Moving to XFCE
As outlined in my last post, the Ubuntu Studio team is currently establishing goals for Ubuntu Studio 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot and I believe we have some incredible ideas for improvement. One notable decision is to use XFCE as Ubuntu Studio's desktop environment (DE).
I would like to take this time to explain the rationale for this particular consideration.
User Experience
As most reading this blog should be aware, Ubuntu has recently moved from using GNOME 2 (aka GNOME panel) to Unity as the default DE.
Unity represents a huge paradigm shift in work flow, usability, and user experience. Stability is also another realistic consideration as Unity is a new technology.
Ultimately, the outcome was appreciable concern regarding how Unity would affect the typical Ubuntu Studio user’s work flow.
The consensus within the team is that Unity was not an optimal choice for Ubuntu Studio at this time.
Sustainability
Unfortunately, Ubuntu 11.10 will apparently not ship with the ‘classic’ GNOME desktop (i.e. GNOME panel), which is currently Ubuntu Studio's DE. While not officially announced, I think this is the logical outcome given GNOME 3's release and there are many, many articles giving voice to the same conclusion.
The unfortunate yield is that the gnome-panel package within the Ubuntu repositories would soon likely begin to suffer bit rot given that upstream (GNOME Foundation) and Ubuntu would both decrease and ultimately stop support and maintenance.).
Therefore, it quickly became evident that staying with GNOME panel as our default DE did not represent a viable choice for project sustainability. I found this !disturbing (haha @bkuhn).
We could not currently move 'forward' with vanilla Ubuntu, nor could we maintain the status quo. We needed to find an alternate DE.
Enter XFCE
Several DE’s were discussed but XFCE was chosen because it offered appreciable advantages that other DE's could not.
Some advantages would be more immediately tangible to users. For example, XFCE represents a familiar desktop metaphor (@Fab thanks) for users and provides a more resource friendly environment than GNOME, KDE, or (I would expect) Unity.
Other advantages would more tangible to the Ubuntu Studio team (and perhaps to users later on). A large potential advantage is to develop working relations with the Xubuntu team, which could reduce the work load on the limited Ubuntu Studio team but also increase the actual development yield.
And ultimately, some benefits of this relationship might eventually include a graphical installer and a live image, both of which have been desired by users.
Conclusion
It appears that XFCE seems to provide the most familiar user experience without significantly changing user's work flows while also ensuring sustainability at this point.
Although, we have also taken this opportunity to explore updating the DE's user interface and are seriously considering leveraging the appreciable advantages of AWN. Cory Kontros has done some wickedly cool stuff and I have been consistently using something similar to his prototype for several weeks with exceptionally good experiences.
I believe that Ubuntu Studio 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot should therefore be one of the most exciting and effective releases in some time given the proposed changes and updates that are planned. I hope you feel so too.
I would like to take this time to explain the rationale for this particular consideration.
User Experience
As most reading this blog should be aware, Ubuntu has recently moved from using GNOME 2 (aka GNOME panel) to Unity as the default DE.
Unity represents a huge paradigm shift in work flow, usability, and user experience. Stability is also another realistic consideration as Unity is a new technology.
Ultimately, the outcome was appreciable concern regarding how Unity would affect the typical Ubuntu Studio user’s work flow.
The consensus within the team is that Unity was not an optimal choice for Ubuntu Studio at this time.
Sustainability
Unfortunately, Ubuntu 11.10 will apparently not ship with the ‘classic’ GNOME desktop (i.e. GNOME panel), which is currently Ubuntu Studio's DE. While not officially announced, I think this is the logical outcome given GNOME 3's release and there are many, many articles giving voice to the same conclusion.
The unfortunate yield is that the gnome-panel package within the Ubuntu repositories would soon likely begin to suffer bit rot given that upstream (GNOME Foundation) and Ubuntu would both decrease and ultimately stop support and maintenance.).
Therefore, it quickly became evident that staying with GNOME panel as our default DE did not represent a viable choice for project sustainability. I found this !disturbing (haha @bkuhn).
We could not currently move 'forward' with vanilla Ubuntu, nor could we maintain the status quo. We needed to find an alternate DE.
Enter XFCE
Several DE’s were discussed but XFCE was chosen because it offered appreciable advantages that other DE's could not.
Some advantages would be more immediately tangible to users. For example, XFCE represents a familiar desktop metaphor (@Fab thanks) for users and provides a more resource friendly environment than GNOME, KDE, or (I would expect) Unity.
Other advantages would more tangible to the Ubuntu Studio team (and perhaps to users later on). A large potential advantage is to develop working relations with the Xubuntu team, which could reduce the work load on the limited Ubuntu Studio team but also increase the actual development yield.
And ultimately, some benefits of this relationship might eventually include a graphical installer and a live image, both of which have been desired by users.
Conclusion
It appears that XFCE seems to provide the most familiar user experience without significantly changing user's work flows while also ensuring sustainability at this point.
Although, we have also taken this opportunity to explore updating the DE's user interface and are seriously considering leveraging the appreciable advantages of AWN. Cory Kontros has done some wickedly cool stuff and I have been consistently using something similar to his prototype for several weeks with exceptionally good experiences.
I believe that Ubuntu Studio 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot should therefore be one of the most exciting and effective releases in some time given the proposed changes and updates that are planned. I hope you feel so too.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Audacious Use of the Vernacular
It's been a long time since I last blogged...my apologies. Going out of town on business one week and getting sick the next got me out of the routine. Now I intend to get back into said routine.
I am purposefully limiting time spent on this blog post so it will probably have a certain "shoot-from-the-hip" feel to it.
This week's post I want to discuss the recent release of Ubuntu Studio 11.04 Natty Narwhal, a Fun Fact, and glimpses of the future. So let's be off....
Natty Knowledge
Since we have release Natty, I wanted to highlight and discuss certain elements.
Package Selection
The package selection underwent an overhaul based on developed work flows. In a nutshell, we worked from a "top down" approach of asking what tasks our users would want to accomplish, then developing a viable tool chain to support those tasks. This resulted in fewer packages being shipped (and an appreciably smaller image), but a more functional and effective release.
While I believe we have a strong understanding of the audio application selections, I would like to explore finding help to develop the video and graphical applications selections to the same strength.
Already we've reach out the to Libre Grahpics Magazine people to solicit some professional advice. If you haven't heard of them then you should check them out. They certainly "walk the walk" by using FOSS to create their work. Saudação!
Package Installation
We also gave users more control over which packages were to installed during the OS installation. Namely we parsed the audio applications into two generalized camps; recording live instruments/sounds (recording) and sequencers/synths/MDID (generation).
A use case for the recording tasksel would be a band who wants to record. They would be playing live instruments and recording them and vocals. This is greatly oversimplified but it's just an example.
A use case for the generation tasksel would be a person who does not play any live instruments but rather creates music with sequencers and synths. Again, simplification, but it serves as an example.
Plymouth Theme
Great strides were made to improve the Plymouth theme and the lion's share of the credit goes to Cory Kontros.
Last release (I think) we were caught short when Ubuntu moved away from xsplash and I hastily made a Plymouth theme based on the old xsplash theme. While it looked acceptable, it performed poorly because the progress bar never completely finished filling in.
This time we have a nice spinning animation that does not connote progress, but rather simply action.
And it looks pretty darn good in my opinion. Thank you Cory!
Website
Ach. This is one of several that we did not manage to complete in time.
Our team is small, with very limited skill sets and very little overlapping skill sets at that. And it quite showed trying to get our website updated. But I hope extremely high hopes for Ocelot.
Why? I'll be happy to tell you why.
Jorge (Kokito) has joined our team and has been working quite nicely on a new website. He has an beautifully artistic touch and quite sensible opinions.
Rather that start from scratch, he suggested we take the things that worked from the existing website and use them while replacing and improving the things that didn't work. Brilliant!
As I mentioned before, I am entirely optimistic that we shall have a new website for the Ocelot release.
As a side note, we are also exploring using our own hosting for the website. If anyone has suggestions or wants to help with this, please let me know.
Ubuntu Studio Controls
This is another goal that fell flat.
Basically, all functions that were currently included in the ubuntustudio-controls package are broken or no longer needed. It was so borked and confusing that I pulled the package from the seeds for Natty.
Ailo and Paultag made some good progress during Natty but we didn't quite get it done. But I expect it to happen for Ocelot though.
Okay, enough for now, moving on.
Ubuntu Studio Fun Facts
Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #5
Hydrogen now comes with additional drum kits.
I wonder how many people realized before that Hydrogen even offered other drum kits. Or did they just stick with the GM kit?
There are some really good drum kits available that sound amazing. And they were in a package called hydrogen-drumkits. But I think may people did not know about them.
Well, now they are included in Ubuntu Studio or whenever Hydrogen is installed.
Hydrogen also has the functionality to download kits from their website. In some cases, some kits can't or simply aren't included in the package in the repository but still can be downloaded from the Hydrogen website.
Rock on!
Planning for Ocelot
We are discussing goals for Ocelot and we have lots of good stuff.
We've already mentioned updating the package selection, website update, and ubuntustudio-controls revamp.
We are also expected to get a -lowlatency kernel into the repositories as well. And this is huge for our users. Initial tests have shown that we can typically half latencies with this kernel compared to the -generic kernel. Amazing!
In other kernel news, starting with 2.6.39 the kernel should be able to thread irq priorites without the use of the -rt patch. This means that firewire users who suffer from irq conflicts can adjust priorities with the -generic kernel. Outstanding!
We also have a plan to update our documentation. This is pretty far reaching and may take some time to effect completely, but it will be worth it to our users, especially new users.
Lastly, I will mention ladish.
For those who are unfamiliar, ladish is the LADI Session Handler and a peer of JACK session. The intent to to be able to restart all the applications with their settings for a particular project rather than open each application individually and then restore their settings. It's a major undertaking and represents quite a potential.
We should see this for Ocelot as well.
If Nedko can deliver on his vision I think this will supersede JACK session.
Oh, and as a teaser I will mention that I didn't mention one thing. But I'm not mentioning it yet ;)
Rock on.
I am purposefully limiting time spent on this blog post so it will probably have a certain "shoot-from-the-hip" feel to it.
This week's post I want to discuss the recent release of Ubuntu Studio 11.04 Natty Narwhal, a Fun Fact, and glimpses of the future. So let's be off....
Natty Knowledge
Since we have release Natty, I wanted to highlight and discuss certain elements.
Package Selection
The package selection underwent an overhaul based on developed work flows. In a nutshell, we worked from a "top down" approach of asking what tasks our users would want to accomplish, then developing a viable tool chain to support those tasks. This resulted in fewer packages being shipped (and an appreciably smaller image), but a more functional and effective release.
While I believe we have a strong understanding of the audio application selections, I would like to explore finding help to develop the video and graphical applications selections to the same strength.
Already we've reach out the to Libre Grahpics Magazine people to solicit some professional advice. If you haven't heard of them then you should check them out. They certainly "walk the walk" by using FOSS to create their work. Saudação!
Package Installation
We also gave users more control over which packages were to installed during the OS installation. Namely we parsed the audio applications into two generalized camps; recording live instruments/sounds (recording) and sequencers/synths/MDID (generation).
A use case for the recording tasksel would be a band who wants to record. They would be playing live instruments and recording them and vocals. This is greatly oversimplified but it's just an example.
A use case for the generation tasksel would be a person who does not play any live instruments but rather creates music with sequencers and synths. Again, simplification, but it serves as an example.
Plymouth Theme
Great strides were made to improve the Plymouth theme and the lion's share of the credit goes to Cory Kontros.
Last release (I think) we were caught short when Ubuntu moved away from xsplash and I hastily made a Plymouth theme based on the old xsplash theme. While it looked acceptable, it performed poorly because the progress bar never completely finished filling in.
This time we have a nice spinning animation that does not connote progress, but rather simply action.
And it looks pretty darn good in my opinion. Thank you Cory!
Website
Ach. This is one of several that we did not manage to complete in time.
Our team is small, with very limited skill sets and very little overlapping skill sets at that. And it quite showed trying to get our website updated. But I hope extremely high hopes for Ocelot.
Why? I'll be happy to tell you why.
Jorge (Kokito) has joined our team and has been working quite nicely on a new website. He has an beautifully artistic touch and quite sensible opinions.
Rather that start from scratch, he suggested we take the things that worked from the existing website and use them while replacing and improving the things that didn't work. Brilliant!
As I mentioned before, I am entirely optimistic that we shall have a new website for the Ocelot release.
As a side note, we are also exploring using our own hosting for the website. If anyone has suggestions or wants to help with this, please let me know.
Ubuntu Studio Controls
This is another goal that fell flat.
Basically, all functions that were currently included in the ubuntustudio-controls package are broken or no longer needed. It was so borked and confusing that I pulled the package from the seeds for Natty.
Ailo and Paultag made some good progress during Natty but we didn't quite get it done. But I expect it to happen for Ocelot though.
Okay, enough for now, moving on.
Ubuntu Studio Fun Facts
Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #5
Hydrogen now comes with additional drum kits.
I wonder how many people realized before that Hydrogen even offered other drum kits. Or did they just stick with the GM kit?
There are some really good drum kits available that sound amazing. And they were in a package called hydrogen-drumkits. But I think may people did not know about them.
Well, now they are included in Ubuntu Studio or whenever Hydrogen is installed.
Hydrogen also has the functionality to download kits from their website. In some cases, some kits can't or simply aren't included in the package in the repository but still can be downloaded from the Hydrogen website.
Rock on!
Planning for Ocelot
We are discussing goals for Ocelot and we have lots of good stuff.
We've already mentioned updating the package selection, website update, and ubuntustudio-controls revamp.
We are also expected to get a -lowlatency kernel into the repositories as well. And this is huge for our users. Initial tests have shown that we can typically half latencies with this kernel compared to the -generic kernel. Amazing!
In other kernel news, starting with 2.6.39 the kernel should be able to thread irq priorites without the use of the -rt patch. This means that firewire users who suffer from irq conflicts can adjust priorities with the -generic kernel. Outstanding!
We also have a plan to update our documentation. This is pretty far reaching and may take some time to effect completely, but it will be worth it to our users, especially new users.
Lastly, I will mention ladish.
For those who are unfamiliar, ladish is the LADI Session Handler and a peer of JACK session. The intent to to be able to restart all the applications with their settings for a particular project rather than open each application individually and then restore their settings. It's a major undertaking and represents quite a potential.
We should see this for Ocelot as well.
If Nedko can deliver on his vision I think this will supersede JACK session.
Oh, and as a teaser I will mention that I didn't mention one thing. But I'm not mentioning it yet ;)
Rock on.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
What He Thinks, He Becomes
Another episode from your friendly neighborhood Ubuntu Studio project lead discussing more Fun Facts, future plans for Ubuntu Studio, and more Meet the Team. Let's rock it...
Oh, also I'm going to try to rock some new headings that I hope play better with Planet Ubuntu. Blogger likes to set the font-size for headings, but I'm going to use HTML h1 tags.
Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #4
If a package is not in the official repositories it cannot ship on the ISO image, and
PPA's are not the official repositories.
I get questioned quite often why isn't package foobar including in the Ubuntu Studio image because "there's a PPA that has it built already! And {insert favorite Ubuntu Studio derivative} ships it!"
The Ubuntu Studio ISO image is built using the automated Ubuntu buildd system, and as far as I can tell it can only pull in packages that are in the official repositories. This automated system cannot pull in packages from any of the legion PPA's available.
Note that your favorite Ubuntu Studio derivative does not use the same build system. I believe that most of them build their ISO images from a working installation. This allows them to install anything they want and then build their images...if they can install a package, they can "ship" that package in their image.
But beyond providing information about why every package ever written simply cannot ship with Ubuntu Studio, I want to make a plea.
Instead of only getting that package into a PPA, why not take the extra time and effort to get the package into the official repositories?
Anyone could install that package without having to add a PPA (I know it's easy to do so, but some people aren't/don't). The package could be included by default and ship with the ISO then. People would admire you from afar. Some might worship you from anear. It might even reduce the effect of global climate change. Maybe.
Please. Think about it. Help.
We are looking to develop an art team around Ubuntu Studio. The purpose of said art team would be to artfully create art for Ubuntu Studio. Right. That explains it.
Well, actually there's more than just that. What I envision is that the team would help develop a cohesive art concept for Ubuntu Studio and create the artwork and themes in alignment with the concept. Sounds brilliants!
Nothing is written in stone at this point and it's all in the embryonic stage.
Ideally we are looking for artists but also for an art lead/director-type person who would have experience with developing and packaging themes.
If you are interested please contact me at scottalavender@gmail.com about it or email the ubuntustudio-devel mailing list.
Much like Mike, ailo has jumped in feet first and is making major waves. Originally he started with helping to test real-time privileges with the new kernel stack, then he moved on to help update the ubuntustudio-controls package which is long overdue.
Researching -lowlatency kernel development, creating alternate icon sets, and walks on the beach are some of his other interests as well. I kid about the last one...maybe.
Okay, I'm late with this post and I'm out of time today as well so this one is going to press as is.
I'll follow up next time with more RPM Challenge information (because I know everyone is disappointed this week) and also follow up with more information about the Ubuntu Studio art team.
Oh, also I'm going to try to rock some new headings that I hope play better with Planet Ubuntu. Blogger likes to set the font-size for headings, but I'm going to use HTML h1 tags.
Ubuntu Studio Fun Facts
Just one fun fact this time because I'm going to explain it a bit. Plus lobby for avoiding Personal Package Archives (PPA's). I realize there are people who may think I'm a heretic for even suggesting such a thing, but read on before trying to crucify me.Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #4
If a package is not in the official repositories it cannot ship on the ISO image, and
PPA's are not the official repositories.
I get questioned quite often why isn't package foobar including in the Ubuntu Studio image because "there's a PPA that has it built already! And {insert favorite Ubuntu Studio derivative} ships it!"
The Ubuntu Studio ISO image is built using the automated Ubuntu buildd system, and as far as I can tell it can only pull in packages that are in the official repositories. This automated system cannot pull in packages from any of the legion PPA's available.
Note that your favorite Ubuntu Studio derivative does not use the same build system. I believe that most of them build their ISO images from a working installation. This allows them to install anything they want and then build their images...if they can install a package, they can "ship" that package in their image.
But beyond providing information about why every package ever written simply cannot ship with Ubuntu Studio, I want to make a plea.
Instead of only getting that package into a PPA, why not take the extra time and effort to get the package into the official repositories?
Anyone could install that package without having to add a PPA (I know it's easy to do so, but some people aren't/don't). The package could be included by default and ship with the ISO then. People would admire you from afar. Some might worship you from anear. It might even reduce the effect of global climate change. Maybe.
Please. Think about it. Help.
Improvements
The discerning reader would notice that I usually label this section as "Natty Improvements" and might ask, "Where's the Natty, mate?". The answer is that I judiciously removed it because I wanted to talk about generalized improvements for Ubuntu Studio.We are looking to develop an art team around Ubuntu Studio. The purpose of said art team would be to artfully create art for Ubuntu Studio. Right. That explains it.
Well, actually there's more than just that. What I envision is that the team would help develop a cohesive art concept for Ubuntu Studio and create the artwork and themes in alignment with the concept. Sounds brilliants!
Nothing is written in stone at this point and it's all in the embryonic stage.
Ideally we are looking for artists but also for an art lead/director-type person who would have experience with developing and packaging themes.
If you are interested please contact me at scottalavender@gmail.com about it or email the ubuntustudio-devel mailing list.
Meet the Team
The next person I would like to talk about is ailo. He is another one of the people that I blogged about before mentioning that vast coding or development experience is not necessary.Much like Mike, ailo has jumped in feet first and is making major waves. Originally he started with helping to test real-time privileges with the new kernel stack, then he moved on to help update the ubuntustudio-controls package which is long overdue.
Researching -lowlatency kernel development, creating alternate icon sets, and walks on the beach are some of his other interests as well. I kid about the last one...maybe.
Okay, I'm late with this post and I'm out of time today as well so this one is going to press as is.
I'll follow up next time with more RPM Challenge information (because I know everyone is disappointed this week) and also follow up with more information about the Ubuntu Studio art team.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
One Should Look for What Is (Not What One Thinks Should Be)
Continuing previous discussion about Ubuntu Studio improvements for Natty and beginning a new section of discussion. But first, more Ubuntu Studio Fun Facts!
Ubuntu Studio Fun Facts
Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #2
There are two commonly preferred ways to install Ubuntu Studio.
Many people start with a regular, vanilla Ubuntu installation and "upgrade" their package selection by installing the Ubuntu Studio meta-packages.
Others prefer a fresh installation from the Ubuntu Studio DVD.
Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #3
There are many way to contact other users or the Ubuntu Studio developers.
The ubuntu-studio-users mailing list and the ubuntu-studio-devel mailing list are two of the most popular ways. But if you prefer IRC you can find #ubuntustudio and #ubuntustudio-devel on the Freenode servers as well.
The Ubuntu Studio forums are also another great resource for contact and an incredible repository of knowledge as well. Thanks to Autostatic for reminding me :)
Additionally, I would like to add another IRC channel that is not dedicated to Ubuntu Studio but is chock full of amazingly experienced and knowledgeable people: #opensourcemusicians. If you have a linux audio question there is a good chance that someone in the channel will have an answer for you.
Natty Improvements
Another thing we have done already for Natty is create a new plymouth theme. I think it looks really nice and it based on work that Cory Kontros did. And just in case no one has told him lately, Cory, you rock!
While Ubuntu is moving towards Unity as the default xsession, Ubuntu Studio plans on remaining with Gnome. We currently believe this is best for our user's work flow. To this effect the ubuntustudio-default-settings package has been updated.
It should be noted that this does not automatically establish the gnome-classic xsession as default for users who "upgrade" from a regular Ubuntu installation to Ubuntu Studio. However, these users can set it easily.
Upcoming improvements will including updating the menu to include new packages, updating the ubuntustudio.org website, and a revamp of the ubuntustudio-controls package.
The last item really needs its own section to properly explain what is happening. Perhaps next time :)
Meet the Team
This is a new section to get people familiar with who is helping with Ubuntu Studio development and give them credit for their hard work.
The first I'll mention is Alessio Bogani. If you have rocked a -lowlatency or -rt kernel in Ubuntu Studio then chances are you have experienced his work.
Alessio has been a anchor for the tuned kernels in Ubuntu Studio and many, many users have benefited from his work. Indeed, some people would not have been able to achieve viable low latencies without his kernels.
Alessio deserve a huge salute for his contributions to Ubuntu Studio and Linux audio.
The second person I would like to mention this time is Mike Holstein. Mike habitually rocks the #ubuntustudio channel answering users questions. Indeed, Mike is a force majeure and has practically brought that channel back from life support into a thriving place.
Additionally, Mike is a huge help with development. Even though he doesn't know how to code and didn't have prior developer experience he routinely rolls up his sleeves, digs into a problem, researches, and helps find solutions during development. When I mentioned "tenacity, inquisitiveness, and initiative" in the previous blog...he is one of the persons I thought about while waxing poetic.
Both frequent #ubuntustudio-devel on Freenode IRC so come say hi.
RPM Challenge Update
Four new demos up at my RPM Challenge artist page. The first two songs were mentioned in the previous post.
An interesting thing to mention is that the latest songs were done in Qtractor rather than in Ardour. I know that Ardour typically gets all the publicity as the flagship for open source Linux audio applications but I've really had a good experience with Qtractor.
I choose Qtractor because I wanted to delve into using sequencers and synths (and not just Hydrogen drums) for making music. What I found is that I have also greatly improved my work flow as a result! The time to realize a song from scratch riffs to songs has decreases significantly as well. But this probably deserves it's own space in a later post.
Again, please feel free to make any comments or critiques about the music...even to say it sucks.
Ubuntu Studio Fun Facts
Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #2
There are two commonly preferred ways to install Ubuntu Studio.
Many people start with a regular, vanilla Ubuntu installation and "upgrade" their package selection by installing the Ubuntu Studio meta-packages.
Others prefer a fresh installation from the Ubuntu Studio DVD.
Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #3
There are many way to contact other users or the Ubuntu Studio developers.
The ubuntu-studio-users mailing list and the ubuntu-studio-devel mailing list are two of the most popular ways. But if you prefer IRC you can find #ubuntustudio and #ubuntustudio-devel on the Freenode servers as well.
The Ubuntu Studio forums are also another great resource for contact and an incredible repository of knowledge as well. Thanks to Autostatic for reminding me :)
Additionally, I would like to add another IRC channel that is not dedicated to Ubuntu Studio but is chock full of amazingly experienced and knowledgeable people: #opensourcemusicians. If you have a linux audio question there is a good chance that someone in the channel will have an answer for you.
Natty Improvements
Another thing we have done already for Natty is create a new plymouth theme. I think it looks really nice and it based on work that Cory Kontros did. And just in case no one has told him lately, Cory, you rock!
While Ubuntu is moving towards Unity as the default xsession, Ubuntu Studio plans on remaining with Gnome. We currently believe this is best for our user's work flow. To this effect the ubuntustudio-default-settings package has been updated.
It should be noted that this does not automatically establish the gnome-classic xsession as default for users who "upgrade" from a regular Ubuntu installation to Ubuntu Studio. However, these users can set it easily.
Upcoming improvements will including updating the menu to include new packages, updating the ubuntustudio.org website, and a revamp of the ubuntustudio-controls package.
The last item really needs its own section to properly explain what is happening. Perhaps next time :)
Meet the Team
This is a new section to get people familiar with who is helping with Ubuntu Studio development and give them credit for their hard work.
The first I'll mention is Alessio Bogani. If you have rocked a -lowlatency or -rt kernel in Ubuntu Studio then chances are you have experienced his work.
Alessio has been a anchor for the tuned kernels in Ubuntu Studio and many, many users have benefited from his work. Indeed, some people would not have been able to achieve viable low latencies without his kernels.
Alessio deserve a huge salute for his contributions to Ubuntu Studio and Linux audio.
The second person I would like to mention this time is Mike Holstein. Mike habitually rocks the #ubuntustudio channel answering users questions. Indeed, Mike is a force majeure and has practically brought that channel back from life support into a thriving place.
Additionally, Mike is a huge help with development. Even though he doesn't know how to code and didn't have prior developer experience he routinely rolls up his sleeves, digs into a problem, researches, and helps find solutions during development. When I mentioned "tenacity, inquisitiveness, and initiative" in the previous blog...he is one of the persons I thought about while waxing poetic.
Both frequent #ubuntustudio-devel on Freenode IRC so come say hi.
RPM Challenge Update
Four new demos up at my RPM Challenge artist page. The first two songs were mentioned in the previous post.
An interesting thing to mention is that the latest songs were done in Qtractor rather than in Ardour. I know that Ardour typically gets all the publicity as the flagship for open source Linux audio applications but I've really had a good experience with Qtractor.
I choose Qtractor because I wanted to delve into using sequencers and synths (and not just Hydrogen drums) for making music. What I found is that I have also greatly improved my work flow as a result! The time to realize a song from scratch riffs to songs has decreases significantly as well. But this probably deserves it's own space in a later post.
Again, please feel free to make any comments or critiques about the music...even to say it sucks.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Amicable Antidisestablishmentarianism
Kicking some knowledge about Ubuntu Studio and talking about where Ubuntu Studio is heading with Natty.
Ubuntu Studio Fun Facts
I think there are a lot of misconceptions and generally an anemic amount of factual information about Ubuntu Studio. So I thought a silly and fun way to address this issue would be to start publishing Ubuntu Studio Fun Facts. They're fun! They're facts!
Hey! You got your fun in my facts.
No! You got your facts in my fun!
Hmmm, delicious.
Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #0:
Ubuntu Studio shares the same repository as vanilla Ubuntu. Crazy, huh?
Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #1:
The Ubuntu Studio developers don't general code much. This means you don't have to have mad coding skills to help with Ubuntu Studio development; generally I suggest that tenacity, inquisitiveness, and initiative will serve you well.
Natty Improvements
Natty is the first release where I felt effective as project lead as defined by being proactive rather than reactive.
Notably we took a good hard look at what packages were being shipped with Ubuntu Studio. In some cases it seemed that some packages didn't support a viable work flow. Perhaps there weren't enough packages to provide a complete "tool chain" for a particular task or a random and isolated package was included "just because".
So, I started a work flows page to help coalesce some of our ideas on pertinent and desirable work flows. Once we could develop a complete, supportive "tool chain" of applications to support a particular task, and we deemed a task currently desirable to our users, we could validate the necessity of those packages and they would be included in the ISO.
NB All are encourage to add their thoughts to the work flows wiki page. Please be courteous, however, and do not remove or delete another person's work flow, but please append yours as an alternate.
Justifying package inclusion is a good way to make Ubuntu Studio leaner, yet more functional at the same time. Brilliant!
Another thing we did was look at the installation tasks (also known as tasksel), which is where the choice of installing audio, audio-plugins, graphics, and/or video applications during a fresh installation from the DVD occurs.
I felt that the audio tasksel option could be better effected by dividing the proffered audio applications into two subgroups; sequencers/synths/MIDI and recording instruments/vocals. This was a direct result of the work flow exercise.
The benefit to this is that those who want to record audio, i.e. the "I want to record my band" crowd, will probably not want all the sequencer and synth applications. Likewise, those who do not play instruments will probably not want additional applications crowding up their menus.
Of course, those who want both can easily (it's an additional spacebar away!) get them all. Sounds like a win-win to me.
What Say You?
I have other ideas for Ubuntu Studio topics to discuss but I would like to hear your suggestions.
Probably topics like the various ways to install Ubuntu Studio or why certain packages are included would be worth the discussion. But I'm sure there are others that would be just as extremely beneficial. Help me identify those subjects.
RPM Challenge Update
Two new demos up at my RPM Challenge artist page.
The first is an instrumental while the second will have vocals, but I am still working on lyrics and plan to record to vocals during the last week.
Please feel free to make any comments or critiques about the music...even to say it sucks. I have thick skin.
Ubuntu Studio Fun Facts
I think there are a lot of misconceptions and generally an anemic amount of factual information about Ubuntu Studio. So I thought a silly and fun way to address this issue would be to start publishing Ubuntu Studio Fun Facts. They're fun! They're facts!
Hey! You got your fun in my facts.
No! You got your facts in my fun!
Hmmm, delicious.
Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #0:
Ubuntu Studio shares the same repository as vanilla Ubuntu. Crazy, huh?
Ubuntu Studio Fun Fact #1:
The Ubuntu Studio developers don't general code much. This means you don't have to have mad coding skills to help with Ubuntu Studio development; generally I suggest that tenacity, inquisitiveness, and initiative will serve you well.
Natty Improvements
Natty is the first release where I felt effective as project lead as defined by being proactive rather than reactive.
Notably we took a good hard look at what packages were being shipped with Ubuntu Studio. In some cases it seemed that some packages didn't support a viable work flow. Perhaps there weren't enough packages to provide a complete "tool chain" for a particular task or a random and isolated package was included "just because".
So, I started a work flows page to help coalesce some of our ideas on pertinent and desirable work flows. Once we could develop a complete, supportive "tool chain" of applications to support a particular task, and we deemed a task currently desirable to our users, we could validate the necessity of those packages and they would be included in the ISO.
NB All are encourage to add their thoughts to the work flows wiki page. Please be courteous, however, and do not remove or delete another person's work flow, but please append yours as an alternate.
Justifying package inclusion is a good way to make Ubuntu Studio leaner, yet more functional at the same time. Brilliant!
Another thing we did was look at the installation tasks (also known as tasksel), which is where the choice of installing audio, audio-plugins, graphics, and/or video applications during a fresh installation from the DVD occurs.
I felt that the audio tasksel option could be better effected by dividing the proffered audio applications into two subgroups; sequencers/synths/MIDI and recording instruments/vocals. This was a direct result of the work flow exercise.
The benefit to this is that those who want to record audio, i.e. the "I want to record my band" crowd, will probably not want all the sequencer and synth applications. Likewise, those who do not play instruments will probably not want additional applications crowding up their menus.
Of course, those who want both can easily (it's an additional spacebar away!) get them all. Sounds like a win-win to me.
What Say You?
I have other ideas for Ubuntu Studio topics to discuss but I would like to hear your suggestions.
Probably topics like the various ways to install Ubuntu Studio or why certain packages are included would be worth the discussion. But I'm sure there are others that would be just as extremely beneficial. Help me identify those subjects.
RPM Challenge Update
Two new demos up at my RPM Challenge artist page.
The first is an instrumental while the second will have vocals, but I am still working on lyrics and plan to record to vocals during the last week.
Please feel free to make any comments or critiques about the music...even to say it sucks. I have thick skin.
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