| StoreTags: old computer, linux, osc, os
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So I've got all these old machines at home. I know that the standard thing to do is to throw em away and buy a shiny new Vista or OS X machine but I don't want to do that for several reasons, mostly financial of course but also because it just seems so damn wasteful. There's enough electronic junk in landfills and I would rather feel that I'd rescued these machines and put them to good use.
Is there some breed of Linux/POSIX that's super pared down and made just for getting the most out of old machines in regards to audio? Or is this something where I'd just have to roll my own, starting with learning C and playing with minimal Linux builds?
Cos it seems like you could do some amazing stuff with even an old machine using OSC and a handful of PCI SBLive cards. The weak link would probably be the buss of the motherboard, not the processor.
I mean what's the difference between a Pentium 2 and the DSP chips in my Micro Modular of the same vintage?
Heck, Renoise is running pretty well on my 500mHz laptop. I wasn't expecting any miracles but I can get a few tracks and effects going and I can even apply effects in realtime to incoming audio. The latency isn't too bad.
Anywho, all thoughts are appreciated. | |
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08/04/08
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Zanf
tiny linux: link - not audio specific but TINY!
you could just get under the hood when installing and rip out all the packages you dont need.
08/04/08
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license
Right, that's kind of the direction I thought would be the most practical and realistic. To start with just the skeleton of Linux and then slowly put on only the essential packages.
What inspired me was reading about [url=http://www.sydec.be/]Sydec Soundscape[/i] in the latest issue of Tape Op. It's a brilliant idea but the bare bones system costs $3000. No doubt it's equipment of a higher caliber than I've ever even laid my peasant eyes on but it seems like a system with that kind of structure could be created with off-the-shelf hardware.
Honestly, I've never even worked with OSC. That's probably where I should start. I kind of ignored it before but now I drool considering the possibilities.
08/04/08
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license
08/04/08
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sprouts
pure dyne??
everamzah/sumone should chime in on this thread.
08/04/08
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license
maybe pure dyne is better but in my experience dyne was a total resource hog and it kinda soured me on it. nonetheless I appreciate your input, and I'll consider pure dyne.
08/04/08
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eyesnine
i want reaktorOS. really bad.
i had good luck with pure dyne. there's a new version that came out a month ago i haven't tried yet. its not really meant for older computers though, its more for getting the most out of your new computer.
you should seriously consider win98. thats probably not the answer you're looking for, but you'll find more and better apps for it. it got the crap hacked out of it and you can find versions (somehow...) that have internet explorer removed (yay!!!). i think there was a fully functional win98 that was under 50mb. you'll also find that you can get some dirt cheap components that never got xp drivers (opcode midi devices, korg oasys pci) if you're willing to spend some cash. i have an 8 in 8 out opcode usb midi device that cost me $30 on ebay. i used it with a win98 system for a while and it works great (still have it, but i'm using xp now  useless ).
08/05/08
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mpg
there isn't really enough support to do any audio in linux unless you want to run wine..
that said, i would embrace new and interesting GNU/linux or unix based audio applications
08/05/08
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bb01
eyesnine said: "i want reaktorOS. really bad."
+1
Wasnt there some kind of sequencer app that was built for old (I mean ooooolf) laptops.
Dont remember what it was called, but was offered here on em411 before the extreme make-over.
Was supposed to work well with ancient cpu's and had large fonts to be readable on stage.
08/05/08
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bb01
Can this be of service to some?
link
link
Ive read about a super efficient, minimal footpath install of xp somewhere.
Probably can use that to build a dedicated music platform.
08/05/08
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sumone
mpg said: "there isn't really enough support to do any audio in linux unless you want to run wine.."
enough support to do what audio exactly? audio editing, sequencing, arranging, composition, synthesis, design... i've done all these things on linux. so i question your statement.
08/05/08
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eyesnine, I think you are right, and I had a lot of luck with Buzz in 2004 or so running in Win98 on a 700mHz machine. I couldn't find much good info on that particular strain of 98 you were referring to but that's a good point that needs to be considered.
mpg, sumone is right. Linux audio is looking pretty bright these days, as long as you're not looking for your standard Ableton/LogicReason/Fruity DAW type thing (and there are some DAWs, though I haven't used em). my main horse (Renoise) is fully supported in Linux now. no wine or nuffin.
bb01, interesting links!
I think what I really, really want to do is to basically build a custom hardware sampler from a smaller motherboard, like a ITX board. something that would function basically like a hardware sampler but with some nice benefits, like way more memory and disk space, OSC/network support, monitor port, SD drive, etc. on the hardware side, what Mux did is most of the way there - link . in addition to this, however, I'd want a small screen (I've read about using old cell phone displays for this) to go on the front panel as well as a rotary encoder and probably a keypad for navigating through the OS. it would be nice to have the power of a computer without feeling like I'm using a computer. that probably takes a lot more design and consideration than is fun to think about.
the software side, then, I imagine will be far more challenging. there's plenty of packages to piggyback from, for example I could just have it load a custom PD patch or something.
rack samplers are so cheap now, though. that'd definitely be the easier way to go but I don't think it'd be nearly as fun.
and of course this goes against what I mentioned before, using what I've got. maybe I'll just throw some minimal breed of linux on one of the machines and a really light window manager, and slowly start adding audio packages. that's probably the most practical for now.
08/05/08
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mpg
ok, well.. if all of these fantastic music making abilities could be had in linux, why not post a list of software packages for whichever linux flavors they are available instead of just saying "you're wrong."
additionally, if there is software as intuitive for linux as FLS/ableton/etc. then i would certainly use it, as said in my original comment. i have seen a few apps like those featured @ linux-sound, but i hardly have the time to go through it all, and since this is a thread about audio, some user preferences and suggestions would be more helpful.
also, audacity is garbage and i really hope this isn't the suggested wave editor. please tell me there is something better for linux.
08/05/08
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mpg
also, if you want a minimal breed of linux, let me suggest these:
- arch linux link
- PCLinuxOS link
08/05/08
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nagrom
you could run a minimal linux build w/ an audio programming language like CSound or SuperCollider (2.0 if needed). Not sure if Csound runs on Linux...
08/05/08
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license
mpg, suffice to say there's a shitload. I'm as impatient and scatterbrained as everyone else these days so here's some lists for yer perusin':
link
link
link
this guy used to hang out on em411: link I believe he's best known for SpiralSynth.
and thanks for the links.
also, audacity is garbage and i really hope this isn't the suggested wave editor. please tell me there is something better for linux.
agreed. I used to use it for most of my recording purposes (shudder) thank God those days are over.
given that Renoise works in Linux, that's one thing. it has a fabulous wave editorl, depending on what your needs are.
Sweep (with "scrubby") comes up a lot, though I haven't used that.
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