Hey, I know I'm not exactly a power user on this list, but I thought I'd chime
in. Obviously this is all just my opinion.
Mostly I agree with everything Brian David said, but I'd like to elaborate.
> First, there> is the contradictory thought process that wonders why more
> people don't> contribute to projects like this, while at the same time
> frowning on people> who complain about a tough user experience and telling
> them to just learn> the 'right' way or whatnot.
This is important. I blame the fact that the Linux community has too large of a
programmer-to-user ratio. That's completely understandable for any sort of DIY
community, but if any variety of GNU/Linux wants to break out of its niche
market, it needs to explicitly change its goals to attract a user base that is
less computer literate.
There are reasons for that relative computer illiteracy, and they are not bad
ones. For instance: If you tell a recording engineer to just learn the task the
"right" way, are you going to pay them $100/hour to do it? That's how much
they'd lose in studio time.
> developers really need to consider the type of> experience that the average
> user is going to expect, and in the case of this> project, the average
> audio/visual designer.
Bingo. Because it's geared towards A/V users, Ubuntu Studio needs to be even
more user-friendly than vanilla Ubuntu. "So simple, even Ted Nugent can use it."
Here's one suggestion: Stop thinking about Linux vs. Windows, and start
thinking about Linux vs. Mac. For at least ten years, NOBODY in the A/V
industry used Windows. Even today, almost all my musician friends use a Mac if
they have a choice.
Another suggestion: Stop thinking of A/V programs as computer programs. Get up
from your computer, and go browse the shelves of Guitar Center. Remember back
in the 80's, when digital synths were coming around? Remember having to scroll
through all those menus on your DX7 or K2000? That interface style is mostly
gone now, and there's a very good reason for that.
> However, this isn't just any project, this is a derivative of Ubuntu, a>
> distribution that has the reputation of being THE user-friendly LInux> distro.
And one which has entirely the right idea. Think of how many Linux users y'all
know personally. How many of them use Ubuntu (or a derivative) vs. any other
distro? I don't know the official numbers, but ALMOST ALL of my Linux-using
friends use Ubuntu, and the main reason is user-friendliness.
That's why I'm so distressed when I hear all these reports about RT kernal
bugs, having to edit config files, setting up user groups, etc. The whole idea
behind Ubuntu was that the average user would never have to worry about any of
these things. It's also the reason I haven't upgraded from 8.10.
I know this would take a huge amount of work, but have y'all considered
branching from Ubuntu altogether? A lot of these bugs seem to happen because
UbuStu needs to keep up with Ubuntu's (rather rapid) release schedule. That
way, you could focus less on keeping up with the Joneses, and focus on
releasing only after the system is rock-hard stable.
Thinking about an even bigger picture, has anyone suggested forming a standards
body for audio programming? That way, everything could be designed to work
together a lot better. I'm thinking a sort of W3C for audio.
Like I said, this is just talk on my part. Feel free to reject any or all of
what I just said.
-Karlheinz_______________________
http://www.khznoise.com
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