> I don't really know what to do about the state of the Linux sound code, but
> I can provide some background to help inform people.
Good morning Colin, thanks for the note and the helpful historical
perspective.
> The question is whether to split off from Hannu's work and go separately,
> or negotiate something with him so that everybody continues to benefit from
> continued sharing of the code base.
>
> Holding back Linux permanently is obviously a bad thing, but coordinating
> is not evil and would be worthwhile. And Hannu has made substantial
> contributions to Linux. It would be rude to get antagonistic without
> good cause.
My intent in probably inadvertantly starting this thread was to be
antagonistic or negative to the fine work that Hannu has offered to
the Linux community.
The current sound driver situation does offer somewhat of a conundrum
with respect to a free software perspective. I would be more than
happy to fork out the (IMHO) very modes price for the sound drivers
that Hannu offers. The problem is that I am somewhat reluctant to do
so when I haven't had much success getting support or solutions for
the problem that I am having with my installed system base.
It would appear that the AudioPCI card from Ensoniq is probably one of
those that Hannu had to give NDA for. I suspect that unless there is
a push from the free software community the HW manufacturers are not
going to provide development documentation when there is a commercial
software developer in the field. I guess for the free software
purists this is indeed an example of the potential evilness of closed
hardware/software solutions.
This problem does seem to have fixed itself in the video driver world
through the efforts of XFree. I have been trying to figure out why
sound development has been so different.
In any event probably the best solution is to scrap all my Ensoniq
AudioPCI cards and buy something that is supported by the free drivers
in the kernel. One of the problems I run into is that I vend systems
through GW2K and I end up getting the best prices on what they are
doing the most volume in. On the high-end systems I am targetting
this is the AudioPCI.
> -Colin
Thanks again for the comments.
Greg
}-- End of excerpt from Colin Plumb
As always,
Dr. G.W. Wettstein Enjellic Systems Development - Specialists in
4206 N. 19th Ave. intranet based enterprise information solutions.
Fargo, ND 58102 WWW: http://www.enjellic.com
Phone: 701-281-1686 EMAIL: greg@wind.enjellic.com
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