You may remember that over a year ago I vented mightily at Ubuntu Linux for failing to match up to Windows (for shame!). Well, after 8 years of pissing around with various Linux distros I've finally found one that meets even my exacting requirements. With the latest release of Ubuntu (7.10, aka... *ahem*, "Gutsy Gibbon") I've got a Linux install that: supports my wireless card*, can run (via Wine) my Windows audio apps almost as well as Windows does, and (even!) knows about my MIDI controller.
Much more important than any of that stuff is the fact that Gutsy implements this nice eye candy called Compiz Fusion, which allows the Ubuntu's X window system to look as needlessly snazzy as anything OS X or Vista has to offer. (Naturally enough, after 10 minutes of distractingly wobbly windows and spinning shit, I found it was causing Audiomulch to glitch every time I moved a contraption in the window, so I turned it all off.)
Of course, as long as my music software is Windows-only, and as long as linux audio apps are (let's be honest here) a bit of a joke, chances are I'll be saddled with WIndows for a while yet. Yet I think if fair to declare that Linux is now, finally, Something That Is Useful To Me.
* Actually, the linux driver for the card became defunct several kernels back and the open source rewrite of the driver is lost on sourceforge, so I'm actually using the windows drivers via a fudge/hack called ndiswrapper. Well, as I don't need to buy a new card, I really have no need to complain.
Posted by stuart at December 27, 2007 9:53 PM