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Drivers for Linux


septicide
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  • 3 months later...

*resurrecting old thread* I'ved started the process of moving from Sonar to Ardour (Ubuntu), and I've been looking for a way to bring along my Line 6 gear.  I found this thread at the top of Google search results.  It's disappointing to read the dialogue at the start, and it was also nice to see some serious discussion come through at the end.  My take: if my 80 year-old parents can successfully use Android and Ubuntu (in a Windows/Mac free household), then I think anybody can make the switch.  That said, I've seen some hard-nosed POVs come through on both sides: on the Linux side, there are the people who preach RTFM to somebody who is trying to make the switch (which can also be a completely foreign language), and on the anti-Linux side, there are the people who have been left with a bad taste in their mouth due to prior experiences with the OS (and related people).  I feel that this social consumer divide is exactly the hurdle holding back adoption.  On the server side, Linux is a massive force powering the internet: 67% are Unix-like systems, with about half being Linux. 33% of Azure (Microsoft) servers run Linux.  Many smart TVs and EV displays run on Linux; e.g., Tesla's.  With regard to Ubuntu, most everything runs out-of-the-box; Steam, Netflix, printers, Firefox (or Chrome), etc.  Of course, the exceptions are DAWs and related-software.  They're still not quite there with ease-of-install, but once they're running, they're rock solid and PORTABLE - if the system runs Linux (phone, Pi, laptop, desktop, etc.), there's a very good chance that the software can be run across any of those devices.  For now, I'm focused on my laptop and am looking into getting my Line 6 gear running on it.  If I can't get it going, I'll still stick with Linux and buy an older stand-alone Pod.  Thanks for considering Linux support.

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There's a big difference between writing apps and writing drivers.  You see Linux, in a stripped down version, on phones, tablets, etc. because it's cheaper than licensing it from Microsoft or some other flavor of Unix.  It also takes about the same amount of work cause someone has to write drivers no matter what.

 

However, writing drivers for the handful of people who want to run Line6 stuff on Linux just isn't worth it by any stretch of the imagination.  Now if you want to pay $50,000 for that driver and can find at least 6 other people to pay that too, then maybe, just barely maybe, it's almost worth it.

 

This is not meant to be a smart lollipop comment or biased.

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Back in Windows NT vs. OS/2 wars.  Microsoft decided to write the drivers themselves for printers, video cards, and other popular devices because very few companies would do it themselves.  They didn't know which OS was going to win and it's VERY expensive and VERY difficult to write drivers.  Even after Windows won the OS war they still spent a lot of time writing drivers and helping 3rd party companies write drivers.  Drivers are lollipoping hard to write.

 

Now we're talking about an even smaller market with an OS that's far from mainstream on the PC - it ain't gonn'a happen.

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Instead of funding full driver development, I think what may more realistic is finding a halfway point. For example, Steinberg released an SDK that Linux developers leveraged to bridge with WINE; now there are Windows VSTs running on Linux. Nvidia develops drivers for Linux (I believe bare bones), and that's what enabled Steam to be viable on that platform. In both cases, a small investment led to greater innovations. I used to frequent the Wine boards about 10 years ago, and I seem to remember the chief complaint was that people were willing to write drivers, but manufacturers would not release details; e.g., Aardvark Q10. I do understand that it still requires company resources, but I would also not rule out the possibility. (Note: another great example was when Disney invested in improving Wine so that they could run Photoshop on Linux.)

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  • 7 months later...

FWIW: Newer versions of the Linux kernel support the POD HD series out of the box. I installed Kernel 4.15 on my Linux Mint Serena laptop following the instructions (and warnings) in the Software Center.

 

Other distros have their own way to update the kernel, or you can take the safe option and wait for your distro to roll the kernel updates into your normal updates.

 

Works like a charm (any other soundcard/input).

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Still don't understand why anyone would choose an OS that has approx 1% of the market instead of Windows that has over 85%.  Life's 'tuff enough, why add more frustration.  But then I don't understand why some people WANT to live off the grid either.  To each their own.

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Back when I did computers for a living I remember a guy telling me that Unix doesn't have any bugs, never has any problems, and he didn't understand why everyone didn't know that.  There is never and will never be such an OS.  They all have bugs, they all crash, they can all be hacked.  I just choose the one that gives me the least hassle, has the most software, and inexpensive hardware.  Computers being so cheap I don't need to run a free OS on my 15 year old computer.  Hell my friggin phone isn't that old.  

 

But I digress.  Nice meme spaceatl

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  • 2 years later...

I've since moved to using Qtractor for my DAW on Ubuntu and use Carla Rack as a 32bit and 64bit bridge to Windows VSTs. I've still stuck with dedicated Line 6 hardware. Now I'm trying to get all this running on a Raspberry Pi. Qtractor runs on it as well as x86 audio apps via Wine, but there is no bridge between the two (yet).

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