What about rebelling from rebelling?

Yeah, this and a bunch of nearsighted VST developers are the only things keeping me from switching to Linux entirely anymore. Things have definitely gotten better on the Linux side of things, and definitely gotten worse with Windows, so I feel like it’s only a matter of time.

Well, ‘casual’ in that I never did get into the nitty-gritty too much. I had to learn to sling a few terminal commands for this-and-that, but otherwise I almost never touch it. It browses the web, edits documents, prints pdfs, plays audio files, and does a little video editing in Blender just fine.

If there were Linux competitions, I’d definitely be out in the early rounds.

Long term casual? I’ve been using it in some form since the early 00s when I installed Ubuntu 6 on an aging laptop. Currently I’ve got an HP Stream 13 that only functions thanks to Lubuntu, and Mint is on my work PC. Unfortunately thanks to a music hobby and a bunch of shitty VST vendors who refuse to support Linux I run Windows at home.

I rarely open a terminal.

My problem is that because of Linux I can almost never throw away an old computer. I’ve got a bloody netbook around here somewhere running Lubuntu.

I recently sucked it up and upgraded Windows 10 to 11. Music production is getting better in Linux, but there is still a whole lot of existing music software with no Linux support. Cakewalk for example has no Linux support, and I imagine getting it working in WINE with VSTs and whatever else would be an immense chore. Same story with Ableton.

That said, if you don’t mind migrating to a DAW with Linux support like Reaper, Bitwig, or even Ardour - which is open source and free - producing music with Linux is the easiest it’s ever been. Just don’t count on Linux support from a lot of VST makers who often require you use their software to install their VSTs. You can usually still install those VSTs, but it sometimes requires less than legal methods, and may be a hassle.

If you’re a producer who mostly just uses a DAW as a recorder for hardware, it would barely be a change to your workflow at all. If you are reliant on Cakewalk and Ableton specific processes and VSTs, it would be much more difficult

Use the electricity to power a screen and speakers and sell ad space!

Evil. I like it! Maybe some mandatory ad viewing somehow shoehorned into the unlocking process as well.

Now we do have computers! Think of the models of wheels that could help us improve wheels!

Will he get paid to improve it?

No

Well, now I’m clearly going to have to find a way to monetize the wheel as well.

The wheel has had a number of innovations over the years. The earliest wheels were flat disks of wood that were heavy and slow turning. The Romans invented spokes and metal rims which made them faster, more durable, and gave them more traction. Questions we need answered: What is this wheel in particular designed to do? Is there any way we could make it work more efficiently at its task? Do we value performance over reliability, or vice versa? Etc. Etc.

Mint Cinnamon. All my hardware works, and it can do the few things I require my work PC to do. It even remembers things like my default audio device - something Ubuntu refused to do for years.