Re: [microsound] the politics of open-source (was: PD Linux audio workshops

["Phil Thomson" <hellomynameisphil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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I find that, for me, the major barrier to using more open source
software is accessibility. Given that I don't have a programming
background, I don't really know all that much about using compilers, and
it's hard for me to use software that requires the use of a compiler for
installation. If something goes wrong with the compilation, I usually
just have to delete everything, as I have no idea how to fix it. 

Open-source software also tends to presume a high level of computer
knowledge to which not everyone has access. And unfortunately, there is
a not a lot of open-source software available that does the kinds of
things I want to do. 

I do use some OS stuff, like PD and Csound, but given my level of
computer-savviness, I'm limited in how much OS stuff I can make use of.
If you know about more OS audio software for OS X, I'd love to hear
about it. And yes, I already know about Audacity. It's a great app, but
needs to become more stable before I can use it more.

Phil

<-----Original Message----->
hi tim,

thanks for the props!

i find it very interesting to note the more general [lack of] reaction 
to linux/open source-related stuff on microsound. seems everybody is too
busy tearing each other's semantics apart ;-)

but seriously, especially for the amount of politics and pseudo-politics
that fly around here, the relative silence on the basic tools we use and
who hands out or "steals" the permission to use them is fascinating. 
during these workshops, i met lots of musicians who loved the idea of 
open-source and open licensing, and applied it to their music 
releases... but still used cracked M$ programs to produce them! for me, 
that is more than a technical issue, but also a philosophical one. maybe
if people don't want to talk tech so deep on the list, they can still 
approach it from this angle.

best,
derek 

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