Expectations-The OS2 

In any system, the kernel is the beating heart. And it continues to be my view that a computer kernel is a marvel of engineering, and vision.

Imagine what it must have taken in thought, and perspective, to get a series of text files to play together in a fashion that interacts with hardware, and gives developers a vehicle, or platform, from which to grow up into a user space that us mere mortals can use. In linux, the kernel has the added advantage of being "transparent" to the user, that is, the user can manipulate, or define parameters from which a specific kernel can be constructed, and operate. I consider this a huge plus for the audio/music composer, as our genre of use requires specific elements from which to operate in a more suitable manner. Far from embarking on a series of workarounds, or operating within a set of commercially enforced restrictions based on generic profit expectations, the Linux kernel gives an unparalleled freedom to the user who is intent on maximising his or her hardware configuration in a music making environment. And within Linux, kernel configurations are as wide and varied as the thousands of apps written for it. 

In the Open Octave Project, both Chris and i use Gentoo as the kernel and environment of choice. I spent the last 2 years exploring many linux configurations, starting with UbuntuStudio, Debian, Suse, and ending with 64Studio 3, before my "evolution" to Gentoo.

So why did i choose Gentoo?

The more humorous answer might be i'm a masochist, as Gentoo requires some degree of basic Linux knowledge and syntax. The more generic user answer might be that i'm a Geek. I find this particularly funny as i'm the last person you could accuse of being particularly savvy with code. I'm neither of these things, but i do have a passion, and a burning expectation from the idea of being able to build up a computer system to do what I want it to do, in the manner i choose, and with features and parameters I set.

To do that i need a clear vision of what i want, and i clearly laid this out in the last blog.

Gentoo, offers a degree of user interaction that enables me to setup my system without assuming a nest of workarounds.

I hate workarounds.

It's like accepting 2nd or 3rd best, and gives me no satisfaction when i have to implement them, even as a commercial necessity to do my work. I spent nearly 20 years of hard core computer use in other OS's trying to build workarounds for poorly written code, or essential tools that were missing  from programmes based on profit, and dismissive of really clever, and usable workflow. There are a number of my colleagues who have successfully made a living from this clumsy consequence, as did i, but it doesn't mean it's good, or profitable, when you take into account the time spent building non productive digital band-aids, or crude patches.

I've never been fearful or apprehensive about tinkering with computer apps, and i will admit i've toasted a few setups finding out where the limits are. No problem there, it's part of the learning curve, and i have a pile of notebooks full of hard won information, that i could only gather by "practising" with linux systems. I've never understood the bleating that goes on with plug and play aspirations at an OS level. There's a great deal of personal satisfaction to be had from building, wrecking, and rebuilding OS frameworks, finally arriving at the one that nails it, and performs like a ferrari, all day every day. I could never go back to a generic setup for this reason, as i'm, to a moderate degree, addicted to lean, high performance, workflow, now that i have it.

Gentoo, as a "composer's system", is ideal for what we do. Highly configurable, adaptable, and extremely modular, it gives us the best of all worlds, within the curious madness that is writing music on a computer. Far from embarking on a perilous, and extremely frustrating journey of workaround building, we get the chance to get it right in the first place, and build a foundation that works and is tuned to our requirements.

This is the heart of what it is to use Linux.

Commercial OS's are already behind the eightball when it comes to their "install, plug and play" propaganda, and the miserably feeble and pitiful collection of OS tweaks for us music people. I never got excited about the /3GB switch for example, as it never should have been that limited in the first place. Running 5 gig boxes meant i needed it just to function in anything approaching a viable manner, but i wasn't overjoyed by the prospect, but more frustrated that it had to be there in the first place as, you guessed it, yet another workaround.

Linux, and in my case, native 64bit Gentoo linux, has none of this. It's akin to standing on a mountain, and gazing at the planet on a clear day, instead of slogging one's way through a swamp full of denizens of the deep, like blue screen crocodiles, spinning beachball mosquitoes, and "your computer has stopped responding" piranhas. If more users weren't so brand addicted, and eager to justify their financial....acumen, they'd see commercial OS workflow for what it is. Smoke and mirrors, and that damned swamp.

You might want to mention the difference in some apps between Linux and commerical OS's, and in certain cases you might have a point, but for solid definable OS operation, there's no comparison at all. If your hardware manufacturer doesn't make linux drivers for your kit, then frankly, don't buy it, and you won't be feeding their cowardice and lack of vision. Maybe then, we can help up them evolve to a higher plane, and they too can enjoy that spectacular mountain top view, with a few extra bucks in their deep pockets from satisfied linux users. We're not going away, there's more of us every day, and we're determined to drive forward, so they either step up, or get left behind in the dust.

Gentoo also gives us, as ordinary users, a superb handbook to use, while we build. In my experience, it's the best document for any OS, anywhere on the planet. From the download to the finished setup, it's all there, and if the user can think past 5 minutes of concentration, and focus long enough to turn pages, then success is inevitable. And as i mentioned earlier, there's a great deal of satisfaction, and personal empowerment to be had in building one's own kernel, to one's own specification. 

So here you are, building your own kernel, and preparing YOUR system, setting it up in the way YOU want it, without compromise beyond the hardware you chose.

You don't have to settle for 2nd best anymore.

For more details about Gentoo, go to www.gentoo.org.

And then there's window managers.

More to come....