Why Open-Source software?

There are a number of reasons you should maybe switch to open-source software.

The best example in my case was that I had a copy of Logic, Final Cut Pro, and Photoshop. All of them were purchased by the school I worked for at the time luckily and I used those for ages. Then my laptop broke and I had to get a new one. Suddenly I had to reinstall these programs and, unfortunately, I had no access to the license anymore since I had recently moved on to another school. I figured it was time to get my own copy finally and then I had to deal with the app store. Sadly, all that was available was the latest version of Logic and Final Cut Pro, both of which are pretty terrible (it is really odd that Apple decided to move Logic in a more consumer and less pro direction by making it more like Garageband). Ok, that is just my opinion but I assume you have a similar issue with other software in the past.

Ok, so I buy software that I don’t want and I’ll have to buy again when apple forces me to upgrade my operating system OR just get a program that doesn’t have those sorts of issues.

Some good reasons for going with Open-Source solutions from an artist’s perspective:

• You can transfer your software from computer to computer when you upgrade
• The cost is usually either free or very low AND your money most likely goes directly to the person who is doing all the work writing the program (Ardour is a great example of that)
• You have more control over your software. There are generally no arbitrarily or financially-motivated limitations placed on your software’s capabilities (I’m looking at you ProTools).
• Politics… OK, there are a lot more political/ethical reasons to empower people with the ability to create independent of whether they come from wealth but that is a much larger subject. I’m an educator so it very apparent to me on a daily basis how much of a difference it makes when someone has access to information and resources to be productive (whatever productive might mean). I’ll leave it at that but chew on it or search around the internet if you are curious.
• So in this journey, I’ve discovered some tips that work well for me. The post following this one will give some tips on my specific software toolchain as a composer but I wanted to have another section on the OS itself.

OS and Computer

Like most artists of the past few decades, when one had to choose a laptop to purchase there was really only about 1 and half choices. Either buy a Macbook and be happy and broke, or buy a Windows PC and always be searching for Windows alternatives to what most of your peers use (with the satisfaction that you didn’t need to take out a loan to buy it… maybe).

You don’t need to go with Linux. OSX is fine if you like it so keep it. I like it too. If you are into Windows, then stay with that. But if you do go with Linux here are some tips.

Why?!?!?!?!?!

With recent directions with the Apple OS as it moves more and more towards banning software that isn’t registered via their app store and the sudden lack of support for professional audio hardware (they keep changing those damn ports and I kept buying connectors that would cause latency problems), I was getting a little exhausted and felt like I was caught in a trap that I wouldn’t be able to get out of. So I made the decision to save up a little and purchase some Linux compatible hardware and go full on open-source and Linux.

In the past it was always a bit tricky for artists wanting to use Linux as the software available was never quite there and the “user-friendly” window managers were always a bit shaky (make a wrong move and your computer won’t boot until you reinstall everything which is pretty unacceptable). These days, though, I’m happy to say that things are very different.

At first I thought I would dual boot Windows and Linux but when I received my new laptop with Windows 8 on it, I found many things were just broken out of the box. The trackpad barely worked and the whole system was incredibly laggy and slow. Shockingly Ubuntu worked way better out of the box than Windows. So I just wiped the whole thing and installed a copy of Ubuntu on the machine.

I’m not going to go into the installation process of Ubuntu as, honestly, there isn’t much to say as it works as expected. It was quite straightforward and easy and there are many great tutorials out there on that.

Ubuntu is great for compatibility

Ubuntu doesn’t get wrapped up in whether something is fully open source or not (which may be a bad thing in the end for the world but right now you are trying to just get shit done). Ubuntu supports a good deal of hardware with both open-source AND proprietary drivers. All that really means is that Ubuntu will likely have support for newer hardware whether there exists open-sourced drivers for the hardware yet or not. There is also a great community out there for Ubuntu and you will find that most people answering “Linux” questions out on the internet are referring to how they do things in either Ubuntu or a Debian-based system which is what Ubuntu is built upon.

My other choice would be ArchLinux. ArchLinux is great. I just haven’t used it personally much.

Get hardware that is well supported
I bought a Thinkpad Yoga for a few reasons. Thinkpads are great machines (except when Lenovo screwed up the trackpads… Apparently they are putting back the buttons), I wanted the touch screen and the foldability primarily so I could use it as a touch controller, and lastly because it is well-supported.

All of that is to say that I did research and found that a lot of people successfully installed Ubuntu onto this machine. If I had my choice, I might have gone for the the Yoga 3 Pro cause it is super nice, but it was too new to have support for Ubuntu. Don’t get me wrong, it might have worked really well right out of the box but if you are new to Linux and are looking for a machine that you won’t be tinkering with more than using to make stuff, go with the safe bet.

Of course, your best bet might be to get something like what System76 offers or buying a Dell machine that has Linux installed already. In fact, I would highly recommend that.

Linux is not hard… it’s different

The response I often get about this one is that I am a programmer so of course it is not hard. True, I am a programmer… but you don’t need to be a programmer to use Linux. My grandma can use Linux and she never touches computers.

The thing is, the way you interact with Linux is different. Lots of things happen on the command line and there is nothing complex about that. It is usually just like clicking on a program’s settings except instead of seeing a setting and clicking on it, you type the name of the setting. I am oversimplifying it a little but the bottom line is that one should not go into Linux expecting to use it like a Mac or a Windows machine… its different… so what? Change is good and what is wrong with learning anyway?

Community is vital

Linux is based on community. Most answers you’ll get about issues you are having will come from forums, chats, or friends. If you are on Ubuntu then try askUbuntu. It’s likely that you are already getting all of your tech support in this way already but know that with things being slightly less point and clicky you may have to rely on these things a little more.

Community can screw you up

DON’T trust the first thing you see on a forum. What I mean is, don’t just execute code on your machine based on a vague feeling that the answer to the question you found on a forum miiiiiiight be a good solution to your problem. Especially if it is a “kernel patch.” Be careful about those and make sure that the issue you are seeing is the issue you are having. There are subtleties to most problems so there could be a subtle difference between the solution you are seeing and the solution you need. If you are not sure, you could always ask on the forums.

Back up your data

I back up all my files to a cloud sorta thing. You should probably make sure that in your first attempts at Linux you are easily able to reformat and restart (like if you were to do what I warn against in the prior section about community screwing you up).

All this knowledge is transferable

Just know that running Linux also allows you to easily step into working with newer microcontrollers such as Raspberry Pi, Beaglebone Blacks, Intel Galileo’s, etc. Most of them run Linux.

If you ever get into programming you will certainly be confronted with Linux so its a win there (cause dayjobs are certainly an important part of being an artist).

There are some goofy things

It’s not all rosy in Linux. Like any operating system there are some quirks. Sometimes my bluetooth crashes, sometimes my machine locks up. It is very rare though and I would say the same thing about OSX or Windows.

Also, there are lots of design-oriented issues in most Linux window managers that I have seen. This is changing though. Elementary OS looks quite good, Ubuntu’s Unity doesn’t look bad, and more are coming out every week it seems. I use Gnome and am very happy with it but it isn’t as sharp or sleek looking as other window managers. Part of the reason, though, is that the Linux community is very much about the ability to customize so a singular overarching window manager design will never be a thing and at some point one appreciates the ability to tweak it to your own desires.

There are a lot more tips I could/maybe should give but these are a few of the main ones. I’m sure others might find some issues with these choices but what is so great about the open-source community is that it really is about your ability to make your own choices. I’m extremely happy with the transition and have yet to feel that I’m lacking in any way so far.

Good luck!