Getting my Linux working again

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I have been using Linux as my main home operating system for many years. I have been through various distributions including Red Hat, Mandrake and Knoppix before eventually settling with Ubuntu. That was back in about 2005 and I have upgraded through the years. A few times I have had to do a fresh install when thngs went wrong, but it has generally 'just worked'. The latest upgrade to 19.10 had some issues though. It appeared to work, but then the PC would not boot properly. It would get stuck on the Ubuntu splash screen and no further. I tried making a live booting flash drive to fix this, but it was just not right.

I had to resort to using Windows 10, which is also on this PC, but very rarely used. As most of what I do is in a browser this was no big deal, but I missed Linux. I had been wanting to get back into recording some music, so I decided to try Ubuntu Studio. I have used this before. It is optimised for audio as you do not want system processes messing up your recordings. It also comes with all the software you need, including the amazing Ardour audio workstation and lots of plug-ins.

Studio does have a lovely wallpaper featuring the current Ubuntu mascot.

Mascot

I still had to install a few things to make life bearable that included:

  • Brave web browser.
  • eSteem.
  • Rhythmbox music player.
  • Driver for my Brother laser printer. That was a download from their site and easy to install.

Linux is generally user friendly these days, but you do sometimes have to resort to the command line. There are hundreds of apps available from the software 'store' and a lot of hardware is supported. Sometimes it is actually easier to get things done than in Windows. I cannot speak for Macs as I do not use them.

I need to get my M-Audio Fasttrack Pro audio interface working. You generally have to tweak some settings to get recording working smoothly. I have another M-Audio interface that is a PCI card, but I had issues with it on this PC.

Fasttrack

I also have my Korg nanoKontrol (link is to newer version). This is handy to mute and solo tracks as well as some mixing duties.

nanoKontrol

I really do have all the tools I need to record music, but need to work on the necessary skills to get good results.

Rock on!

The geeky guitarist and facilitator of the 10K Minnows Project.

computer linux opensource stem palnet
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13 comments
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Interestingly all the bestest programs for artists, (whatever flavour) are turning up to be linux programs.

And they are leaving the old standbys Microsloth and Adobe in the dust.
Or, more like, the Microsloth shit is just getting heavier and slower with more features that no one wants, and more bugs that were never fixed...

and the command line is why i really love linux.
at its basis, it offers two ways to skin cats.

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I like the freedom, something Linux has in common with Steem. There really ought to be more cross-over with the communities.

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That is pretty awesome. I like how they have different distributions for so many specialized uses. I know that they have an education distro of Ubuntu for schools to be low overhead that you can deploy on really old hardware. Public schools tend to have a ton of old hardware. I have Ubuntu running on my main home computer and media server. It is pretty cool.

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There's loads of distributions and I just don't have time to try many. I really cannot understand why more people from that world are not on Steem as it matches a lot of their ideals as well as providing potential income. I'd love to support these projects here. We need an initiative to make that happen.

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I also have tried a few different distributions, and also have settled on Ubuntu. I use it at work and at home.

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Ubuntu tends to be easy to set up and pretty stable, but there are so many others. We are lucky to have a choice.

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Aye, it sure is nice to not be forced into the only one that exists.

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My linux system is optimised for my graphic work and if an update fails I just have to keep at it until it works, but sadly the audio setup lack some things that I can not figure out how to fix... and as it is only hobby I really haven't got the time.

I was quite keen on recording something the other day as I have started playing both piano and my flute again, but alas - it didn't work.

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It can be tricky to configure as you want and some issues are hard to track down. I will experiment with recording soon.

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