MIDIbox Linux Distro

[frailn]

I like it! You have to include Dr Bunsen's icon somehow...

[stryd_one]

@EVERYONE

Please edit this page, add as much as you can, correct it, whatever. Go crazy:

http://www.midibox.org/dokuwiki/labuntu:labuntu

Feel free to mention this in other DIY electronics/DIY audio/musical communities, the more input the better. If they want to edit the page but don't want to sign up for a midibox account, I'll pass on their ideas, they can email me.

[frailn]

Added links for the Audio software and added kicad to the list of MIDIbox software section since it's opensource. I don't think we could use eagle since it's copyrighted.

[frailn]

Should we include WINE and Front Panel Designer? WINE required to run this program. I looked up the copyrights on FPD:

The >Front Panel Designer< is freeware, so you can install and use it always and everywhere for free.

[cimo]

Well i mean a unattended distro with all packages built in then. You still have to use your own serial and the windows sources etc.

it s ILLEGAL !

[stryd_one]

Wine yes for sure (i won't use it but I know others will)

FPD yes for sure

I think eagle is ok, it's free so long as it's the free version... but it's not "where you can install it" that counts here, it's "can we distribute it?"

No need for linkage,  doesn't hurt though! i've bookmarked most of these in the past few years already, this is just an exercise to get a feature list.

it s ILLEGAL !

No, if you supply your own windows media and serial number, it's legal.

[cimo]

I ve sent a link to this thread to

PlanetCCRMA - UbuntuStudio - Linux Audio Users

mailing lists

i would add VirtualBox so one can install a virtual Windows if needed

[stryd_one]

I ve sent a link to this thread to

PlanetCCRMA - UbuntuStudio - Linux Audio Users

mailing lists

Wow cool.... Sure to be some good knowhow floating around there! :D

i would add VirtualBox so one can install a virtual Windows if needed

Good idea. I use VMWare at work, and I've read of one other FLOSS virtualisation package... is there a reason you go for VB?

[cimo]

is there a reason you go for VB?

it s free, and i like to use what it s "default" on Ubuntu to be a compatible help for friends, cause since i started fighting for the cause i get help requests daily, err good idea, wasn it ?  ;)

I installed it and used an image of Windows i ve accidentally found on the net (without burning a cd) and it worked outtabox

[stryd_one]

Sound like good reasons to me! Thx dude :)

[cimo]

i ve just noticed the last entry on the poll, i think we should guarantee external packages aside from the distro for people who is already using Linux and want to add just the packages, that would go in Ubuntu as:

-add an entry in synaptics with the repositories of our packages

-update

-install the MIDIBox (or whatever called) packages

..sounds immensely cool to me

[stryd_one]

Yeh that's what I was thinking... I've never made a deb package, but I can't imagine it being too much harder than an MSI or installshield... And there's a big-ass howto on their wiki.

Oh I just realised, I forgot to post it in here. I didn't have the "just works" experience with fedora 9 at all I'm afraid. It was definitely a close runner up, but I don't think it's a good way to go, if I had problems with three of three machines :( (small problems, but ...enough)

Before I put this on the wiki: remote desktop control would be awesome... and ubuntu ships with vnc which is nice, and it's easy to enable (don't want that on by default, security.....)but I'm wondering if some clever person has made a good way to remote control linux, and bypass firewalling/not require a port forward (virtual server, etc).. Would be ace for troubleshooting to be "in the room" with the person!

Edit: do we even need that? if they can figure out how to get a torrent, they'll have setup a server.... and I'll be hosting the ISO as a torrent, so.... They should be able to forward the port for VNC, right?

[cimo]

stryd dunno if you remember that time that you helped me with the VNC issue i had at home (2 routers on 2 different subnets etc), now that it works, it works flawlessly, VNC is just ok, the server comes with Ubuntu as you mentioned, and it s 2 clicks away for enabling, i can t remember if vnc viewer come swith Ubuntu or if I ve installed it, there is no GUI but creating a launcher icon take s 30 seconds.. i haven tried that over the internet, just locally bu ti can  t see why it shouldn t work.

I am so lazy that now i don t need to go downstair if i want to add some torrent in the download queue...

[DrBunsen]

How many people are really interested in this?  / raises hand

What are the chances of linux being your primary OS? Minimal - I have a Mac :P

If this is a works-out-of-the box development and hacking environment, I would absolutely dedicate a box to it.

strictly midibox / other goodies / like AVR, arduino, Synth-DIY, etc  YES.  It would be daft to have a distro like this, and have to leave that environment to work on something slightly outside the MBHP

What features or apps would be a "must have" for you?  Circuit simulation with audio output; speaker design and modelling; simple 3D CAD; support for low-end PCs & legacy hardware

What would you really like to see?  Google apps integration; MacPPC version; DSP design; "lite" version; architectural acoustic modelling; lots of emulators; an RT-kernel; virtualisation; audio/MIDI over Ethernet/IP

What would be a dealbreaker?  If the DAW overcomes the Workbench

Are you an ubuntu hater? Love it

Can you help if we do this thing? / puts hand back down

I'm picturing an installer that gives you these options;

Basic audio; full dev

Full audio; basic dev

The works.

Devbuntu / Hackbuntu / Benderbuntu / Midevuntu / MCUbuntu / DSPuntu / Ebuntu / MBuntu

[stryd_one]

Lots of good ideas there bunsen!

Is there any chance you could go google warrior on some of those?

Especially these:

Circuit simulation with audio output;

speaker design and modelling;

simple 3D CAD;

DSP design;

architectural acoustic modelling;

lots of emulators; ???

audio/MIDI over Ethernet/IP <-- great idea.

Benderbuntu sounds fun! :D

[/tilted/]

Bender "bending" -buntu!!!

[cimo]

   

                                                " *Whackuntu* "

[nILS]

classically minimalistic: mbuntu

[stryd_one]

what's the 'm' stand for?

[/tilted/]

what's the 'm' stand for?

...the national anthem?  ::)

[nILS]

what's the 'm' stand for?

stryd? Go to sleep. Right now. And don't you dare come back until you can think clearly again. There I was - absolutely convinced that in a MidiBox*cough* -excuse me - MidiBox-related environment it would be blatantly obvious that "mb" can only stand for one thing: my balls.

[stryd_one]

hahahaha

well, I didn't guess that you meant 'm' for 'midibox', because I said before

I'd like to not make it sound like it's all about midi though..

Yaknow, I don't want to make like it's exclusively useful for midiboxing.

Also, mbuntu is also verry close to mubuntu, the old and still 'reserved' name of ubuntu studio...

But, I saw it broken down like mbuntu, rather than mbuntu - the extra b makes it very midibox, but it would be hidden to anyone else who doesn't know, they'd probably see mbuntu like I did (because it's more like ubuntu, a word they are familiar with)

and dammit, it's a good sounding name! I'll talk with the ubuntu devs before I go changing the wiki name though... We don't operate under their control or anything, but IMO we should show due respect.

[lylehaze]

This sounds like a great idea.

There is zero chance of it becoming my main machine. I have an AmigaOne, and I'm hooked.

Right now, I keep an old Win98 machine next to it for only two things: MPLab and Eagle. If I could get a linux distro that supported either of those, I would HAVE to give it a try.

For my own uses, the best possible setup would be:

A bootable USB stick, that is portable without touching the HD of the host machine.

a full working installation of the "new" MIOS programming environment. ( Is that SDCC? I haven't even looked yet)

Support for ASM as well as C for PIC work

Support for EAGLE lite.

GCC installed for writing little Linux apps.

Driver support for USB MIDI interfaces.

If I could get it all except the bootable USB drive, I could add a boot drive switch to my old 98 machine, but having it all on a thumb drive means I can work from anywhere, on any borrowed machine ( A VERY useful feature)

If I have to put it all together myself, I'm willing to give it a try, but I have a lifetime total of about 10 minutes of Linux experience.

Can you imagine all that on a portable USB stick? marvelous!

LyleHaze

[edit] even without the MIDI stuff, wouldn't Ubuntu on a bootable thumb drive be called "USBuntu"? I'll have to Google that. :-)

[nILS]

Right now, I keep an old Win98 machine next to it for only two things: MPLab and Eagle. If I could get a linux distro that supported either of those, I would HAVE to give it a try.

[...]

a full working installation of the "new" MIOS programming environment. ( Is that SDCC? I haven't even looked yet)

Support for ASM as well as C for PIC work

Support for EAGLE lite.

GCC installed for writing little Linux apps.

Driver support for USB MIDI interfaces.

Sounds doable and is pretty much what's being planned to be done.

A bootable USB stick, that is portable without touching the HD of the host machine.

This is totally the case. At the moment this can be done without much trouble simply by booting from the Ubuntu CD and running a simple script that I am working on, which "installs" ubuntu onto the stick in a pretty neat way - this way you get a persistent copy, whic saves and restores all your data *and* a fully functioning live stick, that'll run anywhere or could even be used to as an install CD ;D

If I have to put it all together myself, I'm willing to give it a try, but I have a lifetime total of about 10 minutes of Linux experience.

Which should be enough to setup up a USB stick. Even with the lousy that I am using atm, there's really not anything to be afraid of if you can imagine doing two simple things:

* if you see a list of your drives you can identify your USB stick (for instance by size)

* you can type two commands that kinda look like this "wget schickt.de/mbuntu/download/something" and "sudo sh something"

Until there's a "real" distro, anyone willing to help with the testing, let me know, last time I check, it took me about 15 minutes to set the system up on a USB stick.

[frailn]

anyone willing to help with the testing

Count me in.