== Open Week -- Ubuntu Studio Q&A -- Scott Lavender -- Fri, Oct 15 == {{{#!IRC [16:01] Logs for this session will be available at http://irclogs.ubuntu.com/2010/10/15/%23ubuntu-classroom.html following the conclusion of the session. [16:01] Hello and welcome to Ubuntu Studio: Q & A [16:02] I am Scott Lavender, project lead for Ubuntu Studio and I look forward to answer any questions you might have [16:02] But first I'll mention some things about Ubuntu Studio [16:02] [16:02] What exactly is Ubuntu Studio? [16:03] Ubuntu Studio is based on Ubuntu, it shares the same core code [16:04] but we include various audio, video, and graphical applications that are not included in the typical desktop Ubuntu installation [16:04] additionally, we make some changes to some system settings, which is intended to improve performance [16:05] in the past we have had a tuned kernel available, as well, to improve performance [16:06] and our hope to provide a tuned kernel included in a default installation in the near future (perhaps in natty) [16:07] any questions so far? [16:08] Right. Moving on, I'll address some of the more common questions that I see [16:08] One is network configuration [16:09] Ubuntu Studio chooses to include the gnome-network-admin package for handling networking [16:09] this choice was because network-manager was found to degrade performance [16:10] when i say "degrade performance" in this case, it means it increased latency or cause xruns when recording audio [16:11] it was found that gnome-network-admin did not cause the same performance degradation [16:12] unfortunately, it was also found that gnome-network-admin had a patch applied to it that removed the configuratuion UI when network-manager was chose to handle networking in both Debian and Ubuntu, I believe [16:13] while this did not prove so troubling to persons using a wired connection to a dhcp router, many users (say laptop users) found that they could not configure their connections and therefore unable to connect to the internet [16:14] luckily the patch was moderated as of Maverick and Ubuntu Studio users should now be able to configure their network connections once again [16:16] as a backup, however, we have been including network-manager on the dvd [16:16] network-manager is not installed by default, but can be installed manually if the user chooses [16:16] !q [16:18] charlie-tca asked: Studio has quite a busy login and background. For some of us, it is hard to distinguish the background black pattern and the panel. Any plans to change this? [16:19] short answer is yes, we are looking to changing the art [16:20] we would prefer to use art that is user created and we welcome submissions [16:21] charlie-tca asked: I guess mostly I am hoping it will become more accessible. Those with visual impairments will have some issues trying to see with the background as busy as it is. [16:21] i agree [16:22] i personally prefer a background with less contrast in it as the desktop become very confusing [16:22] additionally, we currently lack an art lead, if anyone is interested please contact the ubuntustudio-devel mailing list [16:23] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-studio-devel [16:24] [16:24] if anyone has questions, please ask them at any time, otherwise I will move onto other questions that are asked often [16:25] Another question asked, is why the Ubuntu Studio team chooses to make an ISO rather than use the Ubuntu desktop CD and install packages from the archives or PPA? [16:26] One certainly can start with a Ubuntu (or Xubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, et al) install and install packages and many do! [16:26] however, as a team we choose to make an ISO for various reasons [16:26] firstly, this allows us to control what does NOT get installed [16:27] for example, the me-menu and other social items are excluded from the default Ubuntu Studio installation as they would general degrade performance [16:27] a user may certainly install them if they wish from the repositories, and that is their choice of course [16:28] there are system settings (e.g. adding user to audio group) extant in the default Ubuntu Studio installation [16:28] these would need to be made manually otherwise [16:30] an extremely useful benefit for a new user [16:30] other reasons include using the installation disc on multiple computer or computers without an internet connection [16:32] Moving on, I'll talk about some of the improvement in Ubuntu Studio for the Maverick release [16:32] we now have better integration between Pulse Audio and JACK [16:33] we have updated JACK from the 0.118 series to the 1.9.5 I believe [16:33] the pertinent improvement in this is that JACK now uses D-BUS to negotiate with devices [16:33] this allows JACK and Pulse Audio to coexist much better than before [16:34] prior to this, starting JACK via qjackctl would cause Pulse Audio to suspend [16:34] this is no longer the case [16:35] both can be used at the same time as long as Pulse Audio and JACK are using different devices [16:35] for example [16:36] I would expect many (if not most) Ubuntu Studio computer to have an additional audio interface (say an MAudio delta 44) in addition to an onboard integrated sound chip [16:36] in this case, one could watch a youtube video and hear the sound through the onboard audio device [16:37] while playing guitar and hearing it through the delta 44 [16:40] charlie-tca asked: any chance Ubuntu Studio could be made to fit a standard CD? [16:40] that is both an excellent question and a laudable goal [16:40] my answer would be that it is possible, but at what cost? [16:41] it is possible, indeed, but we would need to see what functionality we would be eliminating [16:41] we would also need to evaluate the ultimate reason to fitting on a CD [16:42] if the reason is bandwidth, that might be address in a better way by evaluating the current package selection (ideally without hindering functionality) [16:42] if the reason is because CD's are less expensive and more pervasive than DVD's, that certainly would be hard to be addressed in another manner [16:43] again, an excellent question [16:43] charlie-tca asked: what is the IRC channel for Ubuntu Studio? [16:43] the IRC channel for Ubuntu Studio is #ubuntustudio [16:44] this is for most general questions about Ubuntu Studio [16:45] if you wish to talk with the developers about contributing to Ubuntu Studio (e.g. artwork, themes, testing, documentation) you can read them at #ubuntustudio-devel on IRC as well [16:45] users will most likely find helpful information at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuStudio [16:46] this is geared more toward helping users user Ubuntu Studio [16:46] development topics are generally found at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio [16:47] users can also find assistance at the ubuntustudio-users mailing list https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-studio-users [16:48] charlie-tca asked: what are the expected changes for Natty in Ubuntu Studio? anything major known yet? [16:48] There are substantial changes lined up for Natty [16:49] currently we are working with the Ubuntu Kernel Team to develop and maintain a -lowlatency kernel in the official repositories [16:49] the is important [16:49] i mentioned before a tuned kernel, which was the -rt kernel [16:50] unfortunately this kernel could not be consistently maintained in the repos and align with the -generic kernel (the -rt patch is not available for every release version) [16:50] therefore, we choose the -lowlatency kernel to be the default installed kernel for Ubuntu Studio [16:51] There are 10 minutes remaining in the current session. [16:51] our plan is to also provide a -realtime kernel available in PPA to those who require it (e.g. firewire audio interface users) [16:51] we are also evaulating our package selection by focusing on tasks [16:52] we are mapping tasks that users might want to accomplish and making sure we have a complete and effective workflow developed to support that tasks [16:52] this will decided which applications are included in Ubuntu Studio [16:53] users are encourage to help in this process at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio/Workflows [16:53] [16:54] the task based workflows are important because this will also provide the framework for documentation and testing as well [16:55] one last thing we hope to accomplish is to update the ubuntustudio.org website before natty [16:55] we are currently evaluating mockups for this at the moment and hope to decide on a direction soon and start moving forward [16:56] There are 5 minutes remaining in the current session. [16:56] if anyone is interested in helping with that please contact me [16:56] https://launchpad.net/~slavender [16:56] and if anyone is interested in helping in ANY aspect with Ubuntu Studio please do not hesitate to contact me as well :) [16:58] I want to thank everyone that showed up for this class, I certainly enjoyed myself and I hope you did too }}}