<p>
-It is fairly understandable that existing proprietary DAWs do not run on
-Linux, given the rather small (but growing) share of the desktop market
-that Linux has. However, when surveying the landscape of "popular
-operating systems", we find:
+ There are already a number of excellent digital audio workstations. To
+ mention just a few: ProTools, Nuendo, Samplitude, Digital Performer, Logic,
+ Cubase (SX), Sonar, along with several less well known systems such as SADIE,
+ SAWStudio and others. Each of these programs has its strengths and
+ weaknesses, although over the last few years most of them have converged on a
+ very similar set of core features. However, each of them suffers from two
+ problems when seen from the perspective of Ardour's development group:
</p>
+
+<ul>
+ <li>they do not run natively on Linux</li>
+ <li>they are not available in source code form, making modifications,
+ improvements, bugfixes by technically inclined users or their friends or
+ consultants impossible.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>
+ It is fairly understandable that most existing proprietary DAWs do not run on
+ Linux, given the rather small (but growing) share of the desktop market that
+ Linux has. However, when surveying the landscape of "popular operating
+ systems", we find:
+</p>
+
<ul>
- <li>older versions of Windows: plagued by abysmal stability and
- appalling security</li>
- <li>newer versions of Windows seem stable but still suffer from
- security problems</li>
- <li>OS X: an amazing piece of engineering that is excellent for
- audio work but only runs on proprietary hardware and still lacks the
- flexibility and adaptability of Linux.</li>
+ <li>older versions of Windows: plagued by abysmal stability and appalling
+ security</li>
+ <li>newer versions of Windows seem stable but still suffer from security
+ problems</li>
+ <li>OS X: a nice piece of engineering that is excellent for audio work
+ but only runs on proprietary hardware and still lacks the flexibility and
+ adaptability of Linux.</li>
</ul>
+
<p>
-Security matters today, and will matter more in the future as more and
-more live or semi-live network based collaborations take place.
+ Security matters today, and will matter more in the future as more and more
+ live or semi-live network based collaborations take place.
</p>
+
<p>
-Let's contrast this with Linux, an operating system which:
+ Let's contrast this with Linux, an operating system which:
</p>
+
<ul>
<li>can stay up for months (or even years) without issues</li>
<li>is endlessly configurable down to the tiniest detail</li>
- <li>is not owned by any single corporate entity, ensuring its life
- and direction are not intertwined with that of a company (for a
- contrary example, consider BeOS)</li>
+ <li>is not owned by any single corporate entity, ensuring its life and
+ direction are not intertwined with that of a company (for a contrary example,
+ consider BeOS)</li>
<li>is fast and efficient</li>
- <li>runs on almost any computing platform ever created, including
- old "slow" systems and new "tiny" systems (e.g. Raspberry Pi)</li>
+ <li>runs on almost any computing platform ever created, including old "slow"
+ systems and new "tiny" systems (e.g. Raspberry Pi)</li>
<li>is one of the most secure operating systems "out of the box"</li>
</ul>
+
<p>
-More than anything, however, Ardour's primary author uses Linux and
-wanted a DAW that ran there.
+ More than anything, however, Ardour's primary author uses Linux and wanted a
+ DAW that ran there.
</p>
+
<p>
-Having written a DAW for Linux, it turned out to be relatively easy
-to port Ardour to OS X, mostly because of the excellent work done by
-the JACK OS X group that ported JACK to OS X.<br>
-Although OS X has a number of disadvantages compared to Linux, its
-ease of use and its presence in many studios already makes it a
-worthwhile platform.
+ Having written a DAW for Linux, it turned out to be relatively easy to port
+ Ardour to OS X, mostly because of the excellent work done by the JACK OS X
+ group that ported JACK to OS X.
</p>