Fanless Laptop
- Thread starter ruffrecords
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Help Support GroupDIY Audio Forum:
john12ax7
Well-known member
DAW software like Pro Tools, Cubase, Studio One, Scoring Sibelius, Finale, CAD design Solidworks, Autocad, PCB layout Altium, PADs.
Sure there are sometimes workarounds but often compromised. For example Lynx and RME don't offer supported drivers.
TromNek
Well-known member
Yes, very limited linux driver support for the usb audio converters.
Reaper runs natively on Linux
And there is a Github site that is supporting some Focusrite gear on linux
It seems native plugin availability is hit and miss on linux.
Maybe I'll try this on one of my laptops.
TromNek
Well-known member
I've been running linux (mostly Debian) and BSDs (mostly OpenBSD) for my servers and routers since the early 90's.
But for a lot of my hobbies, the lack of key software keeps me stuck on windows for a lot of 'desktop' stuff.
I do have a bunch of old laptops running linux, it breaths new life into the old hardware.
And you can recompile the kernel to get rid of all the crap you don't need to save memory and optimize for your particular hardware.
But for a lot of my hobbies, the lack of key software keeps me stuck on windows for a lot of 'desktop' stuff.
I do have a bunch of old laptops running linux, it breaths new life into the old hardware.
And you can recompile the kernel to get rid of all the crap you don't need to save memory and optimize for your particular hardware.
I am caught in a time warp alright Disco , Even though I had my first computer early ,ZX spectrum , I didnt make the jump to to the next generation of 16/32 bit machines like Amiga or PC until very much later . Things were very much still in their infancy as far as computer audio is concerned , even in the mid 90's the only computers in the studio I worked were in the office . Although video tape based digital audio formats like Adat had appeared .
It was only around the late 90's I started to get into windows properly . A few friends early on got apple macs and made recording setups , but I was never impressed much by the spurious and unwanted glitches computers left behind on the audio . Thats when I decided to get a dedicated HD recorder/mixer , Akai's DPS24 , that machine serves most of my recording needs well to this day , in fact I have three machines , two fully functional and one for spares .
Just in the last year I tried hooking up a modern pc to the Akai via an audio interface to allow recording into Reaper on mixdown , no matter what I did I was unhappy with the sound , there was always some odd glitch here or there in the transfers , then I tried the DPS's own internal USB and aksys software tool to transfer the tracks to the PC offline , Instantly I was getting the expected results again , only downside was I needed an instance of XP to be able to run the drivers to get access to the to the internal hard drive in the Akai . I know I could virtualise all this on a modern OS if I wanted but instead I run an older Thinkpad on XP purely for the purpose of the transfer , once the data is on the target machine ,it can be transferred via memory card to the main daw/processing pc .
I wasted a lot of time and energy trying to get satisfactory results from audio interfaces ,drivers and software dubbing across from the DPS 24 , only to have to abandon it in the end . The unit only has USB 1 transfer speed to the target PC ,but the fact that the file thats transferred to the computer is a true 1:1 copy of the original wav file on the Akai hard drive means nothing on the input side of the pc ,such as the soundcard ,the drivers or the daw has a chance to corrupt the audio in any way , that works for me .
I have to admit , I am envious of the people who can sim up a circuit then draw out a pcb board layout and have it made up .
The department of employment have me lined up for some kind of skills evaluation and training interview soon , I could probably mention the CAD to them and they might be able to arrange something via the local technical institute .The modern day version of youthful exuberance in that setting could get old very fast for me though, I dont expect myself to be able to drink alongside the modern 'get smashed and make a public imbarressment of themselves' generation at this stage of my life .
The other school of thought says I tell them no thanks to any offers of re-training and just go off and learn how the use the software myself , tell them jack shit, keep my cards up my slieve .
It was only around the late 90's I started to get into windows properly . A few friends early on got apple macs and made recording setups , but I was never impressed much by the spurious and unwanted glitches computers left behind on the audio . Thats when I decided to get a dedicated HD recorder/mixer , Akai's DPS24 , that machine serves most of my recording needs well to this day , in fact I have three machines , two fully functional and one for spares .
Just in the last year I tried hooking up a modern pc to the Akai via an audio interface to allow recording into Reaper on mixdown , no matter what I did I was unhappy with the sound , there was always some odd glitch here or there in the transfers , then I tried the DPS's own internal USB and aksys software tool to transfer the tracks to the PC offline , Instantly I was getting the expected results again , only downside was I needed an instance of XP to be able to run the drivers to get access to the to the internal hard drive in the Akai . I know I could virtualise all this on a modern OS if I wanted but instead I run an older Thinkpad on XP purely for the purpose of the transfer , once the data is on the target machine ,it can be transferred via memory card to the main daw/processing pc .
I wasted a lot of time and energy trying to get satisfactory results from audio interfaces ,drivers and software dubbing across from the DPS 24 , only to have to abandon it in the end . The unit only has USB 1 transfer speed to the target PC ,but the fact that the file thats transferred to the computer is a true 1:1 copy of the original wav file on the Akai hard drive means nothing on the input side of the pc ,such as the soundcard ,the drivers or the daw has a chance to corrupt the audio in any way , that works for me .
I have to admit , I am envious of the people who can sim up a circuit then draw out a pcb board layout and have it made up .
The department of employment have me lined up for some kind of skills evaluation and training interview soon , I could probably mention the CAD to them and they might be able to arrange something via the local technical institute .The modern day version of youthful exuberance in that setting could get old very fast for me though, I dont expect myself to be able to drink alongside the modern 'get smashed and make a public imbarressment of themselves' generation at this stage of my life .
The other school of thought says I tell them no thanks to any offers of re-training and just go off and learn how the use the software myself , tell them jack shit, keep my cards up my slieve .
ruffrecords
Well-known member
Oh, you mean proprietary stuff. There are plenty of DAW, mechanical and PCB CAD alternatives under Linux. There will always be some vendors who insist on using their own specialised drivers. This is as much a curse as a benefit. For example Focusrite no longer supports early Scarlett products with drivers for Win 10 but they still work with Linux. It is all part of the product lock in scam.
Cheers
Ian
ruffrecords
Well-known member
Not exactly true. Linux will run any class compliant usb convertor and there are very many of those.
Cheers
Ian
Your right there and Audient gear ( which punches way above it's weight ) is also plug and play with Linux. I have an ID4, which is bus powered and a great interface
TromNek
Well-known member
Hmmmm, seems there's more support now than before.
I used to have problems in linux with device settings that are completely software controlled (no associated hardware button/switch).
Does the latest version of ALSA handle that stuff?
I used to have problems in linux with device settings that are completely software controlled (no associated hardware button/switch).
Does the latest version of ALSA handle that stuff?
ruffrecords
Well-known member
I am not sure how much longer ALSA will be around. At the moment you need ALSA, Pulseaudio and probably Jack for any serious audio work on Linux but I understand work is well underway to replace them by a single unified system in the same way that Wayland will replace X-windows.
But ALSA and Pulseaudio do a pretty good job together. I have three different class compliant USB audio interfaces and I can just plug one in and it works. Unplug it and plug another in and it works.
Cheers
Ian
industrialarts
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Have you considered a Chromebook with a Linux distro? I know you are looking for a Windows 10 computer, but I use nothing but Linux and have very few issues getting things done. What program do you especially need to run on Windows? You seem to be familiar with Linux and the graphics end of it seems pretty solid to me.
Personally, I can't stand Windows. I jumped ship after XP and have not regretted it once - except for midi sysex. Haven't found a good way to do it on Linux and every once in a great while I need to do a patch dump while working on a vintage synth
Personally, I can't stand Windows. I jumped ship after XP and have not regretted it once - except for midi sysex. Haven't found a good way to do it on Linux and every once in a great while I need to do a patch dump while working on a vintage synth
Disco Volante
Well-known member
JACK recognizes all the (older) Focusrites floating around in my small circle of sound-geeks. There is massive development going on as regards sound in Linux. Just 5 years ago, both CAD and sound was relatively involved/complicated and buggy. Not anymore...
I just love not being nagged and the ultimate stability. Never had a crash or loss of data in 20+ years, except a few disks dying on me and one lost laptop...
Like Tubetec, I also started in the early 80's with used HW, though I suspect I'm a bit younger. Linux gave me back the control I had when I was programming my Apple II or Oric48. Windows was a buggy pita from the beginning. Try getting IP traffic to work on Win3.1. Not even a stack present... (but of course you should just pay for the newer version, and let Bill do the work)
I once had a fanless little Acer netbook, Intel Atom and 8G SSD. Upgraded with a fast 32G, Ubuntu and more memory, it served me well for 6 years. Fanless is good;-)
I just love not being nagged and the ultimate stability. Never had a crash or loss of data in 20+ years, except a few disks dying on me and one lost laptop...
Like Tubetec, I also started in the early 80's with used HW, though I suspect I'm a bit younger. Linux gave me back the control I had when I was programming my Apple II or Oric48. Windows was a buggy pita from the beginning. Try getting IP traffic to work on Win3.1. Not even a stack present... (but of course you should just pay for the newer version, and let Bill do the work)
I once had a fanless little Acer netbook, Intel Atom and 8G SSD. Upgraded with a fast 32G, Ubuntu and more memory, it served me well for 6 years. Fanless is good;-)
ruffrecords
Well-known member
Yes, I already have one. I had a smaller one for many years but it is underpowered for CAD work. The newer one has an Intel chip and Linux i(debian) s easily enabled but the screen it too small for CAD work
I mostly use LInux too. I have been since the 90s. My workshop tower at the bottom of the garden runs Ubunbtu and is great for everything I need. Even the few Windows programs I use run fine under wine. If I could get a fanless OS free laptop of reasonable power I would just stick Ubuntu on it but most laptops I have seen come with Windows - unless you know otherwise.
No argument there.
Cheers
Ian
industrialarts
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Hi Ian
I am curious what you are using for CAD work - it's probably the Achilles heel of Linux and why you are looking for a Windows machine. I used to do a lot of drafting work with AutoCAD but was also on Windows at the time. I have since stopped doing large CAD projects and have found work-arounds to create the drawings I need. I have looked a little at CAD on Linux but since I don't need it, I haven't really investigated.
BTW, I have just started working with MXLinux because it's Debian based and will soon be using it as my sole distro. I like much better than any Ubuntu based version I have tested thus far. It's a slightly 'closed' environment since they recommend not using PPAs but the repositories have pretty much anything you need. There is also a 32 bit version for really old hardware
I am curious what you are using for CAD work - it's probably the Achilles heel of Linux and why you are looking for a Windows machine. I used to do a lot of drafting work with AutoCAD but was also on Windows at the time. I have since stopped doing large CAD projects and have found work-arounds to create the drawings I need. I have looked a little at CAD on Linux but since I don't need it, I haven't really investigated.
BTW, I have just started working with MXLinux because it's Debian based and will soon be using it as my sole distro. I like much better than any Ubuntu based version I have tested thus far. It's a slightly 'closed' environment since they recommend not using PPAs but the repositories have pretty much anything you need. There is also a 32 bit version for really old hardware
Ian would it be possible for you to use any old machine and use a remote desktop app to connect to your desktop where you could run the CAD prog from?
On your desktop you could maybe run a dual boot with microshaft and linux. Or if your machine is up to it then try a VM and put whatever OS wherever you want. Maybe I am complicating things....or maybe a good idea..LOL
Hope it helps.
Cheers
Joey
On your desktop you could maybe run a dual boot with microshaft and linux. Or if your machine is up to it then try a VM and put whatever OS wherever you want. Maybe I am complicating things....or maybe a good idea..LOL
Hope it helps.
Cheers
Joey
ruffrecords
Well-known member
My main CAD tools are Front Panel Designer, Kicad and QCAD, all of which have Linux native versions. I also use freePCB and LTspice both of which run fine with wine.
Cheers
Ian
TromNek
Well-known member
I use VNC to remote from my old laptop running Kali linux into my home windows desktop.
Mainly for running 3d animation software like Daz Studio and Poser on my windows desktop at home and controlling it remotely through VNC.
It's pretty heavy on the display transfers, but still works even with a 4g connection.
Also, for Amateur Radio stuff. In this case I control my radio receivers remotely. They are at home, so I connect with VNC and have them stream an IQ encoded signal over the internet which I can connect to and use with SDR software on my Kali linux laptop.
Also handy for getting files from my home network NAS servers when I'm away from home.
I keep the VNC server port blocked on my home routers. When I need to connect, I SSH into my routers and open it up. Then shut it down when I'm done.
Disco Volante
Well-known member
CAD: I use FreeCAD for designing parts and sketching for CAM, some rapid prototyping via 3D-print and casting. It's a bit of a learning curve though (I'm not trained in CAD).
Cheers, V
Cheers, V
ruffrecords
Well-known member
industrialarts
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Hi Ian
Saw this post - maybe you have already considered these options. I have run Linux Ubuntu on a Dell Venue from a USB and it was dead easy. I believe the MS Surface devices are also good candidates (except those with WinRT) to run a Linux distro once you disable Secure Boot. Or you can always dual boot
Saw this post - maybe you have already considered these options. I have run Linux Ubuntu on a Dell Venue from a USB and it was dead easy. I believe the MS Surface devices are also good candidates (except those with WinRT) to run a Linux distro once you disable Secure Boot. Or you can always dual boot
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