[sldev] gstreamer

[Henri Beauchamp]

OK... This is my last message on this topic, for it's becoming
less and less sldev related... Still, I can't let wrong things
be said about a *great* software that could help many of you
around (and not only when running SL).

On Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:04:05 +0100, Jan Ciger wrote:

> Hi Henri,
> 
> Henri Beauchamp wrote:
> > Did you try it at all ???  I doubt so...
> > 
> > It's as simple as downloading a package from OSS website and
> > installing it, just like you do with your distro packaging
> > mechanism (RPM and DEB and TAR are provided)...
> > And if your packaging mechanism is not supported, you got an
> > auto-extractible package (just run it and it will do the rest).
> 
> Right. Except that you are barking up the wrong tree here. I think I do
> posses the skills to install this, but if I have to go through this
> rigamarole every time I update my system to a newer release, well,
> thanks.

If you had actually tried it, you would have noticed that the OSS
init.d scripts are clever enough to recompile automatically the
OSS modules whenever an update to your kernel occurs...

> Lot of things simply expect Alsa/Pulse to be in place these
> days. Perhaps you have more time than I do, but I prefer to have things
> working with my distro, not me having to bend over backwards to get a
> program like SL working properly by replacing a whole sound subsystem.

It's a plug and play solution: no need to fiddle with anything as long
as your distro provides modularized sound support (and I don't know any
which don't).

> >> Distros will not ship it, because it is not free (libre)
> >> software.
> > 
> > Sorry, but OSS v4 *is* Open Source...
> > http://developer.opensound.com/sources/
> 
> And what is this (on the download page):
> 
> > Open Sound System is now free for personal and non-commercial use and
> > comes with a license key that will allow you to run OSS. The license
> > key is valid for up to 6 months at a time after which you will need
> > to download and install OSS again. There are no time limitations or
> > restricted functionality during the licensing period. A permanant
> > license key that will entitle you to free support and upgrades can be
> > ordered here
> 
> That the sources are available doesn't mean that this is a free (libre)
> software.

Once again, OSS *is* Free (like in free beer *and* free speech) software.
As long as you compile it from sources (which would be what any distro
maker would do anyway), it is GPL under Linux.
The license for the binary pre-compiled package is something else
(just like Second Life binary packages..), but it is still a free
license for the end user (and the stuff about the 6 months key
is completely deprecated: there is no such key any more now).

> > My bet is that given how more performant and easy is OSS (not to
> > mention the OSS API has been around since day one of audio support
> > in Linux and all software support it), it will replace the buggy,
> > extremely flacky and unfriendly ALSA in the future.
> > With OSS, you can get rid of *all* the stupid sound daemons and
> > not have to worry if this or that software will support them.
> 
> Right, with the license like the one above, I am looking forward to see
> that happen. The licensing is at the very least unclear, because the
> pre-packaged binaries carry a distinctly non-free license,

Yes, just like the Second Life viewer... So what ?... You can still build
either from GPLed sources...

> but the source is supposedly multi-licensed (including GPL?).

Again, just like Second Life... and if you did read it right, you
noticed that the license for OSS matches the one of the OS on which
it is running, i.e. GPL for Linux, BDS, for *BSD, etc...
Clever, I think.

> However, according to their FAQ, there are some closed source
> components.

Yes, some *non-free* drivers (not in the provided free package)
are closed source. But as they are written for professional audio
devices and applications, it's not really a problem for the desktop
computer user.

> Ain't gonna happen, Henri.

I bet it will. :-P

Henri.