Why You Won't See Traktor on Linux

[empolo]

Guys, please keep yourself in check here. We are a nice community, so let's play nice.

No need to have bad vibes here!

Being that my last reply pointing out the irony in my supposedly taking things to a personal level didn't show up, I take it that someone already put the "check" in the checkbox.




No worries - I just picked up a Maschine today. I'm in a totally different universe right now (and yes, it will be given a go with Linux)

[nem0nic]

For example, on what other platform would you have to disable a core service (which results in a loss of processing power) in order to avoid latency spikes that result in glitchy audio...

I can speak specifically to this situation, because I also bought a Dell Studio 15 with the DPC spikes. This specific DPC issue is present even when running other operating systems (users experience the regular 4 second "pop" in audio").

The ODM for the mainboards of the Studio line (Gigabyte) had this well known issue on several of their own mainboards (starting with the P35). They've released a BIOS flash that fixes the problem for most of their own branded boards, but NOT for Dell (rolling back to a very old version of the BIOS also worked for some users - again not possible with the Dell).

Turning off ACPI is not an acceptable "tweak" to work around a problem like this. Yes, it works to get rid of the problem, but so does removing power from the computer. The acceptable fix for this issue is to return the computer within the first month and let Dell know WHY you're returning it. Do your homework, be prepared to show DPC LC running to a remote tech. After 2 calls THEY WILL allow the return, and won't even charge you a restocking fee.

The Inspiron and "regular" XPS lines (like the 1530 and 1730) don't suffer from the same issue. And other brands work well (I've gotten regular SINGLE DIGIT DPC from a Lenovo Thinkpad).

Normal "tweaks" involve things like turning off networking adapters, indexing service, automatic updates, etc. These are small things that effect performance greatly and very from system to system. Typically, only a couple tweaks need to be applied in order to address issues on a given user's computer. They're all temporary and easily reversed, and they take no time or skill to execute.

I'm not trying to argue this point. I bring this up because it's an issue I have some visibility on, and I know users are running into it right now. I would have this serve as a warning. If you bought a car and a core system like the brakes didn't work properly, you wouldn't think twice about returning it. When you buy a computer (any OS), TEST IT when you get it and make sure it's working properly. Most manufacturers will take a system back within 2 weeks - a month of receiving it. Don't wait or you'll be stuck with something you're not happy with.

[Karlos Santos]

If you bought a car and a core system like the brakes didn't work properly, you wouldn't think twice about returning it.

I absolutely LOVE car analogies when applied to DJ issues.
I use them all the time over at NI...

Sorry back to the serious debate

[empolo]

The Inspiron and "regular" XPS lines (like the 1530 and 1730) don't suffer from the same issue. And other brands work well (I've gotten regular SINGLE DIGIT DPC from a Lenovo Thinkpad).

Ok, I am glad you pointed this out because I am also preparing to purchase a new laptop. The Inspiron and Thinkpad are the two choices I had in mind. The Thinkpad is standard issue at my job, is a workhorse and I am very comfortable with it (I have the 17" widescreen but I'll be going for a 15"). As far as the Inspiron goes, I've also read a few NI forum threads that pretty much said the same thing. I recall reading that there was a difference in the motherboards used between it and the XPS and Studio lines and that this was the main factor in the bad DPC results for the latter.

I came this close to purchasing an aluminum 13" Mac Book yesterday so this information is timely. It's true about what has been said about the reflection and glare on the glass screen - it's awful!

[nem0nic]

The Thinkpads are actually pretty sick little machines for running audio software. We bought 3 for demos at NAMM - the sub $500 ones that come with 512MB of RAM. All we did was bump the RAM to 2GB and uninstall the stock crap, then install SpeedSwitchXP (to control CPU throttling), and turning off wireless. They came with XP on them.

They aren't ballsy machines at all, but they're tough as nails. And I would get regular runs where the DPC latency was in the single digits (never going up to 1ms even when running Traktor, wireless mouse, and MIDI controllers). They performed extremely well, especially given their price, and rocked out Traktor 3.4, Traktor Pro, and Ableton Live all day long.

The reason I personally went with the XPS is because they offer better graphics, and I had a sizable coupon that took almost $500 off. If not for the coupon, I probably would have gone with the Thinkpad (just a little more blown out).