I dig linux and try to always keep at least one computer running linux in my household.  After purchasing Harrison Mixbus, which is basically Ardour re-skinned with better filters and saturation features,  i figured i would play around with Ardour and perhaps transfer my harrison license to my  linux box. i won't rehash the process of installing, but after adding the right repositories and adding the right packages it got installed. Not only could i not get it to work, but it killed all my sound on the computer.  I realize this is probably fixable and a more skilled linux person could figure it out, but it should not take a guru to install and run a program.  Do any of you run any Linux audio apps that may offer some insight?

I use the Ubuntu media distribution. Was a great toy for a couple of days. Got as far as getting it working, but had too many hurdles to overcome. Sadly it's not a particularly creative environment right now IMHO and not well baked.

The best thing to do is google for solutions and post in the relevant forums. Getting the audio interface working for instance can be a PITA. It can be a long hard ride, and I regard myself as reasonably proficient.

Linux is not something you want to use for media use. It is good at being a Internet server, like web, SSH, etc. It is ok at being a web browser/e-mail desktop. It is awful at doing media. It is just a reality of the people who develop it, the design choices made, and the lack of central authority for making standards.
 
There is no reason to try it for media creation, other than if you just want to try it. None of the programs compare to what you have on Windows, and the experience will be a bit difficult at best and exceedingly frustrating and impossible at worst.
 
Maybe it'll change some day, but no time soon.

S

Sycraft
Linux is not something you want to use for media use. It is good at being a Internet server, like web, SSH, etc. It is ok at being a web browser/e-mail desktop. It is awful at doing media. It is just a reality of the people who develop it, the design choices made, and the lack of central authority for making standards.
 
There is no reason to try it for media creation, other than if you just want to try it. None of the programs compare to what you have on Windows, and the experience will be a bit difficult at best and exceedingly frustrating and impossible at worst.
 
Maybe it'll change some day, but no time soon.

There are plenty of high level professional creative applications done on linux. Much is high end and very customized.  Linux is often used for render farms for animation as well.  Not really suited for hobbyists or even small level professionals unless you are just curious and don't mind a lot of troubleshooting. The only applications i can think of  offhand that works pretty much the same or better as it does on windows or Mac is that is easily available to hobbyists are Blender and da Vinci Resolve ( which i think was actually available on linux before mac).

There is a digital audio program on Linux (Ubuntu) called 'Ardour Digital Audio Workstation'. It's pretty decent considering it is free. I hate Windows and all the security flaws and vulnerabilities. Maybe it's time that cakewalk start developing for linux.
 
I had no problems running Ardour.

CakeAlexS
I use the Ubuntu media distribution. Was a great toy for a couple of days. Got as far as getting it working, but had too many hurdles to overcome. Sadly it's not a particularly creative environment right now IMHO and not well baked.

The best thing to do is google for solutions and post in the relevant forums. Getting the audio interface working for instance can be a PITA. It can be a long hard ride, and I regard myself as reasonably proficient.

 I think I tried Linux 8 times.  That's enough.  Only if more hardware vendors supported it.  Linux is like the Great Pumpkin. It will arrive someday Charlie Brown.  I've been hearing that for 3 decades.

I just install Ubuntu studio on a removable drive. Now I can plug my rme into any computer and make great recordings. I love it. I give out Ubuntu studio drives as presents.

I like linux for day to day computing like internet surfing and office type stuff.  i was just curious about ardour.  I keep having trouble getting "Jack" to work properly. Linux's strengths (versatility and deep control of every parameter) are also it's weaknesses.  Every distro has it's own quirks.  It also drives me crazy that neither of my audio interfaces have drivers for it.

Yup jack is a pain in the jacksie.

Funny thing is that we already know it is possible.  Mac OS is pretty much a pretty interface on top of BSD which, like linux is a fork of unix.  Perhaps it is the MAc dollars to develop a stable proprietary format like audio units on a single controlled platform that allows them to use unix for media.