In this article, I conclude my status report on the development of some of the most active notation software projects for Linux.

The following article presents a status report on the development of five of the most active notation software projects for Linux. Most of them are works in progress, but all are well along on their development track and in varying states of usability.

This week, I present two Studio Dave mainstays, the 64 Studio media-optimized Linux distribution and the Ardour digital audio workstation (DAW), both of which are in the late stages of development toward milestone releases. I invite my readers to take a look at what's coming our way in 64 Studio 3.0 and Ardour3.

Linux sound software has been the foundation of my music studio since the late 1990s, but as we all know, that software won't produce so much as a peep without the right hardware. Setting up a stable Linux system for audio production can be problematic enough, and the wrong decision about your hardware can render your otherwise powerful system mute and tuneless. This article briefly describes some of the audio production hardware I've acquired and employed here at Studio Dave during the last ten years. I hope that my readers find this information helpful when making their own decisions about their audio hardware purchases.

This interview with lead developer Stefan Kost continues my report on the development of Buzztard. As the interview reveals, Stefan's work on Buzztard represents only one level of his deep involvement in Linux software development.

In November 2008 the Buzztard project maintainers announced the public release of version 0.4.0 of their flagship application. This version of Buzztard brings new features and performance enhancements, including expanded support for original Buzz songs and machines and an impressive make-over of its GUI.

Continuing my holiday machine maintenance saga I move on to some notable trials and tribulations with Ubuntu, but not before I report on a little more holiday cheer.

The December holidays always hold some interesting surprises for me, and this year's season was no exception. However, in this context "interesting" can mean either "utterly engaging fascination" or "coma-inducing exasperation". This holiday season I got plenty of both.

This week I'm your straight reporter bringing you news of of updates, upgrades, and new releases in the world of Linux audio software. Development in this world is continuously productive, so I'll present only a selection of the Linux sound and music applications and utilities announced in the month of November in the year 2008.

A few months ago I started sensing the need for a replacement for my aging and ailing HP Omnibook 4150. That machine's audio capabilities were negligible even with external hardware, but it had been serviceable for writing articles and as a portable MIDI composition environment. Alas, after years of travel and abuse the Omnibook's hard drive gasped its last breath of life. I had no fear for my data, the drive had been backed up, but clearly the time had come to buy a new portable computer.

At the end of my profile of AlgoScore I stated that my one wished-for addition to that program would be support for OpenSound Control (OSC). Well, my wish has been granted, the latest AlgoScore supports OSC, and I'm a happy guy. This article introduces OSC and explains why it makes me a more pleasant fellow.

Earlier this year I discovered Jonatan Liljedahl's AlgoScore, a Csound-based program for sound and music composition. Alas, at that time I was unable to run AlgoScore on the machines here at Studio Dave. My builds of Csound use double-precision numerics, and AlgoScore was not compatible with that build option. However, Jonatan recently took another look at the problem, resolved it (with a little help from Victor Lazzarini and other friends on the Csound Developers mail-list), and I can now compile and run AlgoScore with double-precision Csound.

Years ago one of Linux's finest audio software developers suggested that I should keep a watchful eye on the Windows/Mac music software scene. I took that suggestion to heart and joined a variety of Windows/Mac-centric lists and forums. I've been able to run many Windows music programs under the Wine emulator, so my participation has gone beyond mere lurking.

With this installment I complete my survey of Java-based sound and music applications that run under Linux. Again I've focused mainly on production software.

In this second part of my survey I list and briefly describe some of the Java sound and music applications known to work under Linux. Java applications show up in almost every category found at linux-sound.org and the Applications Database at linuxaudio.org. The scalability of the language is well-demonstrated throughout those pages where one can find everything from highly specialized mini-applications to full-size production environments. Of course I can't cover or even present the entire range of Java soundapps, but this survey should give readers a good idea of Java's potential in the sound and music software domain. Again the presentation is in no special order.

I've wanted to write this article for quite a while. Over the years I've noted that Java-based music and sound applications have increased in number and quality, yet no comprehensive list or summaries have covered these advances. And so at long last I present this survey of music and sound applications that require Java. The presentation follows no particular order, but in this first part I'll begin by questioning the use of Java in sound and music applications development, followed by a brief look at Java's internal audio and MIDI capabilities.

Four years ago I wrote an article for Linux Journal about my use of Linux software for music instruction. A lot has changed since then, so I thought I should update that article to reflect my current use of Linux in my work as a music teacher. I'll follow the presentation of materials as I organized it in the original article, but first I'll share some observations about the changing nature of my trade.

In this second part of my survey I focus on the tools that achieve this new synthesis of arts. Alas, due to space constraints I am unable to include all the software I would like to have reviewed, but perhaps a future article will deal with those programs. Meanwhile, I present to my readers these brief profiles of Pd, Fluxus, and AVSynthesis. Each of these programs takes a different approach to the practical concerns of blending images (moving or still) with sound (realtime or recorded).

The Linux Journal recently published an article I wrote on Jean-Pierre Lemoine's AVSynthesis, a program designed for artists working with the computer as a medium for the synthesis of image and sound. I'm fascinated by that program, so I decided to research the existence of similar software. This article presents the current findings from that research.

Linux-based guitar effects processors haven't exactly been flourishing recently. Until recently, the guitar FX processors page at linux-sound.org listed twelve projects, of which the most recent maintenance date is 2006. Clearly, not a flourishing domain for Linux audio developers. Not that Linux lacks realtime effects processing capabilities: Pd can be pressed into any audio service imaginable, the JACK Rack can be configured for LADSPA-based effects, but they are not organized and optimized specifically for guitarists. However, a thirteenth entry has joined the collection at linux-sound.org, and this entry is most definitely organized, optimized, and intended for guitarists.