How music listeners can fill the industry's "value gap". From the 1940s to the 1960s, countless millions of people would put a dime in a jukebox to have a single piece of music played for them, one time. If they wanted to hear it again, or to play another song, they'd put in another dime.

Exploring the current state of musical Linux with interviews of developers of popular packages. Linux is ready for prime time when it comes to music production. New offerings from Linux audio developers are pushing creative and technical boundaries. And, with the maturity of the Linux desktop and growth of standards-based hardware setups, making music with Linux has never been easier.

Elon Musk is known to be particularly apprehensive about artificial intelligence. Although many of us are both excited and worried about the potential future of AI, most don't need to fear computers taking over in the creative realms of society. Or do we?

Just because you're not on Linux doesn't mean you can't have awesome open-source tools. I was having a conversation with a friend and reader (Don Crowder: @eldergeek) on Twitter the other day about music theory. Yes, I'm not just a computer nerd, but a music/math nerd too. Anyway after our conversation, I started looking for an open-source program for creating sheet music.

I am embarrassed to admit that I have never in my life considered the struggle of blind musicians to find Braille music scores.

Playing and managing your music in text mode.

Portable music doesn't need to be restricted to headphones. Here's a step-by-step how-to on setting up a music system that follows you around the house like a puppy.

What may sound like a perverse concept is actually one of the many ways smartphones can change your life. If you play a musical instrument but don't happen to have perfect pitch (most of us, sadly), you can buy a tuner, pitch pipe, tuning fork or any number of other aids to keep yourself in tune. If you have a smartphone in your pocket, however, you also can simply download gStrings.

I hope all my readers enjoyed the best of the holiday season. I've been busy with the predictable confusions and minor crises that attend this time of year, but I managed to find time to jot down some recommendations for my readers. Go on, you've been good, give yourself a few extra belated gifts and don't worry if your budget's busted - it's all free software, you can't beat these deals.

My studio computer collection includes two custom-built desktop machines and a Hewlett-Packard G60 laptop.

Dave needs a new 64-bit Linux for his primary audio production machine. What shall he do ? Read on to learn how and why he decided upon the Arch Linux distribution.

The Book

Some interesting items showed up under Dave's Christmas tree, including a new book by some old friends, a laptop keyboard (music, not QWERTY), and an excellent Linux audio plugin for high-quality reverb. Dave must have been a very good boy last year.

This week's entry looks at a unique new audio editor, some important updates, and a very cool programming environment for graphics (and much more). As always, some tasty treats are cooking in the Linux audio kitchen.