Okay, now I'll start mentioning some of the different distributions based on Linux. Keep in mind these are Linux distributions that have been optimized for media (audio primarily for this discussion).
64Studio 2.0Based on Debian and offers both 64-bit and 32-bit systems. LiveCD is available. VST/VSTi is available although not sure to what extent.
While this distribution is free to download and use, commercial user support is available. Also visit the
64Studio Forums for free support.
This pictures shows the cube desktop. On the left visible side is JACK and the Jammin' mastering application and on the right is Ardour.
JADFrom the makers of Jack and Jack-Rack comes an 32-bit OpenSuSE based OS. LiveCD is available. VST support is integrated.
Also free to download and use and visit the
JackLab Forms for free support.
Picture shown includes Reaper which is not installed by default and JACK connections GUI.
Ubuntu Studio 7.10Based on Ubuntu which is based on Debian, Ubuntu Studio offers both 32-bit and 64-bit. A LiveCD is not available at this time, but there are rumors of one possibly in the near future. VST support is not native, but Adrour can be compiled for it.
Ubuntu Studio, just as with all the Ubuntu variations (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Geubuntu, Edubuntu), is free to download and use. Unfortunately there is not a dedicated forum for Ubuntu Studio at this time. The
Ubuntu Forums can be used but for more immediate, direct and knowledgeable help it would be advised to join the
Ubuntu Studio User's Mailing List .
Here are pictures, left to right, of
Gimp - the free, open source equivalent of Photoshop and
Blender - the open source, cross platform suite of tools for 3D creation Next post, I'll mention a few more.