Native kontakt builds for linux
Best Answer
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Doubtful.
NI has almost too much on their plate right supporting Windows and Mac now - cannot see them adding third platform to this already crowded field.
And no one knows if more DAWs are going to go to Linux. Not a lot even now.
VP
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Answers
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Doubtful.
NI has almost too much on their plate right supporting Windows and Mac now - cannot see them adding third platform to this already crowded field.
And no one knows if more DAWs are going to go to Linux. Not a lot even now.
VP
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I see, thank you for the reply.
Yes I agree that no one knows whether there are going be any major DAWs, so I understand it's pretty pointless from NI's perspective as of right now.
I plan on making a new open-source DAW written in Rust tailored for orchestral composition (which Kontakt is of course an integral part of), but it's a long time from now, so maybe things will get somewhere by then, for now we'll just have to wait and see.0 -
The whole "DAW on Linux" sounds cool in isolation but actual professional level content creators, producers, musicians, sound designers etc - simply have no time (or technical ability) to be messing around with the intricacies of Linux/Unix in their day to day activities. Especially if something goes wrong.
Or if they need to interact with the other half dozen apps they use to create whatever it is they are doing.
This is the reason that Windows and Mac are the focus - universally supported, (relatively) easy to operate and navigate - and if you do get into a jam - there is usually somebody that can help quickly.
Linux? I have been doing hard core IT for 30+ years and I still find myself struggling on a typical Linux box usually needing to consult 5 websites and 2 manuals.
It is simply not practical for the masses - those folks that NI needs to hold on to.
VP
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It isn't complicated to use similar software on another operating system inside application windows which can be handled the same way. The key combinations are also almost the same and the start menus are also either windows-like or mac-like; depending on the used linux desktop.
Complicated are all the things, a normal user does not need to care about.
Otherwise, you can also say that windows is too complicated because you need to understand the registry and have to work with powershell.
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I have to agree with Vocalpoint here. I could write an essay on why most musicians, including very technically inclined computer literate ones with the necessary skills to manage a Linux OS, will not switch to Linux, and why they're right not to. But the fact is Linux is not a system most musicians want to use.
Until Linux sorts out its distribution fragmentation problem and settles on one or maybe two solid distributions aimed at the pro musician, makes it easy to use pretty much any audio interface as you can on macOS and Windows, and generally becomes as easy to use as macOS and Windows, that isn't going to change.
And this isn't on the rest of the software and hardware world to sort out. It's up to Linux to prove it is ready.
On Windows, no musician or other regular user needs to understand the registry or use Powershell.
On macOS, no one needs to know how to use the command line. I use it because I can, not because I have to.
These things are not true of Linux.
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I dabble with using Linux from time to time so I understand the wish to get support for Linux for a product.
However I have to say that while ever and never are long periods of time and one should maybe never say never (and so on) then I don't see Linux support ever arrive for N.I. products. At least not before that Linux users accepts DRM on their OS and are willing to pay for both this and that just as Windows users are doing.
Reason is pretty simple. Companies such as Native Instruments needs a steady flow of income so they need to enforce DRM to avoid their products being pirated and distributed illegally. And also there needs to big a very big crowd of potential paying customers before that N.I. can invest in doing the work that would need to be done to support Linux securely.
As far as I have understood from perusing the internet in otherwise casual surfing then it appears to me that statistically then Apple customers are those most often willing to pay (even dearly) for software at least compared to Android (which I know is not in the question here) and also Windows users are a big group that is willing to pay , where I suspect Linux users to consist mostly of people that believe in The GNU Operating System and the Free Software Movement (Trying to give a casual description that might not be entirely accurate).
Bottom line then there are not enough paying customers interested in a port and there are something builtin self contradictory in trying to bring something very DRM to what many people use because essentially there is no DRM and so much stuff is free.
I am completely pro Linux and a lot of other stuff surrounding that but none of this is about me or what I want.
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I run a Linux system, windows ( air gapped), and Mac. I would love to see Linux supported, BUT…. and I mean a big BUT, as what others have said, there are too many obstacles. Im reasonably computer literate in that I can install OSes and open up computers to do a little tinkering, but I absolutely havent got time to trouble shoot a Linux system that might go awol on me.
I have ZERO loyalty to Mac or Windows, and in the broad scheme of things see both as a race to the bottom. Until the bottom is reached, I'll continue on this course. Needless to say I enjoy my Linux for internet needs, my windows system offline for older personal stuff, and Mac to be used solely for my music. I only put it online when absolutely necessary for any updates, etc.
The key thing for me is stability, and for sure, when you are deealing with all the variables that entail what DAWs have to do, theres enough potential trouble anyway without going looking for it.
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I agree with most points here, however I think it's just a matter of time, for example look at Bitwig Studio or Reaper, both of those are paid products that have a native linux build, sure, the userbase is small but it's a start
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Presonus released a beta for Linux and it works like a dream, I'm at this point i need to upgrade my soundcard i was going with the motu 828 but now i'm really thinking about getting the quantum hd8 because of 32 bit, And Presonus releasing a linux beta of studio one
Yeah Jackd is a bit dificult for first timers but if you config it correctly. It will beat everything you do on windows or mac. Wine emulation of the software is sutch a waste of the beautifull software that the Native instruments software is.
I will never go Apple, Just because i don't trust them. I will leave microsoft someday. Because just look at windows 11 that is going nowhere.
And yeah at this point i have a lot of native instruments plugins. And i love scoring myself the Brainworkx plugins because they are amazing. But within a year of two i'm not going to use them anymore because it wouldn't be at the performance it should be because of no correct support in the os I'm using.
And if you want to get paid for it Native Instruments, release the beta half way your release cycle, and only put in on the latest version. Look how many linux users would purchase a upgrade
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Yeah Jackd is a bit dificult for first timers but if you config it correctly
And this is why I, someone with the experience and skills to do this, will not use Linux for audio. Why should any musician be required to do this? It doesn't matter whether they know how. I want my audio hardware to be essentially plug and play. At most I should have to install an ASIO driver (not necessary on Mac) that just works. I should be able to install a DAW and plugins and they just work with audio, at most I choose an audio driver if one is not auto-selected. The level of difficulty for setup should be nil.
It's the fundamental flaw of Linux: Linux does not really want to be user friendly. Developers work on something until it's easy for them to use and don't often think beyond that. They are guided by the misconception that if something is simple for them it must be simple for everyone.
I tried Jack on macOS and even there it was a pain to configure and use.
Linux needs to sell itself on being easy to use, not ‘It's not macOS or Windows’. Most people don't care. They like macOS and Windows.
It will beat everything you do on windows or mac
I'm curious how it beats CoreAudio on Mac. CoreAudio requires no setup, and is a high quality efficient audio architecture. The only thing I can think of where Jack has it beat is flexible audio routing between apps. This isn't something most people need.
It's interesting that Presonus have a Linux beta. That seems like a good thing. Bitwig and other relatively small players having Linux support always felt like a passion project to me. I.e. I think the developers behind those love Linux and wanted to support it because of that more than a belief it would result in enough sales to justify the cost. Presonus is more like someone testing the commercial waters.
This could be good for those who want to see more audio software on Linux. If it pays off, other companies may follow. And if other Linux software developers respond by making their software user friendly, it might finally become a viable system for general musicians.
This is probably still several years off at best. I don't think people realise how complicated it is to support an OS. How different Linux is from macOS which is different from Windows. Development will not be quick.
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" I don't think people realise how complicated it is to support an OS. How different Linux is from macOS which is different from Windows. Development will not be quick."
Supporting Linux would be a disaster for any audio company - regardless of how much time, talent and resource you could throw at it.
Just look around these boards and watch the most basic users get totally lost using a brand new Mac or Windows PC where everything really "just works" now.
Could not imagine any basic user even trying to get a Linux DAW up and running.
VP
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Native doesn't need to support Linux.
They just need to change the way Access works.
I'm 60 years old, not studied, no IT professional and I started to change to Linux 5 weeks ago.
So I'd say, I'm a basic user.
Everything works great and I even got Superior Drummer 3 from Toontrack up and running without bigger problems.
I own licenses for KOMPLETE Ultimate but I can't use the stuff, because dependencies and ISOs with hidden files, mounted on the fly are just too much for wine.
So Native must not support Linux, but using an installer/activator that is a bit more wine compatible would already help.
They force paying customers to sell their license and go on to other products.
The Linux user base might be very small, but it has a growth rate of 1% within the last year and with seeing Microsofts politics and doing weird stuff with your personal data, I guess the growth rate will even rise.
Linux is not the dirty, complicated, little terminal OS anymore.
It should not be ignored.0 -
"Native doesn't need to support Linux. They just need to change the way Access works"
Ah - I see.
Sounds like what you are really saying - is that it would be beneficial that NI essentially stop making NA better for those systems they do currently support (Windows/MacOS) so they can divert time, talent and resource to build a new "authorization" tool so you can install your NI stuff on (who knows what version of) Linux you are currently running - and all that effort would somehow "not" be supporting Linux?
I am not even going to try to understand this statement.
Nor can I understand why you purchased licenses for Komplete Ultimate - just to be able to tell us you can't (or perhaps refuse) to use it on a supported system.
VP
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Yup, don't try.
I'm pretty sure you won't. :)0 -
No worries.
VP
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