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Change Log for 2004

To the 2003 changelog

12/30/2004 [nando]: Released kernel version 2.6.9-2.3.rdt.rhfc2.ccrma, the Fedora Core 2 version of the one that I released yesterday (see below). Regretfully Pato (de la Cuadra) reports that it does not solve the video binary driver problem.
Released kernel version 2.6.10-2.1.ll for Fedora Core 2 and Fedora Core 3. This is the stock 2.6.10 kernel with the realtime linux security module added (so that you can run Jack and his friends with realtime priority as a non-root user).
An "apt-get update", "apt-get dist-upgrade" will automatically take you (assuming you have the planetccrma-core-* package installed) to the safer 2.6.10 based kernel. This is the ``stable'' kernel so you should not have problems booting your machine. I would not bet on that, of course :-) The performance of this kernel is terms of low latency is definitely not as good as the more risky kernel based on 2.6.9-rc3-mm1 and Ingo's patches, but it should work fine on more hardware.
For those of you that are in a position to boot into the rdt kernel I have created a new set of meta packages to install it and keep it up to date when there are new releases. Just:

apt-get install planetccrma-core-edge

You can, of course, have both planetccrma-core and planetccrma-core-edge (and its smp version) installed at the same time.
A new version of rtload is also online, fixing a stupid sh bug in the script (version 0.0.2). It will be installed with the new planetccrma-core-* packages.
12/29/2004 [nando]: More packages released on Fedora Core 3: bitscope, jaaa, jackmix, fluidsynth, qsynth, pd.
Another kernel released on Fedora Core 3 (probably coming to Fedora Core 2 tomorrow morning), version 2.6.9-2.3.rdt.rhfc3.ccrma. This one has the patch mentioned in this forum thread. I just rebuilt with that, and verified it still boots in my laptop. Hopefully this will enable those of you that rely on binary drivers to rebuild the glue code... Again, no need to upgrade if your kernel is working fine.
12/28/2004 [nando]: New kernel released for Fedora Core 2, same version, release and features as the current Fedora Core 3 kernel. Note: if you are happy with your current Fedora Core 2 kernel and ALSA subsystem there is no need to upgrade. Just comment out the planetcore in your sources.list file and live happily. Otherwise the kernel and ALSA subsystem will be upgraded through the planetccrma-core meta packages. After you test the new kernel you can safely erase (if you installed it) the /etc/rc.d/init.d/realcap startup script as the name of the realtime kernel module has changed (from ``realcap'' to ``realtime'',) and there are now startup scripts for module load and IRQ tuning that should have been installed and activated as part of the planetccrma-core upgrade.
Jack: updated to version 0.99.36-0.1.cvs on Fedora Core 2 (from CVS, matches the current version in Fedora Core 3 - has better behavior with the newer kernels than the latest stable release of Jack).
Muse: updated to version 0.7.0-1 on Fedora Core 1 and RedHat 9. Not much testing done (this depends on a newer version of qt, provided through the qt33 package).
New fc3 packages released: tapiir, mxml, zynaddsubfx, vkeybd, pmidi, sooperlooper.
More fc3 packages released: csound, clxclient and clthreads (support libraries for aeolus), aeolus and aeolus-stops, phat, specimen.
I have started to document failed builds in Fedora Core 3. See the Failed Builds page. Help appreciated in resolving pending build issues. The rpm.log file documents the build log for that particular package.
12/27/2004 [nando]: New kernel for FC3 released with important security issue fixed, please upgrade (version 2.6.9-2.2.rdt.rhfc3.ccrma, ``rdt'' stands for realtime preemption, configured as CONFIG_REALTIME_DESKTOP, for those in the know). An "apt-get update", "apt-get dist-upgrade" should bring the kernel in through a new version of planetccrma-core.
12/26/2004 [nando]: More packages arriving to the fc3 universe: caps, galan, jackeq, jack-rack, libfishsound, liboggz, lilypond, soundtouch, soundtracker, spiralsynthmodular, sweep (and required supporting libraries).
12/24/2004 [nando]: Hi all... well, have you all been good during this past year? Or have you been naughty? :-) ;-) :-) My elves have been working non-stop but still didn't churn out all I wanted for this holiday season. Still, some dangerous toys were finished just in time, sort of.
Preliminary, dangerous and exciting kernel and initial package support for Fedora Core 3 is now available in the repository. Why would you be running Fedora Core 3 when support for Fedora Core 2 is not stable yet? I don't want to know. But if you are doing that (naughty!) then this may help, or then again, it may not. Better try this on a new hard disk.
If you still want to try out these packages, install apt in fc3 (sorry, yum support not there yet):

rpm -Uvh http://ccrma.stanford.edu/planetccrma/apt/rpms/apt-0.5.15cnc6-2.rhfc3.ccrma.i386.rpm

Then:
apt-get update
apt-get install planetccrma-core

Reboot, select the new kernel from grub screen and cross your fingers.
This kernel (shortly coming to mess up your Fedora Core 2 machine as well) is based on Ingo Molnar's latest realtime preemption patchset (0.7.33-04). It is built on top of 2.6.10-rc3-mm1 so it is experimental from the get go. But well, when it runs, it runs very well.
You may notice that planetccrma-core now installs two additional tiny packages (rtirq and rtload). The first one, courtesy of Rui Nuno Capela (thanks!), tries to assign reasonable priorities to the IRQ threads of the realtime patched kernel. Important if you want good low latency performance. The second automatically loads the realtime kernel module so that Jack can be used as a non-root user (the realtime module has been updated to the latest version available so it is now called "realtime", not "realcap", and the "allcaps" option is no longer available - for that use "any=1" as a load option, the default).
So, after the reboot you should be ready to go (assuming the kernel managed to boot on your machine :-) So:

apt-get install qjackctl

[BTW: you may also want to enable the alsasound startup script so that the snd-seq kernel module gets loaded, otherwise it does not unless you have midi hardware.]
Start qjackctl and configure the realtime priority jack runs at to "60" (to see the priorities of the irq threads do /etc/rc.d/init.d/rtirq status). Rui tells me that that works well for him.
Also, change the name of the program qjackctl calls to "jackd" instead of "jackstart" (jackstart will work but will print some errors you should ignore). Press the "play" button. Voila, you should have jack up and running.

apt-get install synaptic

Select packages you like, install, see what happens...
Current audio related packages in the repository include:
alsaplayer, ams, amsynth, ardour, blop, brutefir, cheesetracker, clm, ecasound, freqtweak, gamix, hydrogen, jack-audio-connection-kit, jamin, ladcca, mcp-plugins, noteedit, qamix, qarecord, qjackctl, rev-plugins, seq24, swh-plugins, tap-plugins, tap-plugins-doc, tap-reverbed, timemachine, tse3, vco-plugins (and many supporting audio related libraries)
Happy Holidays!
12/20/2004 [nando]: Ardour: updated to version 0.9beta22-1 (not available on RH7.3). The list of changes is way too long this time to include here, go to the Ardour News page for all the details. This is what Paul (Davis) wrote about the new release:
``I am happy to announce the release of Ardour 0.9beta22. With over a hundred notable new items, and only a handful of bug fixes between this and 0.99, this is a significant release of Ardour. Ardour's bug tracking database continues to have 260+ live bug reports and feature requests, and there are likely twice that number still present in the program, but we identified those that will be fixed for the 1.0 release in order to try to gain control of the release process. 0.99, which just might make it out by Christmas (December 25th, but don't hold your breath), will be the endpoint of code development for 1.0 per se - the difference between 0.99 and 1.0rc will be related to release engineering (making sure that the install of Ardour does all that it should).''
12/12/2004 [nando]: The URL for the IRCAM mirror has changed, updated links and configuration files.
12/08/2004 [nando]: QMidiArp: added (version 0.0.2). A midi arpegiator. Not available on RH8.0/RH7.3.
``0.02: Groove and Random settings will work now (there has been a bug in the slider class). Improved pattern traversal in repeat mode, this can now be Up or Down. It is fun to run several arpeggiators in different tabs with different pattern traversal modes, see example demo_up_down.qma. Please don't overlook the README.''

Qt33: added (version 3.3.3-0.1). Only available on RH9/FC1. More and more packages are requiring a newer version of qt to build on Fedora Core 1 and below than the one available in the core distribution (Muse and Qmidiarp currently do). As the jump to qt 3.2 or newer changes the library versions, it is not possible to just do an upgrade (as I have done before). So this package - imported from the latest FC2 qt source rpm - lives alongside the standard qt install. Only programs explicitly built against it will use it, the rest of the qt based software will keep using the standard qt. Programs that are built against qt33 will have to take into account the new QTDIR value (/usr/lib/qt-3.3.3, to avoid conflicts when upgrading to FC2), the location of the qt developer binaries and the necessity of adding an rpath linker command to search the extra qt directory at runtime for the needed libraries. If you use the developer tools in qt33 you will also need to set LD_LIBRARY_PATH in the environment to point to the new location (otherwise the qt33 tools will try to link dynamically with the older qt and fail). This package also includes the Bluecurve style plugin that is normally supplied by the redhat-artwork package (otherwise all qt33 apps would not be able to use Bluecurve if that's what you have selected).
12/07/2004 [nando]: Liblo: updated to version 0.15-1.
Jamin: updated to version 0.9.17-0.cvs.1. I finally decided to upgrade Jamin to current CVS. I could not make it work with the newer versions of Liblo (which are needed to build other stuff - see below)
Sooperlooper: added (version 1.0.0dev25), not available on RH7.3. Do you remember how much time you spent in front of a microphone the first time you fired up Freqtweak? Jeese Chappel attacks productivity again with Sooperlooper (has been out for a long time, I know).
``SooperLooper is a realtime software looping sampler in the spirit of Gibson's Echoplex Digital Pro. If used with a low-latency kernel and the proper audio buffer configuration it is capable of truly realtime live looping performance.''
12/05/2004 [nando]: Hydrogen: updated to version 0.9.1-1. Added added HardElectro1, Millo_Multilayered2 and ErnysPercussions drumkits to the drumkits package.
``New ALSA driver. New french tutorial and manual page. Bug fixes''

Qjackctl: updated to version 0.2.13-1.
``Main window is now properly minimized instead of simply hidden when the system tray icon is not available nor opted in. Some informational status items are now updated 10 times less frequently, lowering the CPU burden of most probably redundant status updates. Fixed ancient bug on client shutdown event handling, which was invoking the xrun notification handler by mistake. Patchbay Activate button is now a toggle button widget, allowing the deactivation of the current patchbay profile. Reset-status icon has been changed to a simple red circle instead of previous one which was much like a power-switch symbol. Preset selection has been added to the context menu.''
12/04/2004 [nando]: Fox: updated to version 1.2.11.
Rezound: updated to version 0.11.1beta-1.
``Added preliminary native ALSA support so as not to rely on ALSA's OSS emulation. It will probably need more work as people play with it. Added a '-p/-play' flag that causes ReZound to play all the files that are loaded from the command line. Double clicking between two cues on the horizontal ruler will select what is between them. Note: An important detail about the ALSA feature for previous ReZound users is that you must either edit your existing /.rezound/registry.dat file add add ``alsa'' to the list of methods. Or just remove /.rezound/registry.dat and let it be rebuilt.''
12/03/2004 [nando]: Ceres3: updated to version 0.28a5-1.
``includes display gain adjustment, improvements in program startup, full libaudiofile support, FFT analysis, fundamental extraction, paint editing, finished Mirror-transform, Null-phase-transform, improved extraction and control function handling, the GUI controllable oscillator-bank and overlap/add resynthesis''

TAP Plugins: updated to version 0.7.0-1, documentation updated to version 20040817. Wow, took me a long time to catch up to this, sorry.
``New plugins: TAP Chorus/Flanger: an implementation capable of creating traditional Chorus and Flanger effects, spiced up a bit to make use of stereo processing. TAP Sigmoid Booster: this plugin applies a time-invariant nonlinear amplitude transfer function to the signal. Depending on the signal and the plugin settings, various related effects (compression, soft limiting, emulation of tape saturation, mild distortion) can be achieved. TAP TubeWarmth: adds the character of vacuum tube amplification to your audio tracks by emulating the sonically desirable nonlinear characteristics of triodes. Fixes: Caught denormal problem causing large CPU peaks in TAP Stereo Echo.''

CAPS Plugins: updated to version 0.2.0-1.
``By popular demand, a 'true stereo' version of the Plate reverb plugin makes its appearance. Both versions of the Plate reverb sport revised 'bandwidth' and 'damping' knobs. The 'log' hint set on the damping control caused the unit to be virtually useless on hosts having trouble handling the hint combined with the range of the parameter. The revised code eliminates this hint at an extra cost of about 200 processor cycles per audio cycle. The Preamp plugins as well as the Amp units in this edition feature Renormal Technology (!tm), so ab-normal CPU usage due to de-normals in hosts choosing to route perfectly silent audio through these plugins should be a thing of the past. The all-new AmpIV plugin features complete tube amplifier circuit emulation including a 4-band tone control set.''
11/17/2004 [nando]: Added apt enabled install cdroms for Fedora Core 2.
Libsndfile: updated to version 1.0.11-1.
``With this release, libsndfile now supports the Sound Designer II file format as used by Apple Macintosh audio programs like Protools and Digital Performer. There are a couple of caveats with this format as described here.''
11/15/2004 [nando]: Ecasound: updated to version 2.3.5-1. Added build flags for i686 tuning.
``2.3.5: Minor changes have been made to the OSS soundcard support to avoid limitations of certain OSS drivers. Many minor updates have been made to user documentation and to build system scripts. 2.3.4: Serious bugs in multitrack sync code, ECI C implementation and big-endian platform support have been fixed. Support has been added for input and output of FLAC, AAC and M4A files. Improvements have been made to both FreeBSD and Mac OS X support. Many minor improvements to ECI implementations and user documentation.''

Timemachine: updated to version 0.3.0-1.
``This version adds: Interactive command line mode by Mario Lang (no X11 needed). Generates WAV as well as W64 files, extension is now right. Can specify JACK ports to connect to on the command line''

SWH LADSPA Plugins: updated to version 0.4.11-1.
``This release fixes bugs in the reverse delay, flanger and multiband EQ. Two new plugins, and artifical latency plugin (mainly for testing) and a crossfader, thats not really tested. There is a new build system that should make it easier to port to other platforms, but may cause problems.''
11/09/2004 [nando]: Lilypond: updated to version 2.4.1-1 (not available on RH7.3, does not build cleanly).
``2.4.1: This release includes a number of small fixes that were made to 2.4.0 last week. 2.4.0: This new stable version has support for page-layout, completely rewritten slur formatting and many other improvements.''

Ec-fonts-mftraced: added (version 1.0.7-1). This font package is needed and part of Lilypond.
``GNU LilyPond 2.4.x needs TeX (if you are using the TeX backend) and PostScript Type1 PFA/PFB fonts with full internationalisation support. By default, LilyPond uses the ec* family''

Mftrace: updated to version 1.0.34-1 (needed by Lilypond)
Potrace: installed (version 1.5-1, needed by Lilypond)
Texinfo: updated to version 4.7-0.4 on FC1 and below (new version needed to build Lilypond).
10/18/2004 [nando]: STK: updated to version 4.2.0-1. STK now supports multiple audio APIs at compile time, so this version is built with support for both ALSA and Jack. New version not available on RH7.3 (does not build cleanly).
``Simultaneous multiple audio APIs supported at compile time. Various changes to better conform to standard C++ programming practices. Fixed hidden overloaded virtual functions. New Asymp exponential envelope class. MY_FLOAT type converted to StkFloat and changed throughout. Most example programs rewritten to use an audio callback paradigm. New StkFrames class for vectorized multichannel data and associated new tick() functions making use of StkFrames. New RtMidi class with MIDI output capabilities (API changes). New MidiFileIn class for reading MIDI files. Revised Filter classes to use std::vectors for coefficients (API changes). Revised Messager class (API changes). New abstract parent Effect class for various effects. New abstract parent Generator class for various signal sources. New abstract parent Function class for tables and various non-linear functions. Skini class completely rewritten (simplified) using the C++ STL (API changes). WvOut classes now clip to -1.0 to +1.0 and report out of range. New Mutex class.''
10/15/2004 [nando]: Started a Frequently Asked Questions section... long overdue. Kept adding more and more stuff to the Pipeline.
10/11/2004 [nando]: Qsynth: updated to version 0.2.2-1.
``Engine panel settings are now properly saved on stop/restart. Icons were added to the engine tab selector context menu. Master gain front panel control gets rescaled and now ranges from 0..200, with midpoint at 100 (unit gain). Soundfont bank offset option gets its trial time (EXPERIMENTAL); please note that fluidsynth 1.0.5 is needed to build on this feature, which is being properly detected and only enabled at configure time. Output level peak meters are now featured as an option (EXPERIMENTAL), which must be explicitly enabled on setup for those to show up; in addition, overall GUI refresh cycle period has been reduced from 200 to 100 msec. Top level sub-windows are now always raised and set with active focus when shown to visibility.''

Qjackctl: updated to version 0.2.12a-1.
``Client port list on audio connections are now hopefully fixed for good. Fixed some old and slow memory-leak due to redundand and repetitive call to jack_port_by_name(). Shiny display effect toggling has immediate feedback on setup dialog. Added new usx2y driver support (EXPERIMENTAL). New scaled connections/patchbay icons were added. New setup options as for the connections/patchbay view apprearence: larger icon sizes and font selection are now possible, to better ease manipulation on a touchscreen. Connection line width follows icon size in discrete proportion.''
10/10/2004 [nando]: Added a new page to the Planet CCRMA pages. In the Pipeline will list stuff I have in my todo list. There are now so many things that I'm starting to forget as new stuff sometimes preempt older but more difficult todo items. After the initial creation I'll start tagging items with the starting date.
10/03/2004 [nando]: ZynAddSubFX: updated to version 2.1.1-1.
``Fixed a bug that prevents changing the current part (on the "advanced" user interface mode).''
10/02/2004 [nando]: Phat: added (version 0.2.3-1). Only available on RH9/FC1/FC2). Needed by the newest version of Specimen.
``PHAT is a collection of GTK+ widgets geared toward pro-audio apps. The goal is to eliminate duplication of effort and provide some standardization (well, at least for GTK+ apps).''

Specimen: updated to version 0.4.4-1. Phat does not build on RH8.0 so there is no update for specimen for RH8.0 either...
``The latest Specimen has a completely redone GUI, which I hope will make using it suck a whole lot less. This version of Specimen also relies on PHAT, so be sure you have the latest version (0.2.2).''
10/01/2004 [nando]: ZynAddSubFX: updated to version 2.1.0-1. Check out the new example instruments and goodies located in /usr/share/zynaddsubfx/.
``Added a new user interface for beginners. You can switch the current user interface with that anytime do you want. All parts, effects, etc. are counted from '1' and not from '0'. Added the posibility to compile the OSS and JACK support in the same binary (look in the Makefile.inc). VST host should be able to save all zynaddsubfx parameters into their setups (this is untested). Bugfixes and other.''
09/27/2004 [nando]: Beast: added (version 0.6.2-1). An interesting composition / modular synthesis framework. Regrefully at this time it only works with the OSS sound drivers, no ALSA or Jack awareness... Only available for RH9/FC1/FC2.
``Beast is a powerful music composition and modular synthesis application. It supports a wide range of standards in the field, such as MIDI, WAV/AIFF/MP3/OggVorbis/etc audio files and LADSPA modules. It has excellent technical abilities like multitrack editing, unlimited undo/redo support, real-time synthesis support, 32bit audio rendering, full duplex support, multiprocessor support, precise timing down to sample granularity, on demand loading of partial wave files, on the fly decoding and full scriptability in scheme.''
09/24/2004 [nando]: Jack: updated to version 0.99.0-2. Fixed prelink problem under FC1.
Specimen: updated to version 0.4.3-1 (now builds in RH8.0).
``The pitch parameter is now properly saved and loaded. 0.4.2: New parameters are now saved/loaded appropriately.''

Alsa Modular Synth: updated to version 1.8.7-1.
``The alsa_driver class has been removed. AlsaModularSynth now requires the ALSA driver library (>= 1.0.0) by Fons Adriaensen. The barberpole module has been renamed into Multiphase LFO.''

Fluidsynth: updated to version 1.0.5-1. Some of the changes (not a complete list):
``1.0.5: This version adds support for bank offsets, as was proposed by Ken Ellinwood. 1.0.4-2: - Silent notes problem. Includes Ken Ellinwood's fix for the bank select (MSB) message. Applied Rui Nuno Capela's patch for Jack autoconnect. 1.0.4: The ALSA sequencer interface now opens several ports if the number of MIDI channels of the synthesizer is bigger than 16. This effectively makes it possible to use the synth with 32, 64, 128, ... number of channels through ALSA.''

Qsynth: updated to version 0.2.1-1.
``Channels window reset when switching engines isn't destructive anymore; also reverb and chorus activation were not being correctly updated. Corrected MIDI/Audio driver settings that were being obliterated from the setup dialog option lists. The dash (-) is now a legal character for preset names. Translation support for the default preset name "(default)". Delete preset confirmation warning message. 0.2.0: Multiple fluidsynth engines can now be maintained, with different settings, MIDI and Audio drivers, and more interestingly distinct soundfont stacks.''

Swami: updated to release 0.9.2-2. This was just a rebuild needed to use the new version of fluidsynth.
Galan: updated to version 0.3.0-0.beta7.1-1.
``i just wanted to announce this bugfix release of galan-0.3.0, this one fixes a real show-stopper with complex signal routings.''

Lilypond: updated to version 2.2.6-1.
``fixes a few minor issues, among others, the disappearing metronome mark.''
09/23/2004 [nando]: Jack: updated to version 0.99.0-1.
``Buffer resizing enabled by default. Added jack_ringbuffer_peak() to API. Added jack_last_frame_time() to API. -verbose will print the maximum usecs used on jackd termination. Better compatibility with NPTL. -version output changed for easier parsing. New -unlock/-u option so that large libraries (gtk, qt, fltk, wine) aren't memlocked. Jack's tmp files now have the uid appended to them, so if there is a crash, and then another user tries to use jack, it will still work. New jack_create_thread() cleans up threading for portability. Available for use by jack clients too. Prettier configure output. And of course, updated documentation, better error reporting, and misc internal fixes and cleanups.''

Qjackctl: updated to version 0.2.11-1.
``Fixed Input/Output channels settings, being now either enabled when the ALSA driver is selected for Capture/Playback only. Shiny display effect: after some conservative user complaints this pure cosmetic feature is now made optional. 0.2.10: New pre-shutdown script setup option, allowing to specify a shell-script to be run before the JACK server daemon is shutted-down. Avoid stopping JACK prematurely with QProcess::kill() (oneliner fix); stopping JACK will now take a little bit longer, but hopefully will take the time to cleanup properly. ALSA driver Duplex mode accepts alternate Input or Output device name. Context menu reset option is now always enabled. Main display background gets shinny effect; adjusted system tray background palette color mode. Priority and setup control is now a spinbox ranging from 0..89. Same for Periods/Buffer. Patchbay connection lines are now drawn correctly when items are scrolled out of view. Additionally, the connection lines can now be optionally drawn as bezier spline curves.''

Hydrogen: updated to version 0.9.0-1.
``Multi layer support for instruments (up to 16 samples). Multiple patterns playing at once. Added FLAC files support for songs and drumkits. Added pitch and gain properties per instrument. Improved song and pattern editor (selections, copy/move, etc..). Added a new selectable user interface (single panel). Better jack-transport support. Ability to set the note length in pattern editor. Export song to standard midi file''

Timemachine: updated to version 0.2.5-1.
``Changes: Now builds properly without LASH installed. Can specify recording format on command line (wav or w64). Filename extension reflects the format (ie .w64 to help user confusion). Can specify ports to connect to on the command line. Desktop icon (thanks to Anarcat) pixmaps/timemachine-icon.png. Known Bugs / Omisions: There is a race condition - locks up the app, but recordings are OK. Not fixed, as I dont understand the problem fully, and I've not received a patch for it. TM wont auto-connect to JACK hardware capture ports, I've had one request for this, but dont care enough to add it right now.''
08/29/2004 [nando]: Rosegarden: updated to version 0.9.9-1, not available on RH8/7.3. Plugin support for DSSI is not yet compiled in this build, I had problems building the required newer version of liblo.
``Triggered segments for pattern sequencing & performable ornaments. New menu layout, many new keyboard shortcuts for everyday usability. Recording from multiple MIDI sources. Cautionary accidentals and configurable key-signature cancellations. Pedal marks, mordents, trill lines, repeat bars. Fine positioning and visibility control of notation elements. Visual metronome. Several new example files.''

Seq24: updated to version 0.5.2-1.
``Hanging notes fixed.''
08/27/2004 [nando]: SoundTouch: added (version 1.2.1-1). Used by the new version of Rezound
``SoundTouch is a LGPL-licensed open-source audio processing library for changing the Tempo, Pitch and Playback Rates of audio streams or files. The SoundTouch library is suited for application developers writing sound processing tools that require tempo/pitch control functionality, or just for playing around with the sound effects. The SoundTouch library source kit includes an example utility SoundStretch which allows processing .wav audio files from a command-line interface.''

Rezound: updated to version 0.10.0beta. Some of the changes since 0.9.0beta:
``Added support for libSoundTouch which gives decent results for changing the speed and pitch independantly. Added several actions (Change Pitch, Tempo, Adaptive Normalize, Invert Phase). Added scrolling in very tall dropdown menus (i.e. LADSPA). Default internal sample format is now 32bit floating point. Time units on the status area of a wave view are now selectable (right click). Now multiple CDs can be burned in the Create CD option before the generated image is deleted. Now the user is prompted for the format to save a .rez file. Made major changes to audio output code for better JACK compatibility in the future (I hope this doesn't cause problems; only sometimes studders on seek-backwards because of key-repeat issues with FOX). Added ETA and Time Elapsed values to the progress bar. Added a "look ahead" feature to the Compressor action's signal level detector. This improves the "reaction time" of the compressor. Made CPU efficiency changes...''

Fox: updated to version 1.2.9-1 (the GUI toolkit that is used by Rezound).
ZynAddSubFX: updated to version 2.0.0-1. Check out the new example instruments and goodies located in /usr/share/zynaddsubfx/.
``Added an advanced clipboard/preset module. On each windows/object that support this, will appear 2 buttons "C" for copy and "P" for paste (from clipboard/preset). You can make a collection of waveforms, LFOs, ressonance functions, envelope,etc, and share to others or use as favorites. Completely removed the old format support (you can use the prereleases). Also a very good news is that it comes with about 250 instruments (from usual organ/strings to the most weird sounds ever heard).''

Sweep: updated to version 0.8.3-1.
``This is a maintainance release, including a new Spanish translation, various bugfixes and no new functionality. Internationalization (i18n) improvements: a new Spanish translation by Juan Manuel Martinez; an updated Italian translation by Yuri Bongiorno. Bugfixes: resampler bug fixed by Erik de Castro Lopo; made main scrollbar arrows useful (bug #821596); seven other bug reports closed; compile warning fixes for GCC3''

Audacity: updated to version 1.2.2-1. Just some highlights:
``Meter Toolbar added for monitoring volume levels during playback and recording. New feature that lets you export multiple files at once. Attempt to automatically correct latency in full-duplex recordings. Fixed a serious bug that could cause data loss when you save and then reload and re-edit an Audacity project containing repeated or duplicate data. MP3 tags dialog will only pop up the first time you export as MP3. You can now add a label at the current playback position. Clicking on a label now selects all of the tracks, making it easier to use the label track to recall selections. Added support for Software Playthrough (listen to what you're recording while recording it, or while monitoring using a VU meter). Fixed freeze caused by captured mouse when audio device hangs. Fixed a cosmetic bug that caused improper waveform display if you tried to open an Audacity project saved on a different platform (e.g., copying a project from a Mac to a PC). Fixed bug that could cause instability when pasting, splitting, or duplicating a label track. You can now change the font of a label track by choosing "Font..." from the label track's pop-up menu. Basic printing support has been added. Fix a bug that occasionally caused crashes when applying effects to split tracks. Zoom In / Zoom Out now properly disable when they're not available...''

Galan: updated to version 0.3.0-0.beta6.1-1 (not available on RH7.3, does not build cleanly).
``Additionally to numerous bugfixes. This adds cloning support.''
08/20/2004 [nando]: Noteedit: updated to version 2.7.3-1.
``2.7.0: Arbitraty text ("Allegro", "Adagio" ,...). Triplet recognition from MIDI file. The snap distance selection (MIDI import) is back (again). 2.7.2: LilyPond-2.2.x compatible. LilyPond-2.x.y export problem concerning graces fixed. 2.7.3: LilyPond export of grace notes as: acciaccatura and appoggiatura.''

The AVR tools (binutils, gcc, libc and uisp) have been updated to newer versions (they are used by one of the CCRMA courses to do programming on microcontroller for HCI - Human Computer Interaction).
08/19/2004 [nando]: Cinelerra: updated to release 1.2.1-1 (not available on RH7.3, only i386 and i686 versions on RH8).
``Introducing water tight floating point image processing. Adjust images in record time by not having to worry about which steps take away dynamic range since now, none of the steps do. Store floating point images in the new OpenEXR and floating point TIFF formats. A new compressor algorithm gives tight limiting to output levels. Time stretch and reframe for video work in realtime. Time average allows accumulation. Headroom monitoring is now available for audio. Never guess how far over the limit the audio is. Now you can see.''

Dvtitler: added (version 0.1.1-1, not available on RH7.3/RH8).
``A GNOME2 titler for Kino that uses fontconfig and the Freetype2 rendering backend to Pango international text layout. Titles can be animated as well.''
08/18/2004 [nando]: More cleanups in the web site, fixed many bad links.
Kino: updated to version 0.7.3-1 (not available on RH7.3/8.0).
``This release fixes new critical bugs introduce in 0.7.2 as well as some old ones while fixing up the desktop entry file and adding an application icon.''
08/17/2004 [nando]: Big, long-delayed repository cleanup (moving away old packages)...
08/10/2004 [nando]: ZynAddSubFX: updated to version 2.0.0-0.pre2.1. This is a prerelease version and comes without the usual examples and documentation. See below for backwards compatibility packages if you want to keep using the old version. Here are some of the new features:
``Added a new powerful synth engine which is called PADsynth, you can make very beautiful pads and even some strange sounds. The XML format is now for all zynaddsubfx parameters (.XMZ for master parameters, .XIZ for instrument parameters and .XSZ for scale parameters). You can import older parameters. Some parameters have changed and you might encounter different sounds that you saved in the older versions of zynaddsubfx. The instrument banks are no longer single files, but directories that contains instrument .XIZ files. Also, you can use more than 1 bank easily. Added a new effect called DynamicFilter that allows you to do WahWah,AutoWah, VocalMorpher and other effects. The waveform generator (OscilGen) has many new parameters :) More "randomness" options...''

ZynAddSubFX 1.x: added (version 1.4.3-1). This is a backwards compatibility package that can be installed at the same time as the new version of ZynAddSubFX. Some parameters have changed in the new version so old saved patches may sound different in the new program. This package enables you to be able to use the old patches with the old program.
Jack Bitscope: added (version 0.1.1-1).
``JACK bitscope is a diagnosis tool for JACK audio software on Linux (and perhaps other systems which have JACK and GTK+ 2.x). As its name might suggest, the bitscope operates at the bare metal of JACK's I/O layer, looking at the 32 binary digits in each individual sample.''

Denemo: updated to version 0.7.2a-1.
PlanetCCRMA: meta packages and menus updated to version 2003.08.10-1.
07/09/2004 [nando]: Jamin: updated to version 0.9.0-1.
``Limiter improvements: uses new fast lookahead limiter (LADSPA:1913) from the swh-plugins >= 0.4.6. OSC control for scene changes: accepts "osc.udp://localhost:4444/jamin/scene" messages; new `jamin-scene' command sends them, new jamin-cont plugin (LADSPA:1912) sends scene change messages to the JAMin process via OSC. Increase number of scenes from 6 to 20. GUI improvements: extensive context-sensitive help; color editor for highlights and text; options pulldown menu for spectrum, crossfade, and EQ. Better bypass control: specific bypass controls for EQ and limiter, separate Active/Solo/Bypass for each crossover band. Global state settings saved in XML file.''

Liblo: added (version 0.8-1). A lightweight Open Sound Control library.
``liblo is an implementation of the Open Sound Control protocol for POSIX systems developed by Steve Harris.''
08/08/2004 [nando]: Ardour: updated to version 0.9beta19-1. Some highlights of the changes since beta18.4:
``drag-n-drop onto the editor track area where there is no track creates an appropriate track. URL-decode drag-n-dropped filenames. UI for VST plugins now offers presets. VST plugins now save and restore their state. initial tempo and meter markers cannot be moved, even after editing. when cleaning up, prompt user about each unused playlist. never decrease the number of panning buffers. freezing tracks, implementation completely redone. reworked relationship between bounce + freeze. removed ``Loop Region'', renamed ``Loop Selected Region'' as ``Loop Region'' because of click-selects selection model. finally made solo button in mixer strip have the same font size as other buttons. removed edit history button and associated code.''
07/30/2004 [nando]: Jamin: updated to version 0.9.0-0.beta10.1. This one works with the version of swh-plugins (thanks to Steve Harris for the pointer).
Libdc1394: added (version 0.9.5-1). Needed for building Coriander.
Coriander: added (version 1.0.0-0.pre3.1). Not available on RH7.3. I don't have a digital camera to test this so feedback is welcome.
Libdv: updated to version 0.102-1 on RH7.3/8.0/9 and FC1. Needed to build the new version of kino on those distros. A backwards compatibility package (libdv099) has been created so that applications that still link to the older version of libdv keep working.
Kino: updated to version 0.7.2-1 (on RH9 and FC1/2). Not available on RH7.3/8.0.
``various bugfixes especially in FX. export script fixes for recent versions of ffmpeg. added support for ShuttlePro2 and Griffin PowerMate Jog/Shuttle controllers. improved interoperability with GIMP Animation Package (export stills and builtin multiple still import). support for GTK 2.4 File Chooser dialogs with preview capability!''

Dvgrab: updated to version 1.6-1 (on RH9/8.0 and FC1/2). Not available on RH7.3.
``This is an enhancement release with some bug and compilation fixes. New options are -timesys for timestamping filenames using the system date and time, and -csize, and -cmincutsize for fine-grained control over sizes of collections of files useful for creating archives to CD or DVD.''
07/29/2004 [nando]: Aeolus: updated to version 0.2.1-1, aeolus-stops now at version 0.0.9-1. Note: the default directory for the stops points to the install directory of aeolus-stops (/usr/share/aeolus/stops).
``The AEOLUS_DIR environment variable is no longer used. There is now a command line option -S <directory> to select the stops directory. This permits you to have more than one stops directory (and hence different instruments). Also allows packagers to install the stops in a system-wide place and still allow each user to override this. You can now have a file named '.aeolusrc' in you home directory to specify default options. All command line options have an equivalent name that can be used in /.aeolusrc.''

Jaaa: updated to version 0.1.1-2. Rebuilt to use the changed base libraries (clthreads, clxclient, clalsadrv).
Seq24: updated to version 0.5.1-1.
``Added button for seperate note length. Mouse wheel can now change values in editor. Many misc bugs fixed.''
07/27/2004 [nando]: Freqtweak: updated to version 0.6.1-1 (fixes the preset loading bug reported by Jonathan Segel).
``various fixes to satisfy compilers - modulator preset loading fixes - jack tmpdir option fix.''
07/25/2004 [nando]: Ardour: updated to version 0.9beta18.4-1 (now builds again on RedHat 7.3).
This fixes a further set of bugs found to be unacceptable (by me <me == Jeesse Chappell>) for a release: fixed bug that prevented editing the tempo and meter values. made cleanup session *not* remove unused (non-active) playlists. various fixes in the region editor dialog: allow editing of fade times, fixed editing of end and length times. fixed handling of region fade-in fade-out handles to properly adjust when dragged to or past the beginning or end of the region. allowed editing of edit cursor time widget on toolbar. fixed maintaining region state flags when copy/pasted, etc.''
07/24/2004 [nando]: Ardour: added an additional package that freezes version 0.9beta11.2 so that users can keep using beta11.2 to read and work on old sessions. This package can be installed at the same time as the latest version of Ardour. To install type:
apt-get install ardour-beta11-2
Once the package is installed you will find the binary in:
/opt/ardour0.9beta11.2/bin/ardour
07/23/2004 [nando]: Muse: updated to version 0.7.0-1 on Fedora Core 2 only (needs a newer version of Qt on all other distros).
``This new version of MusE has a huge amount of changes, some highlights: MusE has a new look with both visual and usability improvements. Internal redesign leading to realtime performance being greatly improved. Softsynths: MusE can now utilize win32 VST-Instruments natively; Internal synth interface redesigned for better performance. MusE is now always a Jack application: Interface to jack extended greatly; support for jack transport (both master and slave); freewheeling mode for mixdown etc... Audio functionality extended: Mixer merged with midi-mixer; Audio routing redesigned; New types of generic 'tracks' Input/Output/Aux/Group/etc. Automation: A new automation subsystem (first version). Configuration and customization: lots of new customization options; shortcut editor. Editor improvements: drum editor improved with many shortcuts; arranger keyboard navigation and shortcuts.

[On the minus side] Score editor is no longer available. Song format changed, no converter has been produced as of yet. MusE can no longer be started 'stand alone', jack is always used.''

Alsa Modular Synth: updated to version 1.8.6-1.
``recently I discovered cool Barber Pole modules on Don Buchla's page (www.buchla.com). I remembered that the manual of my Doepfer system mentioned something about these effects, so I looked it up (you can also find it online at www.doepfer.de/a191.htm) and started to implement a special LFO for generation of Shepard tones and other spiral sound effects. Here is the result: ams-1.8.6 with several barberpole patches in the demos folder. Pitch- and ModWheel are bound in most examples. Try to set Gain Saw to 1.334 in the Barber Pole module of example_barberpole.ams. It might also be interesting to further decrease the LFO frequency.''
07/21/2004 [nando]: Lilypond: updated to version 2.2.5-1. It has a few bug fixes from 2.3.x (the development version of lilypond).
Jackmix: version 0.0.3 added. Beware: I have found problems running jackmix and qjackctl together under FC2, still it looks like a useful (if young) application.
``Ever struggled with a number of jack applications on your desktop everyone using its own master volume-fader but not one common place for all the volumes directly accessible? The solution to your problem is JackMix, a mixer app for jack that looks exactly like the mixer you would use if you had to connect your analog equipment.''

Fltk: updated to release 1.1.4-2. I rebuilt the packages with threading enabled (required for csound5 and other packages). It does not seem to have affected the existing fltk apps at Planet CCRMA (in limited tests).
07/20/2004 [nando]: Ardour: updated to release 0.9beta18.2-1. This fixes several bugs found shortly after the release of 18.1 that are deemed important.
``fixed bug where unused playlists could not be selected; fix use of auto-connect to master track outputs option on new session (so it is actually possible :); fixed bug where gain automation was being ignored on *all* tracks/busses regardless of their rec-enable status during active recording; made jack timebase master option ignored if sync is not JACK. now looping and varispeed is allowed at the proper times; made default comboboxes for master and control out channel be stereo in new session dialog; fixed region list's Embed Audio function to actually embed instead of import.''

SWH LADSPA Plugins: updated to release 0.4.7-1. This is a multiarchitecture build with the proper optimization flags, should be faster than before.
``0.4.7: New plugin: Fast Lookahead Limiter, a 5ms attack, variable release time lookahead limiter, supceeds the previous ones - do not use them they had critical bugs. Fixes to the "Pro-Logic" surround encoder from Prakash K. Cheemplavam. 0.4.4: Fixes to build on recent gcc, new limiter for beter performance in JAMin, denomal fixes from Tim Blechmann.''
07/17/2004 [nando]: SWH LADSPA Plugins: updated to release 0.4.3-3 in FC1/RH9/RH8.0/RH7.3. This release fixes a packaging problem by which the drf description files were not being included (I discovered this when I built for FC2 but forgot to propagate the change to the previous distros).
Ardour: updated to version 0.9beta18.1 (except under RedHat 7.3, it no longer builds without tweaks). It has been a long time without updates to Ardour. The changes are way too long to list here in detail. Before using it please read the changelog in Ardour's web site. In particular pay attention to the IMPORTANT NOTICES that were posted when version 0.9beta12 was released (Planet CCRMA's current is beta11.2). When you edit a saved session it will automatically be upgraded and will not be readable with an older Ardour. While this was important when beta12 was released (and that is why I did not want to immediately upgrade) it should not be a problem today, as I assume any bugs that deal with this particular aspect would be squashed. Anyway, you have been warned...

07/11/2004 [nando]: CMT LADSPA Plugins: updated to release 1.15-3. This new release fixes a problem with the denormal code in freeverb that happens with the newer gcc releases (I verified the problem in Fedora Core 2, it may also have been happening in earlier releases - the symptom is a lousy and short reverb :-). The new build includes the rdf description for the cmt plugins that Steve Harris wrote, so that all cmt plugins will appear neatly sorted in applications that support this (like Jack Rack). This is now a multiarchitecture build, included are i386, i586, i686 and athlon packages so the plugins should be faster on most machines (I have not done any comparisons myself).

Planet CCRMA menu system: I have updated the Planet CCRMA menu tree (added them in the case of Fedora Core 2). This new version has a typo fix in the tree description that caused the first level submenus to not use the proper icon. Thanks to Andrew Longland-Meech for finally finding the problem a while ago!! I have also added Jaaa, Aeolus and TAP Reverb Editor as Jack applications, and HDPSConf, HDSPMixer and Envy24control to the ALSA Mixers category.

There are also updated redhat-menu packages for 8.0/9/FC1 that include the hooks for the Planet CCRMA menu system and the fix for the first level menus. A redhat-menu package is also needed for FC2.

Note: installing the new menu packages may completely confuse the gnome menu system (at least in Fedora Core 2 it does, the gnome panel component starts using 100% of the cpu and stops working). I can fix this in Fedora Core 2 by killing the gnome-panel process after the upgrade.
The menus themselves don't appear in the KDE environment in FC1. Don't know why. Most of them appear in KDE under FC2, but the second level menus do not show up.

To install the Planet CCRMA menus, if you have installed planetccrma-audioapps:
apt-get install planetccrma-menus-audioapps
or for planetccrma-audiovideoapps:
apt-get install planetccrma-menus-audiovideoapps
or use the ``-devel'' versions if you have the developer versions.

There are no dependencies to make sure that the corresponding applications are installed. I'm not sure if I should add them or not. If you have installed applications by hand (as opposed to using the planetccrma-* meta packages) then you may end up with menu entries for applications that are not installed. That is not good. On the other hand you may install only some apps, install the menus and then use them to browse web pages of apps that you don't have, but may consider adding.

07/08/2004 [nando]: Xmms-ladspa: updated to version 1.0-1 (and added to FC2).
``The main change from version 0.7 is the saving & restoring of state.''
07/07/2004 [nando]: The Planet CCRMA application meta packages (planetccrma-*) have been upgraded, and there are now versions for Fedora Core 2 as well (finally!). To install almost all audio applications in one apt-get incantation install ``planetccrma-audioapps'', to include the development packages as well install ``planetccrma-audioapps-devel''. For audio and video install ``planetccrma-audiovideoapps'' and ``planetccrma-audiovideoapps-devel''. You can also install ``planetccrma'' and have access to a frozen version of the web site locally at file:///usr/share/planetccrma/software/index.html. The process to create these meta packages has been made more automatic, so it should be easier to generate them in the future.
07/06/2004 [nando]: Alsa Modular Synth: updated to version 1.8.5-1. Some of the news:
``1.8.5: Moved Voice Detune and Oscillator Drift features into separate module Analogue Driver. Improved detune/drift algorithms. Updated most instrument patches to make them use the new Analogue Driver module. By using the Bypass toggle of the Analogue Driver module you can verify that it really adds a new dimension to polyphonic sounds. 1.8.4: Added Voice Detune and Oscillator Drift features in Preferences dialog. Both are only effective if the Advanced MCV module is used for MIDI -> Frequency CV conversion. In polyphonic mode this feature adds a lot to the sound. There are random factors on the rate parameters for each voice and oscillator. Added Preferences dialog. Added enhanced support for Doepfer Pocket Dial: Controllers will be initialized with the parameter values whenever a patch or preset is loaded.''
07/04/2004 [nando]: TAP Plugins: updated to version 0.6.0-1. The documentation for both TAP Plugins and the new TAP Reverb Editor (see below) is now in a separate package, just install it with "apt-get install tap-plugins-doc".
``New plugin: TAP Fractal Doubler. Suitable for doubling tracks containing vocals, acoustic/electric guitars, bass and just about any other instrument. New plugin: TAP Reflector. This plugin creates a psychedelic reverse audio effect. New plugin: TAP Pink/Fractal Noise. It generates pink noise by means of a one-dimensional random fractal line generated by the midpoint displacement method. Vastly enhanced the internal workings of TAP Reverberator. Long-long-standing denormal float (or whatever) problems causing occasional runaway CPU-usage led to the complete re-implementation of the internal DSP algorithm of the reverb using fixed-point arithmetics. This inherently fixes denormal problems.''

TAP Reverb Editor: added (version r0-1).
``A new application named TAP Reverb Editor has been written. It is a standalone JACK app, with a GTK+-2 user interface. It works and sounds the same as the LADSPA version (TAP Reverberator), but has extended features that support direct editing of Reverb Types, with immediate visual and sonic feedback. You can design new Reverb Types easily, and 'backporting' these into the LADSPA version is also a breeze.''

Gmorgan: updated to version 0.23-1.
``Fixed bug in song sequencer finish point. Added shortcuts to keyboard window. Added go to first bar button in sequencer window. Small modifications in some patterns. Hide cursor in Drum and Control Edit. Fixed bug when display Sound Names. Fixed range of Modulation Control. Improved panic function. Added Reset Controllers when pattern change. Fixed bug selecting Drums Instrument and Control type.''

Libfishsound: updated to version 0.6.3-1.
``This release fixes a bug in encoding to Speex format from a non-interleaved stereo PCM source, and closes a memory leak in the comments API. Additionally, the test suite has been expanded to cover all possible instances of encoding and decoding, and symmetrical trials of encode<->decode pipelines have been introduced. The test suite and example programs have also undergone rigorous testing of memory management and correctness of generated audio.''

Qjackctl: updated to version 0.2.9-1.
``Patchbay socket dialog client and plug list option items are now properly escaped as regular expressions. JACK callbacks are now internally mapped to QCustomeEvent's instead of using the traditional pipe notifications. The system tray popup menu is now featured as a context menu on the main application window too. The reset status option is now included in the system tray popup menu. Server stop command button now enabled during client startup interval; this makes it possible to stop the server just in case the client can't be activated for any reason. Top level sub-windows are now always raised and set with active focus when shown to visibility.''
06/21/2004 [nando]: Libsndfile: updated to version 1.0.10-2. Added a small patch from Erik that fixes (we hope) some problems with the sndfile-convert utility.
Specimen: updated to version 0.4.1-1.
``LFOs are per patch (optionally global) with delay and attack, ADSRs got delay and hold phase, base pitch can now be controlled, and other assorted goodies.''

Blop: updated to version 0.2.8-1.
``New since last release: Quantiser (quantise to arbitrary values in a range); Signal Tracker (envelope follower, sample+hold, track+hold, ...); DAHDSR envelope generator; Difference and Ratio utility plugins.''
06/19/2004 [nando]: Libsndfile: updated to version 1.0.10-1.
``Minor bug fixes. Fix support for Win32 MinGW compiler.''
06/18/2004 [nando]: Added apt and configuration file links for Fedora Core 2.

Initial alpha test release of the Planet CCRMA Core components for Fedora Core 2:

If you are installing Fedora Core 2 in a dual boot configuration with Windows please take some time to read this article about problems with this configuration.

You have been warned, this is alpha. I have been using a series of builds over the past few weeks that led to this one, with pretty much the same options, so it should work. But it has not seen a lot of testing. Use at your own risk.
The kernel is 2.6.7 based on Arjan's 1.437 build. The kernel has some additions: it includes Jack O'Quin's realcap realtime capabilities patch so that it is possible to use Jack with realtime privileges as a non-root user. It also includes a few low latency tuneups by Takashi Iwai, the staircase scheduler (and only that) by Con Kolivas and the highly exciting illegal (and old) low latency tuneups for the mga, radeon and r128 DRM kernel modules (they should not work but they apparently do most of the time - don't be surprised if you use them and the machine locks up, you have been warned :-) This build also has firewire enabled, it is supposedly less broken than when the original FC2 kernel was released (FC2's kernel shipped with Firewire disabled).
ALSA is 1.0.5, CVS snapshot of 2004.06.17 (yesterday at 1:30pm US Pacific time). It has not seem much testing but it should work :-) The kernel modules have been compiled with full debugging, so it is possible to activate xrun kernel stack trace dumps. More on that below.
Caveats and warnings: I still see weird behavior using Jack -R inside qjackctl. Sometimes an xrun is triggered (and not necessarily with very high cpu load) that brings the machine to a virtual halt. It is still running and it eventually recovers, but it is very slow. My current guess as to what happens is that some error messages are being sent directly from the realtime threads to the display and when/if that happens then the whole screen rendering chain is run with realtime privileges so nothing else is able to run until the rendering is done. Which triggers more xruns. Which print things directly with realtime scheduling. Which triggers more xruns. You get the idea. Again, I must stress this is a _guess_. The only supporting evidence is that I commented out an error message (that should not happen in the first place, so this is not the cause) and the machine recovers a lot quicker. Sometimes the recovery takes too long and apparently the Jack watchdog timer kills the whole thing. Steve (Harris) may find time soon to integrate some code he has so that error reporting is not done directly by the realtime thread of Jack. That may help uncover the _real_ reason this is happening. Then again it may be only my machine. Feedback from the brave that try this is welcome.
If you want to see what is causing the xruns you can turn on xrun stack trace debugging in ALSA. To do that type this (this will only work with the new kernel and ALSA, and only if you have also updated modutils so that the ALSA modules override the kernel's ALSA modules - see below):

echo "2" > /proc/asound/card0/pcm0p/xrun_debug
echo "2" > /proc/asound/card0/pcm0c/xrun_debug

This will activate xrun reporting for the first card and for both the playback and capture streams. After an xrun occurs you can inspect either the output of dmesg or /var/log/messages to see a stack trace that in most cases will point out what chain of functions in the kernel were being executed when it happened. Gurus may use this to find the culprit.
The kernel and ALSA kernel modules are built in i586 and i686 flavors only. It is no longer needed to do a special athlon build as the optimizations for that are automatically enabled at runtime (ie: the i686 kernel will do fine for athlon machines).
If you still want to try it:
Installing it: Just make sure you have the proper sources.list and apt.conf (there are now links in the apt install page) and do a

apt-get install planetccrma-core

For multi-processor machines do:

apt-get install planetccrma-core-smp

You should also upgrade modutils (or just do an "apt-get dist-upgrade" to upgrade anything else including modutils):

apt-get install modutils

Why the new version of modutils? The module utilities in FC2 do not allow for external modules to override the built in kernel modules, something that I need for using newer versions of ALSA than the one included in the kernel sources.
After you are done just reboot the machine, select the new kernel from the grub menu and cross your fingers :-)
The realcap kernel module: If you want to run Jack with realtime scheduling but without being a root user then you have to load the realcap module. You can use this init script to get this loaded when the machine boots. It is a first version I wrote today and should be extended to be in a nice package of its own with docs and more tests for corner cases. But this is a start. To activate the automatic load of the module copy the script to /etc/rc.d/init.d/realcap and activate it:

/sbin/chkconfig --add realcap

On the next reboot the module should be loaded automatically. The default option selected is ``allcaps=1'', you can also select a special group that will only be able to use realtime scheduling and so on and so forth. You can set options by creating a file in /etc/sysconfig/realcap and definining there an environmental variable named REALCAP_OPTS that holds the desired options. The options used will be printed when the module is started. You can also load and unload the module manually:

/etc/rc.d/init.d/realcap stop
/etc/rc.d/init.d/realcap start

Once the module is loaded you should be able to use jackstart as a non-root user as with a 2.4.x kernel with the capabilities patch.
So, this is all for now. Please send me feedback if you are brave enough to try this :-)
06/16/2004 [nando]: New releases of the supporting packages for Aeolus and Jaaa (currently clalsadrv-0.0.1-2, clthreads-0.0.3-2 and clxclient-0.0.2-2 and their corresponding -devel packages). There were missing ``Obsoletes:'' for the development packages that made the install fail in some cases. Thanks to Peter Lutek and Tracey Anne Hytry for reporting the problem.
Noteedit: updated to version 2.6.0-1.
``Main improvements concern MIDI import: distribution of MIDI data onto multiple voices per staff during MIDI import; drum note recognition; stacatto recognition. There is a new slider: "Volume step" to determine the volume difference of 2 adjacent notes needed to insert a volume signature. Almost all is exported to ABC music including: drum notes, guitar chord diagrams. Export/import of octaviation (va lines) (Tanks to Leon Vinken). Note shifting by mouse wheel.''
06/15/2004 [nando]: Aeolus: updated to version 0.2.0-1.
``bugfixes, some new stops, added tuning and temperament controls, added controls for tremulant speed and intensity.''

Jaaa: added (version 0.0.1-1). Very very nice spectrum analyser (Jack capable!).
``Jaaa (JACK and ALSA Audio Analyser, is an audio signal generator and spectrum analyser designed to make accurate measurements.''

Cinelerra: updated to release 1.2.0-2 on FC1/FC2. The new version adds cinelerra as an exception to the prelink configuration file (/etc/prelink.conf). Otherwise cinelerra stops working after a prelink run (thanks to Knut-H=?iso-8859-1?Q?=E5vard_Aksnes for the bug report). Under FC1 this requires a newer version of the prelink package than the one supplied with FC1 (the FC1 version can only make exceptions for directories). A package has been provided with FC2's prelink prelink rebuilt under FC1, it will be automatically installed when apt installs the newer Cinelerra package on FC1.
06/12/2004 [nando]: Specimen: updated to version 0.3.1-1.
``The latest release of Specimen, a midi controllable audio sampler for Linux, adds 4 LFOs which can modulate volume, panning, cutoff and resonance into Additionally, the LFOs can be tempo synced to either midi or the jack-transport mechanism.''

Cinepaint: updated to verion 0.18-3-1 (now included in FC2 as well).
OpenEXR: added (version 1.2.1-1). Needed for Cinepaint.
06/11/2004 [nando]: More version cleanups:
Gtkmm2: rebuild on RH9/FC1 to match FC2's version.
Ceres3: rebuild on FC1/FC2 to match older versions (wrong release, use proper name for resources file).
06/10/2004 [nando]: Some cleanup and rebuilding of packages.
Faad2: rebuild on 8.0/9/1.0 to match FC2's version. Rebuild fails on 7.3.
Hyperspec: added to FC2 (fixed build script).
Cmt: rebuild on 7.3/8.0/9/1.0 to match FC2's version (and remove ladspa-sdk dep).
Pmidi: updated to version 1.6.0-1.
06/08/2004 [nando]: Libart_lgpl: updated to version 2.3.16-0.1. Needed by the newer versions of Ardour. Package taken from FC1 and adapted to RH7.3/RH8.0/RH9.
Libsamplerate: updated to release 0.1.0-2. Fixed wrong install of the sndfile-resample example. Thanks to Ron Parker for noticing this.
Libsndfile: updated to version 1.0.9-1.
``Add AVR format. Improve handling of some WAV files.''
06/01/2004 [nando]: Specimen: updated to version 0.2.9-1.
``A piano for graphically asigning note ranges. A very happenin' bank building interface that uses an embedded File Chooser (gtk+-2.4 required for this). LASH/LADCCA support. Extensive repairs, most notably to the waveform display (it's alias-free) and the panning code (it works). A completely revamped audio rendering system. Sundry cleanups and fixes.''

Qamix: updated to version 0.0.7e-1.
``New index attribute for elements with identical ALSA names. See the README for more.''

Snd: updated to version 7.4-1 (sync with the FC2 version). This new build includes a GTK build of snd. To install type "apt-get install snd-gtk". The executable is "/usr/bin/snd-gtk". Some of the new features exclusive to Snd (see the whole list in the release notes):
``new sndins/gfm/ws.rb from Michael Scholz. snd-gtkrc picture from Frank Barknecht. new Snd/Scheme functions: dither-channel (dithering as a virtual op), goertzel in dsp.scm (much faster version of find-sine), complexify in snd-gl.scm (a different kind of 3D fft display), rotate-channel, reverse-channels, scramble-channels, scramble-channel, mono->stereo, mono-files->stereo, stereo->mono; channel-variance etc in dsp.scm, taken from Julius Smith "Mathematics of the DFT"''

ALSA Patch Bay: updated to release 1.0.0-2 (RH7.3/RH8.0/RH9/FC1). Removed redundant menu entries (as was done for FC2).
REV Plugins: updated to release 0.2.1-2 (RH7.3/RH8.0/RH9). Removed old ladspa-sdk dependency.
05/31/2004 [nando]: Rosegarden 4: updated to version 0.9.8-1. New version only available on RH9/FC1/FC2.
``This release is primarily focused on bugfix, performance and usability improvements over 0.9.7, including significant optimisations to the main editing canvas, sequencer and GUI memory leak fixes, faster and better notation editing and printing, and dozens of other fixes. It also contains a handful of new features including MIDI mixer window, ottava and fingering marks in notation, and a redesigned audio segment manager.''

Cinelerra: updated to version 1.2.0-1. New version only available on RH9/FC1/FC2. See the detailed changelog at the Cinelerra's web site.
05/21/2004 [nando]: Preliminary Applications only support for Fedora Core 2. See the announcement in the Planet CCRMA mailing list.
05/13/2004 [nando]: Pd Vasp: added (version 0.1.2-1).
``VASP is a package for PD or Max/MSP consisting of a number of externals extending these systems with functions for non-realtime array-based audio data processing. VASP is capable of working in the background, therefore not influencing eventual dsp signal processing.''

Audacity: updated to version 1.2.1-1. Relevant fixes include (see the more detailed list in the project web page):
``Fix a bug that could cause data to be lost when pasting audio from one project into another, after the first project has been saved and closed. Fix a possible crash when opening or resizing the Equalization window. Don't allow percentages less than -100% in Change Pitch/Speed/Tempo effects (fixes a possible crash). Fix a crash when the temporary directory is not available on startup. Correctly load ID3 tags saved in Audacity project files. Store lockfiles in the temp directory instead of the user's home directory. This fixes problems in lab environments where users have restricted or network-mounted home directories. Fix a bug that prevented Nyquist effects from running when certain regional settings were activated. Fix a bug in the Quick Mix command that could cause old temporary files to not be deleted. Two new Nyquist plug-ins: "Cross Fade In" and "Cross Fade Out." Other minor bug-fixes.''

FIL-plugins: added (version 0.0.1-1).
``There's one plugin in this first release, a four-band parametric equaliser. Each section has an active/bypass switch, frequency, bandwidth and gain controls. There is also a global bypass switch and gain control. The 2nd order resonant filters are implemented using a Mitra-Regalia style lattice filter, which has the nice property of being stable even while parameters are being changed. All switches and controls are internally smoothed, so they can be used 'live' whithout any clicks or zipper noises. This should make this plugin a good candidate for use in systems that allow automation of plugin control ports, such as Ardour, or for stage use.''

TAP Plugins: updated to version 0.5.0-1.
05/05/2004 [nando]: Ecasound: updated to version 2.3.3-1.
``Bugs in ecasignalview, effect presets, NetECI protocol parser and the C ECI implementation have been fixed. Many build system issues, including errors in building against libsndfile-1.0.4 and older, have been resolved. A separate section covering ecasound.el, the ecasound emacs interface, has been added to the Ecasound Control Interface Guide. The Ecasound User's Guide has also been updated.''

Seq24: updated to version 0.5.0-2.
``external midi control of sequence patterns. now registers loading and unloading of other alsa clients. new method to queue a sequences on/off state at end of loop. misc bug fixes.''

Libfishsound: updated to version 0.6.1-1.
``Fixed bug in decoding stereo Speex to non-interleaved. Added fish_sound_get,set_frameno() functions. Added API for reading and writing Vorbiscomment style metadata. Added test suite for comment read/write integrity. Added comprehensive testing of encode/decode pipeline''
05/04/2004 [nando]: I'm back from the Linux Audio Developers meeting at ZKM (here's the link). It was great, and there will be another one in 2005! More LAD'ers attended than last year, so I got to match even more faces to familiar email addresses. A lot of interesting stuff, both during the lectures and in the concerts and demos.
Aeolus: added (version 0.1.0-1). Not available on RedHat 7.3. Fons Adriaensen writes:
``Aeolus is my first attempt to arrive at a synthesised (i.e. not sampled) pipe organ sound that should be good enough to make an organist enjoy playing it. It will in fact be a soft-synth optimised for this job, with possibly hundreds of controls for each stop, to enable the user to "voice" his instrument.''

Also added alsadrv version 0.0.2-1 and classlibs 0.0.1-1, both by Fons and needed to build Aeolus.
05/01/2004 [nando]: VCO Plugins: updated to version 0.3.0-1.
And later that day, VCO Plugins: updated to version 0.3.0-2. Someone at Quality Control left an old stale dependency in the package. I'll have to fire them, ahem, myself if they do that again :-)
04/30/2004 [nando]: Alsa Modular Synth: updated to version 1.8.0-1.
``Fixed 0 V convention in MCVs: 0 V now corresponds to middle C. Some patches might need slight adaptions. New instrument hplp_instrument. This requires the new highpass filter by Fons Adriaensen.''

MCP Plugins: updated to version 0.3.0-1.
Qjackctl: updated to version 0.2.8-1.
``New option for system tray icon and menu, which is known to be effective on KDE enabled desktops; support for freedesktop.org's system tray protocol specification has been included so this maybe also effective on Gnome2. Capture or Playback-only optional alternate device interface name may now be specified for the ALSA audio driver server settings. Maximum number of ports setting was added to server setup. The dash (-) is now a legal character for preset names.''
04/25/2004 [nando]: Released new ISO cdrom images. Core, Applications and Updates for RedHat 9 and Fedora Core 1, Applications only for RedHat 7.3 and RedHat 8.0. Just in time for the LAD conference at ZKM.

04/24/2004 [nando]: Freqtweak: updated to version 0.6.0-1.

``New in this release are spectral filter Modulators, which can animate and modulate any of the filters automatically in several ways. If you thought FreqTweak was fun before, be prepared for hours of audio mayhem.''

Updated the PlanetCore components of the Planet CCRMA package collection.

NOTE: if you don't want to upgrade to the new kernel and alsa drivers just comment out (add a ``#'' at the beginning of the line) any lines containing ``planetcore'' in your /etc/apt/sources.list configuration file.

NOTE: the new kernels are currently only available on RedHat 9 and Fedora Core 1. I'll add 8.0 and 7.3 as time permits (or if there is demand).

As usual there are two kernels and matching sets of alsa and midishare drivers, the Planet CCRMA kernel (2.4.26-1.ll, best latency) and the RedHat capabilities enabled kernel (2.4.20-31.1.caps in RedHat 7.3/8.0/9 and 2.4.22-1.2188.nptl.caps in Fedora Core 1, best compatibility). All these kernels contain the latest security patches.

Caveat: the Fedora Core 2.4.22-1.2188 kernel build has the low latency patch activated, this is known to cause hangs for smp machines and even p4 with hyperthreading (see this message and its surrounding thread).

To install the new PlanetCore packages (kernel and alsa drivers):

check your /etc/apt/sources.list file for obsolete Planet CCRMA url's. The main server name has changed, the old name still works but it is better to update it. Here are the latest configuration files:
RedHat 7.3: sources.list
RedHat 8.0: sources.list
RedHat 9: sources.list
Fedora 1: sources.list
just in case you should also update yout /etc/apt/apt.conf file to the latest: apt.conf
sync with the repository:

apt-get update
install the new kernel and alsa drivers (more details in the kernel and sound configuration section). For single processor machines do:

apt-get install planetccrma-core

Or if you want the RedHat or Fedora Core 1 kernel:

apt-get install planetccrma-core-redhat

For multi-processor machines and the Planet CCRMA kernel:

apt-get install planetccrma-core-smp

Or for the RedHat or Fedora Core 1 kernel:

apt-get install planetccrma-core-redhat-smp

If you need the kernel sources for compiling additional kernel modules do (substitute rh90 with rh73, rh80 or rhfc1 if you have RedHat 7.3, 8.0 or Fedora Core 1 installed):

apt-get install kernel-source#2.4.26-1.ll.rh90.ccrma

For the RedHat kernel (substitute rh90 with rh73 or rh80 if you have RedHat 7.3 or 8.0 installed):

apt-get install kernel-source#2.4.20-31.1.caps.rh90.ccrma

Or for the Fedora Core 1 kernel:

apt-get install kernel-source#2.4.22-1.2188.nptl.caps.rhfc1.ccrma

Caveat: under Fedora Core 1 you must compile any extra kernel modules with gcc32 instead of gcc. Obviously you have to have the gcc32 package installed ("apt-get install gcc32").
You can, of course, install both kernels (Planet CCRMA and RedHat or Fedora Core 1).
reboot to test the new kernel(s). The Planet CCRMA kernel includes the full ACPI patch (which is not a separate patch any longer), if you are using a laptop make sure that the power management functions are working (ie: the fan turns on). I have seen laptops that will not work without full ACPI support. But I have also seen one which would NOT work with full ACPI support. If you do not want ACPI just add the option ``acpi=off'' to the 2.4.26-1.ll line of /boot/grub/grub.conf. The Fedora Core 1 kernel also comes with ACPI, but it is ``off'' by default (sigh...), so you should add ``acpi=on'' to the grub boot command line if you need it.
if your kernel of choice works fine make it the default by editing /boot/grub/grub.conf.
Caveat: when rebooting for the first time into the new kernel and alsa driver you may see alsa error messages when the state of the mixer is being reloaded by /usr/sbin/alsactl. This is because the numbering or naming of controls may have changed for the particular driver you are using, and no longer matches what is stored in the mixer state file (/etc/asound.state). Just start alsamixer or gamix (or envy24control if you have an ice1712 based card, or the hdsp utilities for the RME cards) for all your cards, make sure all the settings are as you want them, then quit alsamixer or gamix and run ``/usr/sbin/alsactl store'' to update the state file.

So, what's new in the kernel and alsa???

Planet CCRMA kernel 2.4.26-1.ll[smp]

Based on the 2.4.26 release (includes the latest security patches). This is the list of core patches, pretty much the same as for the previous kernel (updated lm_sensors to 2.8.4):

capabilities patch
preemptible kernel patch
low latency patch (enabled through proc)
read latency tuning
desktop tuning 1 and 2
HZ=1000
drm updates from the redhat kernel
drm low latency patch
dma support for cdrom audio extraction
lm_sensors 2.8.4 kernel modules
nfs patches

The low latency patch is now ``on'' by default.

RedHat kernel 2.4.20-31.1.caps / Fedora Core 1 2.4.22-1.2188.nptl.caps

This is the latest release of the RedHat or Fedora Core 1 kernel with the capabilities patch added. Includes fixes for the latest security vulnerabilities.

ALSA driver 1.0.4-1.cvs

New version of the ALSA drivers, based on ALSA CVS of 04/17/2004.

04/23/2004 [nando]: Cheesetracker: updated to version 0.9.9-1 (not available on RH7.3).
``Fixed OSS detection for REAL. All engine converted to floating point, may be a bit slower on pre p4/athlon computers, though a bit more accurate. Old FX core deprecated, sorry, this wont load effects on pre-9.9 songs, though it will keep the routes. Added shift-f6, play pattern from cursor. Added sample-being-played notification in sample screen. Fixed wave-loading bug. Fixed ugly bug in GXX introduced in 0.9.1. More resamplers (FM/Cosine/Cubic Spline). Doubled filter range. NEW FILTERS!!! rewrote the filters, they are MUCH better now.. choose between lowpass/bandpass/hipass/notch. New Effects: Multiband (6/10/21/31) equalizer; distortion (with many distortion modes); pitch shifter (not amazing, but very tweakeable); stereo FX (kickass post-production helper).''

Brutefir: added (version 1.0-1). You do need to configure it manually, go to its home page for details (this package is not available on RH7.3).
``BruteFIR is a software convolution engine, a program for applying long FIR filters to multi-channel digital audio, either offline or in realtime. Its basic operation is specified through a configuration file, and filters, attenuation and delay can be changed in runtime through a simple command line interface.''
04/22/2004 [nando]: Jack: updated to version 0.98.0-2. Rebuilt to fix optimizations that used wrong architecture flags and SSE/MMX instructions and would not work on some processors.
04/21/2004 [nando]: Jack: updated to version 0.98.0-1.
``Fixed bug when using non-dithered 16bit output. Fixed crashing bug with JACK clients that use SSE. Three new functions in JACK API: int jack_client_name_size(void); int jack_port_name_size(void); int jack_port_type_size(void); Automatic server startup. Added OSS JACK driver. New option -m,-no-mlock: do not attempt to lock memory, even if -realtime. New option -p,-port-max n: set the maximum number of ports the JACK server can manage. The default value is 128.New option -T,-temporary: jackd will exit when last client disconnects. Added JACK thread initialization callback.''

Qjackctl: updated to version 0.2.7-1.b.
``Connections and patchbay windows horizontal layout are now user configurable via splitter widgets. Refresh on connections window now take effect on both tabs, Audio (JACK) and MIDI (ALSA). Temporary server configuration option added, applicable to the auto-start server feature on client applications, whether the server shall exit once all clients are closed. Server mode (RT) status display added. Warning messages are now prompted to the user when there are any pending changes not saved nor applied while on the setup dialog. Translation support for the default preset name "(default)". Messages window pops up whenever a critical error message is issued.''

Ecamegapedal: updated to version 0.4.4-1.
``Minor bugs in JACK support have been fixed. Now Ecamegapedal makes sure it won't launch the JACK daemon by accident when probing for available devices on startup. The manual pages have been updated with some new sections.''
04/15/2004 [nando]: Speex: updated to version 1.0.3-1.
``This bugfix release fixes a multithreading bug and corrects an underflow problem that could slow decoding dramatically on x86 processors.''

Liblrdf: updated to version 0.3.7-1.
``Bugfixes to the scale reading convenience function and adds helpful return values from the preset creation and rdf fragment saving functions, thanks to Taybin Rutkin.''

Libfishsound: added (version 0.6.0-1).
``FishSound (libfishsound) provides a simple programming interface for decoding and encoding audio data using the Xiph.Org codecs Vorbis and Speex.''

Liboggz: added (version 0.8.2-1). Needed by Libfishsound.
``Oggz provides a simple programming interface for reading and writing Ogg files and streams. Ogg is an interleaving data container developed by Monty at Xiph.Org, originally to support the Ogg Vorbis audio format.''
04/09/2004 [nando]: Noteedit: updated to version 2.5.3-1.
``Auto beaming during note insertion (configurable). Almost all is exported to ABC music (perhaps abcm2ps-4.3.2 is needed) including: guitar chord diagrams, all 5 drum notes. Export of guitar chord diagrams to MusicXML (thanks to Leon Vinken). Import of guitar chord diagrams from MusicXML (thanks to Leon Vinken). Note shifting by mouse wheel: Wheel + Ctrl: shift note by 1 line, Wheel + Shift: shift note by 1 octave, Wheel + Shift + Ctrl: shift note by 1 semi tone. Cursor up/down + Ctrl: shift note by 1 semi tone.''
04/08/2004 [nando]: Qdu: added (version 2.2-1). A graphical disk space management tool.
04/07/2004 [nando]: Lilypond: updated to version 2.2.0-1.
``This new stable version has completely revamped support for for orchestral score formatting, cue notes, font size management, lyric formatting, drum notation/playback and document integration.''

Snd: updated to version 7.3-1. Too many changes to list here in detail...
``Libsamplerate and recording stuff for Jack, many other improvements thanks to Kjetil S. Matheussen. Replaced snd-motif.rb with snd-xm.rb, many other *.rb improvements thanks to Michael Scholz. Region-position and optional channel arg to region-frames as suggested by Matt Wright. Tempo-control-bounds, and all other such variables' global defaults can be set, including cursor-follows-play and the speed-control stuff - this means you no longer have to use after-open-hook to set cursor-follows-play globally. Edit function arg to mus_make_granulate - called just before a grain is added into the output. Fractional-fourier-transform and z-transform in dsp.scm. Read|write-speex for Speex files and read|write-flac for FLAC files (examp.scm). [and many other new stuff]''

Pvoc: added (version 0.1.9-1).
``pvoc is a collection of LADSPA units and a command line tool for time compression/expansion of sound data making use of the phase-vocoding technique.''
04/02/2004 [nando]: Wow... long time, no updates :-)
Spiral Synth Modular: updated to version 0.2.2-1.a. As usual (if you use Jack) you have to match the buffer size in Preferences to whatever you are using in Jack, otherwise sound will not work correctly.
``New GUI - less cluttered and more "traditional" toolbars. Improved LADSPA GUI, and librdf support. Improved Jack functionality. New ALSA midi support. New configure script - makes most dependancies optional. Libsndfile support for Sampler, SpiralLoops, Streamer, and a lot more...''

Rosegarden 4: updated to version 0.9.7-1. I'm getting (under RedHat 9) a segfault when I try to open the audio mixer. This version is not available on RedHat 7.3 due to build problems.
``The main focus of this release is to introduce a new, more accurate and efficient audio layer with a mixer window, basic internal routing capabilities, more complete plugin support, and support for the JACK transport API. This release also includes a number of other new features such as a dedicated tempo and time signature editor window, segment summary window, pitch-bend ruler, more useful controller rulers and various new editing operations and keyboard shortcuts in the graphical editors.''

Noteedit: updated to version 2.5.0-1.
``Octaviation (va - lines). Better mouse positioning support: A gray note near the cursor snaps to the line where the next note will appear. (Limited) drum export to ABC music.''

Hydrogen: updated to version 0.8.2-1. Now includes an extra package that installs all the available extra DrumKits and demo songs (get it with "apt-get install hydrogen-drumkits"). This version is not available on RedHat 7.3.
``Audio file preview in load instrument dialog. Jack transport improvements. 4 Ladspa FX send per instrument. Show recent used songs. QT Style selection option in Preferences Dialog. New keybindings. Bug fix in load/save song. LRDF support (optional). Several GUI improvements. Better Midi-in support. Virtual keyboard (using qwertyuiop...). Ability to record midi-in or virtual keyboard notes in a pattern.''

Specimen: updated to version 0.2.4-1.
``The last release would have the boneheaded tendency to create patches with panning and resonance at 100 by default. Waveform display optimized thanks to help from Torben Hohn (be sure to check out the fine jorb he has done with the galan project). Envelopes for panning, cutoff, and resonance have been added. Envelopes can be switched on and off (off by default).''

Timemachine: updated to version 0.2.4-1.
``Pick pre-buffer time (-t <time>, thanks to patch from Jorn Nettingsmeier. Visual indication of ready / recording / busy status. LASH (nee LADCCA) support. > 2GB files (with latest libsndfile). Window manager icon :) 1 channel recording now works''

Caps LADSPA Plugins: updated to version 0.1.11-1.
``amps changed back to old tube model :) but new temp & gain behaviour stays. SweepVF, AmpIII default value adjustments.''

STK: updated to version 4.1.3-1. This version has working prebuilt example code.
Unison: version 2.9.1-3 built on Fedora Core 1 (it was not available on Fedora yet). Rebuilt on other supported distros to match. This rebuilt triggered an upgrade of Ocaml and Lablgtk1 (older versions would not build on Fedora Core 1).
Ocaml: updated to version 3.07-1. There is now only one package as opposed to three in the previous version (needed by Unison.
Lablgtk1: updated to version 1.6.6-1. The package name has changed, the old package was called ocaml-lablgtk (needed by Unison.
Libsndfile: updated to version 1.0.6-2. Some dependency problem with the packages were fixed, no change in functionality.
Libsamplerate: updated to version 0.1.0-1.
``Add callback API, functions for short to float and float to short conversion. Minor bug fixes.''
03/16/2004 [nando]: Added a new section documenting how to configure multiple soundcards, and also another one on extra stuff for configuring USB soundcards.
Open Music for Linux: updated to version 4.7.2.beta-1. Available now also on Fedora Core 1.
CMUCL Common Lisp: updated to version 2003.12-2 on Fedora Core 1 only. This version is based on an unofficial CMUCL build that solves the shared library loading conflict (and subsequent segfault) on FC1. Seems to be working fine...
CLM: updated to version 2003.03.10-1.
CMN: updated to version 2003.03.08-1.
03/06/2004 [nando]: Two new mirrors added:
- PlanetMirror, Brisbane, Australia:
  http://planetccrma.planetmirror.com/
- ATrpms, Berlin, Germany:
  http://planetccrma.atrpms.net/
Thanks to Dan Goodes (from Planet Mirror) and Axel Thimm (creator of the ATrpms repository) for their offer to host a mirror and for their help in setting it up.

Updated Planet CCRMA Applications CDROM images

New CDROM images for all Planet CCRMA applications are now available through the web. See the image download page for more details. This release does not include the core components (kernel and kernel modules - I'm waiting a bit more before officially releasing the latest kernels), or the updates (probably early next week).
03/02/2004 [nando]: Simsam: added (version 0.1.7-1).
``Simsam is a simple MIDI sample playback program. You can use it to play drum samples and loops from a MIDI keyboard or sequencer.''

Specimen: added (version 0.2.2-1).
``Specimen is a midi controlled audio sampler for GNU/Linux systems. It allows you to create music using various sound files, or "samples", in tandem with a midi sequencer.''

Qsynth: updated to version 0.1.3-1.
``1.0.3: Message window line limit is now a configurable option on setup. ALSA sequencer client name may now be internally set. JACK multiple output port mode may now be configured on setup. 1.0.2: Messages and Channels pop-up windows are not hinted as dialogs anymore and thus are not centered relative to parent main window. Soundfont setup dialog changed to open and load multiple files at once. New setup option on wether all child windows are kept on top of the main window, or otherwise floating with probable taskbar entries of their own. Setup changes that are only effective next time the program is run gets an informational message box shown to the user.''

Swami: updated to version 0.9.2-1.
``I have finally released Swami 0.9.2. Its got a handful of bug fixes and other things that I have forgotten by now.''

amSynth: updated to version 1.0.0-1.
``Compiles on alsa 1.0.x, plus some minor enhancements, so a 1.0 seemed fitting since no bugs have been reported recently.''

JackEQ: updated to version 0.4.0-1.
``Fixed rc file for Ports menu. Now displays checks correctly.''

Alsa Modular Synth: updated to version 1.7.6-1.
``1.7.4b: Added panning module for stereo output. Speed optimisation in LFO, NOISE and VC Envelope modules. Fixed Attack in VC Envelope. Added support for Sustain pedal. Fixed miniams and phaser_instrument patches (missing freq connection in Mvclpf). 1.7.3: Cables now have jacks. Cable and jack colors can be customized in the context menu of input ports. The main window has a new context menu for customizing background and module colors. Fixed bug concerning negative module positions when patch is saved while scrollview is not at zero position. Adjusted levels of patches in instruments folder. 1.7.6: Fixed support for sustain/hold pedal. Added VC Double Decay. Added demos/example_vcdoubledecay.ams (velocity dependent). Added Quantizer 2. Added pitch-dependend panorama (note that offset and gain are functional in this mode) in VC panning module.''

Audacity: updated to version 1.2.0-1.
``New cross-fade effects. Fix problem where samples were drawn in the wrong position when zoomed all the way in. Don't use id3v2.4 tags, which are not yet supported by most players. When the cursor is on-screen, the Zoom In button now zooms to the area around the cursor. Work around a bug in ALSA's OSS emulation that caused Audacity's playback cursor to move too quickly. 1.2.0-pre4: Fixed problems that could occur when importing certain non-seekable PCM audio files. Fixed bug that was causing the samples to shift off-screen horizonally when zoomed in very far and the track had a time-shift offset. Fixed bugs in the new resampler that added noise to resampled audio on some systems. Fixed bug that led to occasional crashes when using the time-shift tool in conjunction with high zoom factors. Dithering is now only applied on export when it is really necessary. Files that only contain mono tracks are now automatically exported to stereo files when they contain tracks which are panned to the left or the right. The Delete key can now be used to delete the current selection, in addition to the Backspace key. Fixed bug where Audacity didn't ask whether to save changes if you close the project or exit while recording. Make sure the "Save" command is enabled after changing gain and pan sliders.''

Soundtracker: updated to version 0.6.7-1. Many bugfixes, see ChangeLog in documentation section after installing.
MCP plugins: updated to version 0.2.2-1.
Galan: updated to version 0.3.0-0.beta4.1.
Liblrdf: updated to version 0.3.5-1. The library has changed versions, that triggered the rebuild of several pacakges (see below).
Jack Rack: rebuilt, version 1.4.3-2. Rebuilt needed because of change of library version in Liblrdf.
TerminatorX: rebuilt, version 3.81-2. Rebuilt needed because of change of library version in Liblrdf.
Rosegarden 4: rebuilt, version 0.9.6-2. Rebuilt needed because of change of library version in Liblrdf.
SpiralSynthModular: updated to version 0.2.2-0.rc2.1.
Ardour: updated to version 0.9beta11.2-1.
``ghost waveforms in automation tracks. new loop and punch range interface. new locations window design. crossfade editor closer to 90% functionality. fix process-time automation snapshots to be (more?) real-time safe. speed optimizations for sfdb. format is not compatible, so its best to remove your existing file and rebuild it. window sizes and other GUI details are saved instantly in <sessiondir>/instant.xml. region selection propagates across edit groups. hide all automation now works. region locking shows padlock in regionview, plus has an actual effect on editing. unlock via click on padlock works as expected. shift-drag permits multiple object selection passes via rubber-banding. region export via standard export dialog: to be discussed: is "Write Region to disk" still useful?, it is quicker, and just writes a native file to disk within the session sounds directory; operates only on clicked region, not region selection. good?, bad? ugly?. fade in/out curves of region editor do not update the underlying data until button release. fade in/out curves of region editor now can have values typed in. SMPTE computation fix for rulers. dragging curve control points - to move all points right, use ctrl-drag. ordinary drag now moves just that point. (reverse of previous behaviour.). destroy-last-capture now works until the next capture, not the next transport halt...''

Ladspa-sdk: name changed to Ladspa (same version 1.12-1). This package name change was done to not conflict with other package repositories that choose to name it "ladspa" (I probably named it first but, oh well, who cares :-). This name change uncovered a bug in rpm itself under Fedora Core 1 that made the name change problematic. An "Obsoletes:" tag in the new package is essentially ignored. I have worked around the problem by obsoleting the old package through the ``planetccrma-audioapps'' and/or ``planetccrma-audiovideoapps'' meta packages (an "Obsoletes:" in a third unrelated package actually works!). You will have to manually remove the package and reinstall ladspa if you are running Fedora Core 1 and do not have those meta packages installed.
02/24/2004 [nando]: XMMS Ladspa: added (version 0.7-1).
``XMMS LADSPA is an Effect for XMMS that provides (some of) the power of the Linux Audio Developer's Simple Plugin API to your everyday MP3 and all-around media player.''

LADCCA: updated to version 0.4.0-2. Patched (thanks to Guenter Geiger) to work even when the ``ladcca'' port name and number is not present in /etc/services.
Fluidsynth: updated to version 1.0.3-3. This release is patched to build and link with the newest version of LADCCA (0.4.0).
Vkeybd: updated to version 0.1.15-1. This new version uses the newest version of LADCCA (0.4.0).
TAP LADSPA Plugins: updated to version 0.4.0-1.
``Added new plugins TAP Pitch Shifter, TAP Rotary Speaker and TAP Vibrato. Fixed crashing bug in TAP Reverberator (the bug appeared with hosts that call activate() before connect_port()). Fixed lock-up bug in TAP DeEsser (the bug appeared when an input sample had +/- INF value). Various smaller bugfixes (almost every plugin locked up when control input values of +/- INF were appiled).''

Caps LADSPA Plugins: added (version 0.1.8-1). Another collection of LADSPA plugins. Currently includes:
``Generic: Eq - classic ten-band equalizer; Compress - a compressor suited for single instruments. Emulation: Clip - hard clipper, PreampIII - emulation of a tube preamplifier circuit, PreampIV - tube preamplifier with tone controls, AmpIII - emulation of a tube amplifier, Cabinet - emulation of guitar combos. Effects: Chorus - a versatile classic, StereoChorus - when one channel is not enough, Phaser - another classic, SweepVF - ladder filter modulated by a fractal. Generators: VCOs - sawtooth / triangle / square wave generator, VCOd - double VCO with detune and hard sync, CEO - chief executive oscillator, Sin - testing and tuning helper, White - white noisz, Lorenz - a fractal singing in a broken voice, Roessler - a roaring fractal. Reverb: JVRev - a digital reverb technology classic, Plate - versatile refined digital reverb...''

Open Music for Linux: added (version 4.7.1.beta-1). Currently packages are not yet available on Fedora Core 1. This version is still buggy with respect to the music notation fonts...
``OpenMusic (OM) is a full visual programming language based on CommonLisp / CLOS. OM is icon oriented, uses extensively drag and drop, and has built-in visual control structures that interface with Lisp ones, such as loop. OM may be used as a general purpose functional/object/visual programming language. A set of provided classes and libraries make it a very convenient environment for music composition.''
02/20/2004 [nando]: Pd: updated to version 0.37.0-3.cvs. This CVS snapshot Corresponds to branch 37_devel of CVS, dated 20040220.100002.
Snd: updated to version 7.2-1.
an enormous number of improvements to the Ruby code and snd-inf.el thanks to Michael Scholz, also new: snd-motif.rb. gui.scm and many bugfixes and improvements from Kjetil S. Matheussen. new strad.ins with vibrato from Juan Reyes. Linux/Jack support in CLM thanks to Fernando (and various CMUCL/CLM improvements). many openmcl CLM bugfixes thanks to Rick. MCL 5.0 CMN support thanks to Joakim Sandgren and George Khouri. collapsable table of contents in snd1.html and a bazillion hidden links added...
02/18/2004 [nando]: Libjackasyn: updated to version 0.10-1. Thanks to Jeffrey Baitis for sending a .src.rpm and alerting me to the upgrade.
Xmms Jack plugin: updated to version 0.8.1-1. It can now use the resampling interface in newer versions of xmms (>= 1.2.8, for now only FC1). Thanks to David Fraser for alerting me to this new version.
Tdb: updated to version 1.0.6-2. Changed the name of the tdbdump command to tdbdmp. Otherwise it conflicts with the newest Samba version on Fedora Core 1.
02/17/2004 [nando]: Ardour: updated to version 0.9beta10.2-1. Not yet built for RedHat 7.3. Some highlights:
`` edit operations (cut/copy/paste) for automation data and redirects. new "Destroy Last Capture" edit operation (destructive). new "Destroy Region" edit operation (possibly destructive). new context menu for redirect operations. redirect displays use standard click-to-select model. new sessions created from command line arguments have sane default settings. default keybindings for edit ops (cut/copy/paste) match The GIMP (Ctrl-x, Ctrl-c, Ctrl-v). selection of tracks uses "click selects" model. selection of tracks follows edit groups. multiple zoom requests handled slightly more intelligently. regions never vanish no matter what zoom level. fix crashing bug when operating a lone automation control point. track context menus are more context sensitive. bounce to disk renamed "freeze". fix bounce to disk so that it works without noise. plugins (+ other redirects) now have undo/redo state (but used currently only for freeze/unfreeze). plugins + other inserts disabled after freeze. cannot embed or import audio with no session. embedding a file with the wrong SR shows warning. no JACK connection shows up as a GUI warning. call setsid() to disconnect from tty group. "Edit" for redirect display context menu now works. "latency" output control port for LADSPA not shown in GUI. region sync point now visible again. auto-return button now forces playhead to work correctly rather than ignoring the "return"....''

Qjackctl: updated to version 0.2.5-1.
``New option on application exit for leaving the JACK server daemon running. New command-line wrapper feature for JACK client applications, thus giving a convenient head start for the JACK audio server as needed. Messages, Status, Connections and Patchbay pop-up windows are not hinted as dialogs anymore and thus are not centered relative to parent main window which has become a strict Qt dialog widget behaviour (as of Qt 3.3+). Patchbay window content changes are now properly updated. The snapshot option for creating a new patchbay definition from current actual connections now takes client and port names as regular expressions. Patchbay socket list view ordering is now properly preserved; socket dialog gets plug list handling ehancements; active patchbay gets reloaded when commited and saved to file; connections redraw on socket removal has been fixed. Server literal command-line is now saved into local configuration file ( /.jackdrc). New setup option on whether all child windows are kept on top of the main window....''
02/10/2004 [nando]: MidiShare Player: added (version 2.04-2). I could have sworn that this package was already in the repository but it was not! So now it is. Pretty sure :-) The new Common Music build needs it for midishare support.
Common Music (CM) updated to version 2.4.2-2. Patched so that it loads the proper (specific) version of the MidiShare libraries. Added proper Requires: for the MidiShare and MidiShare Player libraries (the last one was completely missing).
02/09/2004 [nando]: Libsndfile: updated to version 1.0.6-1.
The big fix is a fix that allows reading and writing of files larger than 2Gig on 32bit Linux and Solaris. As before, writing AIFF and WAv files larger than 2Gig does not really make sense. Anomg the supported file formats which allow large files are W64, AU and PAF.

The CM/CLM/CMN world:
The Common Lisp based Common Music (CM), Common Lisp Music (CLM) and Common Music Notation (CMN) world has been updated to all new versions (including the base lisp packages):
Common Music (CM) to version 2.4.2-1 (CM can now use MidiShare for midi i/o when used on top of CMUCL).
Common Lisp Music (CLM) to version 2004.02.09
Common Music Notation (CMN) to version 2004.02.04
CMUCL Common Lisp to version 2003-12 (cvs snapshot)
Clisp Common Lisp to version 2.32.
IMPORTANT: The organization of the packages has been completely changed. If you are using CM/CLM/CMN please read the following, this will affect you. The previous releases were distributed in the form of saved lisp core images (ie: the complete Common Lisp environment is saved in one file). The current scheme (no pun intended, for lisp/scheme users :-) distributes precompiled binary files that are loaded at run time into an existing "empty" image.
First, why the change? The major reason was that I still had problems in some occassions with CLM not loading its FFI (Foreign Function Interface) properly when started from a saved lisp image under CMUCL. So packages were, in some hard to reproduce instances, broken. At last I managed to reproduce this and the changed scheme does not seem to have the same problem. There are some advantages to this way of packaging things:
- packages are smaller
- all components are segregated into separate packages (this will make it easier to release more often)
- you can mix and match what you load (ie: want to have only CM and CMN?, it is possible now)
Of course there are tradeoffs. The main one is load time. When starting the Lisp environment all binaries have to be loaded and that takes some time to do. Fortunately on current machines that is not too much, with one exception: CMN under CMUCL is slow. But well, you only do this once to start your session so I guess we'll have to live with this.
An ``apt-get dist-upgrade'' will try to do the right thing, but the end result may not match your target configuration. So here is a short explanation of what you need to install to get what you want:
In a nutshell: to get the same effect as installing the old ``cmucl-clm'' package (the executable is now /usr/bin/clm-cmucl):

apt-get install clm-cmucl

This would be the same as the old ``cmucl-cm-clm'' packages (the executable is now /usr/bin/cm-cmucl):

apt-get install cm-cmucl cm-clm-cmucl

And this would be the same as the old ``cmucl-cm-clm-cmn'' packages (the executable is now /usr/bin/cm-cmucl):

apt-get install cm-cmucl cm-clm-cmucl cm-cmn-cmucl

In more detail:
Common Lisp Music (CLM):
This will install CLM for CMUCL (replace ``cmucl'' with ``clisp'' for the Clisp versions):

apt-get install clm-cmucl

You can start lisp with CLM loaded by typing ``/usr/bin/clm-cmucl'' in a terminal (or running the same command as a lisp subprocess inside Xemacs). See below for how to integrate with CM (and/or CMN).
Common Music Notation (CMN):
This will install CMN for CMUCL (replace ``cmucl'' with ``clisp'' for the Clisp versions):

apt-get install cmn-cmucl

To start lisp with CMN type ``/usr/bin/clm-cmucl'' in a terminal.
Common Music (CM):
This will install CM for CMUCL (replace ``cmucl'' with ``clisp'' for the Clisp versions):

apt-get install cm-cmucl

To start lisp with CM loaded type ``/usr/bin/cm-cmucl'' in a terminal.
If you also want to load CLM when CM starts then install this package:

apt-get install cm-clm-cmucl

If you now type ``cm-cmucl'' then CLM will get loaded and then CM. Installing this one (and assuming you still have clm installed):

apt-get install cm-cmn-cmucl

Then typing ``cm-cmucl'' will load CLM, then CMN and finally CM. Magic :-)
If you are a lisp hacker.. well, then you are building on your own software, right? Anyway, you can also load on demand on top of a working lisp, for example start /usr/bin/lisp and then type (require 'cm), this will load Common Music (for clisp the incantation would be (require "cm.lib")). You get the idea.
02/04/2004 [nando]: Anjuta: updated to version 1.2.1-1 (only on RedHat 9 and Fedora Core 1).
02/04/2004 [nando]: TAP Plugins: updated to version 0.3.0-1.
Added new plugins TAP AutoPanner and TAP DeEsser. Changed TAP Tremolo code to compute and store the cosine table only once on library loading, not for every instance. Changes were made to the memory management of TAP Limiter.

Noteedit: updated to version 2.4.2-1.
Problems with Flex-2.5.x fixed (causes bad dotted notes). MusiXTeX export with choices for character coding. LilyPond export with choices for character coding. Restoring slurs in graces should work. MusicXML in-/ouput further improved (Thanks to Leon Vinken). Bugs fixed: wrong LilyPond stem statements in "no keep stems" case, paste inserts a lot of nonsense rests in multiple voices per staff case.

Qjackctl: updated to version 0.2.4-1.
Patchbay definitions may now be configured with exclusive sockets; this way, only one defined connection is allowed as soon as it's available, being all others immediatelly disconnected whenever attempted. On the connections view, current connected client ports are now slightly highlighted (blue) whenever a client or port is selected on the opposite column (as suggested by Lawrie Abbott). Connections and patchbay drag and drop feature is now bilateral; you can now drag and drop an item from right to left to establish the connection.

Liblrdf: updated to version 0.3.4-1.
This version adds: MacOSX compatibility, courtesy of Taybin Rutkin. A convienient method for reading control scale points. A convienient method for writing preset information.

Gmorgan: updated to version 0.22-1.
Improved Control Edit Window. Improved Drum Edit Window. Fixed Bug in Copy Bars. Inside Help better translated (Thanks to Andreas Kilgus). Fixed bug in sequencer repetitions. Added Chord Display in sequencer window. Fixed Bug in BankLSB. Fixed bug in auto-connect, now connect into the specified port. Improved Mode 2 in minor chords. Improved 6 Chord in harmonization. Added distinction between triad and cuatriad chords in harmonization. Fixed bug in Sequencer Bars Counter. Changed dangerous mode 1 in some patterns and remixed. Added Mini Skin. Added more skin functions. Fixed Bug in sequencer bar count. Added Master Tempo Track in the sequencer. Changed the way to add entry's in Guided Pattern Window.* Added two new skins. (Best for high resolutions). Added four new skin functions. (Red/Green) Led added to sequencer window. Clean up code. Speed up the pattern change. Removed old parts of code. Reduced the amount of memory needed 8 Mb less. Fix bug in Midi Controller Message. Updated inside help.

Timemachine: added (version 0.2.1-1). Thanks to Adrian Likins for the original source package (in the ``style of Planet CCRMA'') that made this an easy to create package! Steve Harris says:
I used to always keep a minidisc recorder in my studio running in a mode where when you pressed record it wrote the last 10 seconds of audio to the disk and then caught up to realtime and kept recording. The recorder died and haven't been able to replace it, so this is a simple jack app to do the same job. It has the advantage that it never clips and can be wired to any part of the jack graph.

The idea is that I doodle away with whatever is kicking around in my studio and when I heard an interesting noise, I'd press record and capture it, without having to try and recreate it. :)

I've been using it to record occasional bursts of interesting noise from jack apps feeding back into each other. It seems to be stable for me, but there could be threading issues and race condidtions if run without SCHED_FIFO (ie. without jackd -R).
01/29/2004 [nando]: Audacity: updated to version 1.2.0-0.pre3.1. Too many changes since 1.1.3 to detail here. Just take a look at the online changelog for the details.
terminatorX: updated to version 3.81-1. Includes Jack support. Thanks to Patrice Tisserand (at IRCAM) for the spec file.
Hydrogen: updated to version 0.8.1-2. Includes a patch by Patrice Tisserand (at IRCAM) to fix the song loop button.
TAP Plugins: added (version 0.2.0-1). More LADSPA plugins! Echo, equalizer, limiter, reverb and tremolo.
TAP-plugins is short for Tom's Audio Processing plugins. It is a bunch of LADSPA plugins for digital audio processing, intended for use in a professional DAW environment such as Ardour.
01/21/2004 [nando]: Alsa Modular Synth: updated to version 1.7.2-1.
Fixed polyphony. Added phaser instrument patch.

Qjackctl: updated to version 0.2.3a-1.
0.2.3a: Custom time format setup for all elapsed times, allowing the display of tenths, hundredths or even milliseconds instead of just hundredths of second for transport time code. 0.2.2: Transport time is now shown with hundredths of second (hh:mm:ss.ddd), as it was once before but not constant zero. Client start delay now configurable on setup. Client-only mode restart has been fixed. Messages color retouching. Popup menus memory leak fixed. 0.2.1: Fixed jackstart/jackd command line parameter argument concatenation. Front panel status display font can now be customized. Some connection graph changes were being silently missed, now fixed. Messages window fallback fix; stdout handling has been retouched to be more line buffer oriented.

Qsynth: updated to version 0.1.0-1.
Added channels breakout and program preset view and edit windows, including a simple preset/profile management feature where the complete channel program assignments may be referenced and saved by name. Drag and dropped soundfont files are now accepted for immediate load. Messages window fallback fix. Standard output/error stream capture setup option; handler retouched to be line buffer oriented. 0.0.3: Single shot timer and restart code path had a graceful rewrite. Messages window blankness rendering fix. Configure time detection of 'round' library function availability. Player drag and drop feature has been prepared, but somehow the internal MIDI player function is still broken.

Seq24: updated to version 0.4.4-1.
0.4.4 Added logo and new tempo graphics to interface. Modified thread timer code. Midi clock is much more solid with -priority flag. No more jitter with proper kernel. Misc bug fixes. 0.4.3: Added a few elements to help live play. 'Ctrl' + Key will mute all other tracks. 'Alt' + Key will save tracks state and return when Alt is lifted. Added ability to change time signatures in sequence. Added helper to view current note mouse is over on keyroll. Ability to see Key and Scale on piano roll.

Noteedit: updated to version 2.4.1-1.
2.4.1: Spanish GUI translation (thanks to Daniel Tonda Castillo). (seems to be) LilyPond 2.x compatible. fixed a terrible slur bug which prevented saved .not files from being loaded. improvements in MusicXML import (Thanks to Leon Vinken).

01/16/2004 [nando]:

Updated the PlanetCore components of the Planet CCRMA package collection.

As usual there are two kernels and matching sets of alsa and midishare drivers, the Planet CCRMA kernel (2.4.24-1.ll, best latency) and the RedHat capabilities enabled kernel (2.4.20-28.1.caps in RedHat 7.3/8.0/9 and 2.4.22-1.2140.nptl.caps in Fedora Core 1, best compatibility). All these kernels contain the latest security patches.

To install the new PlanetCore packages (kernel and alsa drivers):

check your /etc/apt/sources.list file for obsolete Planet CCRMA url's. There was some reshuffling in the repository a while ago and some URL's have changed. Here are the latest configuration files:
RedHat 7.3: sources.list
RedHat 8.0: sources.list
RedHat 9: sources.list
just in case you should also update yout /etc/apt/apt.conf file to the latest: apt.conf
sync with the repository:

apt-get update
install the new kernel and alsa drivers (more details in the kernel and sound configuration section). For single processor machines do:

apt-get install planetccrma-core

Or if you want the RedHat or Fedora Core 1 kernel:

apt-get install planetccrma-core-redhat

For multi-processor machines and the Planet CCRMA kernel:

apt-get install planetccrma-core-smp

Or for the RedHat or Fedora Core 1 kernel:

apt-get install planetccrma-core-redhat-smp

If you need the kernel sources for compiling additional kernel modules do (substitute rh90 with rh73, rh80 or rhfc1 if you have RedHat 7.3, 8.0 or Fedora Core 1 installed):

apt-get install kernel-source#2.4.24-1.ll.rh90.ccrma

For the RedHat kernel (substitute rh90 with rh73 or rh80 if you have RedHat 7.3 or 8.0 installed):

apt-get install kernel-source#2.4.20-28.1.caps.rh90.ccrma

Or for the Fedora Core 1 kernel:

apt-get install kernel-source#2.4.22-1.2140.nptl.caps.rhfc1.ccrma

Caveat: under Fedora Core 1 you must compile any extra kernel modules with gcc32 instead of gcc. Obviously you have to have the gcc32 package installed.
You can, of course, install both kernels (Planet CCRMA and RedHat or Fedora Core 1).
reboot to test the new kernel(s). The Planet CCRMA kernel includes the full ACPI patch (which is not a separate patch any longer), if you are using a laptop make sure that the power management functions are working (ie: the fan turns on). I have seen laptops that will not work without full ACPI support. But I have also seen one which would NOT work with full ACPI support. If you do not want ACPI just add the option ``acpi=off'' to the 2.4.24-1.ll line of /boot/grub/grub.conf. The Fedora Core 1 kernel also comes with ACPI, but it is ``off'' by default (sigh...), so you should add ``acpi=on'' to the grub boot command line if you need it.
if your kernel of choice works fine make it the default by editing /boot/grub/grub.conf.
Caveat: when rebooting for the first time into the new kernel and alsa driver you may see alsa error messages when the state of the mixer is being reloaded by /usr/sbin/alsactl. This is because the numbering or naming of controls may have changed for the particular driver you are using, and no longer matches what is stored in the mixer state file (/etc/asound.state). Just start alsamixer or gamix (or envy24control if you have an ice1712 based card, or the hdsp utilities for the RME cards) for all your cards, make sure all the settings are as you want them, then quit alsamixer or gamix and run ``/usr/sbin/alsactl store'' to update the state file.

So, what's new in the kernel and alsa???

Planet CCRMA kernel 2.4.24-1.ll[smp]

Based on the 2.4.24 release (pretty much the same as 2.4.23 except for important security patches).

This is the list of core patches, pretty much the same as for the previous kernel (updated lm_sensors to 2.8.2):

capabilities patch
preemptible kernel patch
low latency patch (enabled through proc)
read latency tuning
desktop tuning 1 and 2
HZ=1000
drm updates from the redhat kernel
drm low latency patch
dma support for cdrom audio extraction
lm_sensors 2.8.2 kernel modules
nfs patches

The low latency patch is now ``on'' by default.

RedHat kernel 2.4.20-28.1.caps / Fedora Core 1 2.4.22-1.2140.nptl.caps

This is the latest release of the RedHat or Fedora Core 1 kernel with the capabilities patch added.

ALSA driver 1.0.1-1.cvs

New version of the ALSA drivers, based on ALSA CVS of 2004/01/08

01/15/2004 [nando]: Jack: updated to version 0.94.0-1.Mostly minor, internal changes:
Added missing extern "C" for better C++ support. Added missing copyright header. Better placement of watchdog check so it doesn't interfere with freewheeling mode. Fixed option parsing problems. ALSA driver reports actual samplerate, not requested samplerate. Handles hardware where playback and capture rates differ better. Support for native endian S24_3 format used by USB soundcards. jack_metro example ported to new transport API. cleaned up prototype declarations for jack_initialize_shm() and jack_cleanup_shm(). Eliminated calls to jack_error() when jack_client_new() fails because the server was not running. Eliminated other calls to fprintf() in libjack. Won't try and compile iec61883 if libraw1394 is below version 0.10.0.Internal bug fixes. Updated documentation.

Ardour: updated to version 0.9beta9-2. Now, I already had packaged and released a "beta9", so how come there's another? What I packaged was a temporary trial tarball with some bug fixes. This is the "official" beta9 release, so all the new bugs are really really "official" :-) A really long and detailed list of improvements and fixes follows:
Crossfades: crossfades automatically created when regions overlap; crossfades can be active/inactive by default; context menu control; no crossfade editor yet. Automation: all automation data is now drawn in its own track (1 track per plugin parameter, plus gain + pan); direct drawing/editing of automation within these tracks now works; no selection possible yet; lots of refinement necessary. Routing: support for master and control outs; solo can be done using control outs, leaving master outs untouched, as required for live PA work.

"follow playhead" behaviour now controllable; mouse pan and automation modes removed; splash screen modified to be faster to show up and borderless; new session dialog totally redesigned; transport window slimmed down; nudge clocks and buttons moved into editor; selection "type" buttons removed ; geometry of windows saved more appropriately; SFDB window now includes filesystem browser as an alternate way of selecting soundfiles; "rude solo" blinking indicator added to show soloing; "rude auditioning" blinking indicator added to show auditioning; export now uses JACK freewheel mode, to allow busses to be exported; no more per-track looping; newly recorded material now aligns correctly with existing material; playhead position more accurate during playback; waveform display cache error fixed, correcting errors in displays of waveforms past the first screen; correct CFLAGS for optimization on x86 and PPC platforms; selective display of rulers possible; context menu for markers added; snap to 32nd,16th,8th,1/4 beats now possible; code redesign for Editor improves compilation independence, making development easier.; improvements in ruler displays as zoom changes; number of meters in a mixer strip reflects pre/post setting by matching number of inputs or outputs respectively; ignore keyboard modifiers (NumLock etc.) that are not specifically requested by the user.; mixer strip visibility now persistent across invocations of ardour; editor track controls layout tidied up and rationalized; new options in options editor; all use of deprecated libsigc++ syntax removed; ghost region drawn during capture to show progress of recording; clickboxes that are supposed to wrap now wrap correctly

Plus, dozens of small bugs and inconveniences fixed.
01/13/2004 [nando]: Updated Rosegarden 4 to version 0.9.6-1.
``This release primarily addresses a significant problem with 0.9.5 that was affecting sequencer timing performance in some circumstances. We strongly recommend users of 0.9.5 to upgrade.''

Updated Snd to version 7.1-1. Some selected excerpts from the release notes:
``sndplay jack support and other bugfixes thanks to Kjetil S. Matheussen. rtio.rb and extensions.rb thanks to Michael Scholz (and many other *.rb improvements). hooks.rb and hooks support in Ruby thanks to Michael Scholz. Rick provided *definstrument-hook* (defins.lisp) to make it easier to deal with CLM instruments in CM. Bill Sack provided stochastic.ins and stochasticRT.ins...''

Updated Jamin to version 0.8.0-1 (first stable release). This is the first stable release.
Updated Gmorgan to version 0.21-1. Too many changes to list here, please go to the web page for a detailed list of changes (the last Planet CCRMA release was 0.18-1).
01/09/2004 [nando]: Updated Muse to version 0.6.3-1.
``This release is mainly a bugfix release. Check the ChangeLog at the download for a list of fixed items.''

I have added a few more Pd libraries to the mix:
Added Pd Chaos version 0.2003.12.22: A set of objects for PD which calculate various "Chaotic Attractors"; including: lorenz, rossler, henon, ikeda, attract1, base, base3, dejong, gingerbreadman and many more...
Added Pd Cxc version 0.05-1.cvs: Many useful externals.
Added Pd Creb version 0.9.0-1.cvs: This is a collection of pd externals. My bag of tricks.
Note that from now on the name of the Pd external and library packages will have the ``pd-'' prefix. This will make it easier to select them (as suggested in the mailing list) in synaptic. All the Pd related packages have moved to their own separate PdWorld page. Packages whose names have changed are (at this point):
flext to pd-flext, syncgrain to pd-syncgrain, fftease to pd-fftease, fluid to pd-fluid, dyn to pd-dyn, idelay to pd-idelay, zexy to pd-zexy. The new pd-creb, pd-cxc and pd-chaos already use the new naming convention. Some older packages have not yet been converted.
And, of course, best wishes for a great New Year to all planet dwellers... (I've left a couple of 2003 changes here for context)
12/24/2003 [nando]: Added a bunch of Pd externals and libraries:
Added Pd Flext version 0.4.5-1.cvs: a c++ framework to create pd externals, includes built in support for stk and sndobj.
Added Pd Syncgrain version 0.2003.12.10: implements synchronous granular synthesis.
Added Pd Idelay version 0.2003.12.22: interpolating delay using flext layer
Added Pd Fluid version 0.2003.12.10: fluidsynth external
Added Pd Fftease version 0.0.0-1.cvs: a set of Live Spectral Processors
Added Pd Dyn version 0.1.0-1.cvs: dynamic object management
Added Pd PeRColate version 0.09-1: includes a variety of synthesis objects, including physical modeling, modal and PhISM (Physically Inspired Sonic Modeling) class instruments
12/22/2003 [nando]: Updated Pd to version 0.37.0-1.
Rebuilt the Pd Ggee externals version 0.24.0-4.
Updated the Pd Gem externals to version 0.888-0.pre1.1
Updated the Pd Iemlib externals to version 1.14-1
Updated the Pd Zexy externals to version 1.3-1.cvs
Several libraries updated or rebuilt in the process, Avifile, Libmpeg3, Gltt.
Several video applications have now landed on Fedora Core 1 (and when applicable have been updated on all RedHat releases, unless otherwise noted:
Updated Kino to version 0.6.5-1.
Rebuilt Kinoplus version 0.2.2-1.
Updated Smilutils to version 0.3.0-1.
Updated Timfx to version 0.1.12-1.
Updated Cinelerra to version 1.1.8-1 (not yet available on RedHat 7.3).
Rebuilt Gscanbus version 0.7.1-1.
Several libraries have been added, upgraded or rebuilt in the process, A52dec, Faad2, FFmpeg, Imlib2, Libavc1394, Libdv, Libquicktime.

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