[SLL] technically speaking, what might the vendor do?

[Glenn Stone]

On Tue, Dec 02, 2008 at 09:10:11AM -0800, Mathew D. Watson wrote:
> Installing a new kernel is beyond my skill level. I do update whenever  
> ubuntu tells me a new kernel is available. Right now it is 2.6.24-22.

[trying to get real-time hardware, specifically a fast camera, to work]

I was gonna suggest Ubuntu Studio, which is a whole distro specifically
related to audio/video/graphics kinds of things and which includes a
realtime kernel, but that's a full-house reinstall, when what you really
need is just the kernel.  This is dead easy:

sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install linux-rt

(Or just run adept or synaptic ("package manager") and go find the
"linux-rt" package and select it for install, if you want to use the GUI.)  

Then reboot, and hit Escape at the GRUB prompt (gotta be fast!) and make
sure it's booting the realtime kernel by default, and if it's not, choose
it; there are a couple of different ways to make it default if it's not, but
we'll get to that if we need to.  *Normally* Ubuntu makes whatever kernel
got installed last the default.

For those interested in a bit more complete set of additions to their
existing desktop (I just gave Mat the kernel because he already had all the
apps he needed), look at 

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio/PackageList

It lists three or four metapackages - available from the standard Ubuntu
repositories, I checked - you can install which have as dependencies all the
packages the Ubuntu guys think you need to effectively do studio kinds of
things  One for audio, one for video, one for graphics, one for plugins, and
one that's the full look-and-feel desktop so you can convert _in situ_.  

(Personally I think Ubuntu Studio is one of the ultimate expressions of
freedom... it's Free Software that's *about* music and art and all those
ultimate expressions of humanity.  Geek meets artist, and does something
wonderful.)

(Of course, sometimes the artist *is* the geek... but that's a whole 'nother
kettle of fish.)

- Glenn
Peace and Love and Liberty... and Music.
   -- Bob Marley