Max may be coming to Linux!

[matyas]

Cycling74 is apparently “actively exploring” a native port of Max/MSP to Linux:

https://support.cycling74.com/hc/en-us/ ... -on-Linux-

Still very much up in the air, but exciting nonetheless!

[d.healey]

Still proprietary though

[bluebell]

More and more proprietary and closed source software is avaliable for Linux. Let's think of it as a social experiment.

Will Linux users be willing to pay for software? I'd say yes. I did (Modartt Pianoteq).

But much more important:
Will Linux users march into digital slavery? How much control will they accept?

• Will they accept a license number/file? I'd say yes.
• Will they accept a lincense number/file that is delivered over Internet? I'd say yes.
• Will they give in to a push to buy licensing hardware like iLok? I'd say no.
• Will they accept software that has to "phone home" periodically to renew its license number/file? I'd say no.

The last point is the way how subscription models work so I'd say that subscription models won't work. Linux users are not used that they don't own what's on their machine. For this approach business needs new Linux users as a copy of Windows and Mac users.

[d.healey]

Will Linux users be willing to pay for software?

Gladly, as long as it's free software.

[lilith]

Max is more or less Pure Data, I guess.

[tavasti]

Will Linux users be willing to pay for software? I'd say yes. I did (Modartt Pianoteq).

But much more important:
Will Linux users march into digital slavery? How much control will they accept?

• Will they accept a license number/file? I'd say yes.
• Will they accept a lincense number/file that is delivered over Internet? I'd say yes.
• Will they give in to a push to buy licensing hardware like iLok? I'd say no.
• Will they accept software that has to "phone home" periodically to renew its license number/file? I'd say no.

The last point is the way how subscciption models work so I'd say that subsciption models won't work. Linux users are not used that they don't own what's on their machine. For this approach business needs new Linux users as a copy of Windows and Mac users.

More mainstream Linux gets, wider is scale what kind of users there is. More users means more users who use it just as a tool, and ideology does not have nothing to do with it. So they have view 'what I need and want' viewpoint. There is many windows users who won't take iLok. And I suspect old hardware dongle iLok will anyway die. New, software iLok, I have it already in my Linux system. I have some plugins that need it, and have to say it needs to be really good plugin for really cheap that I will accept it

[Gps]

My two cents, I remember Linux users (gamers) asking for good nvdia drivers for Linux.
The reply they got was from nvidia was, nobody games on Linux, and our drivers are good enough for desktop use.

I also remember people asking for Linux support and most sites from companies then asking, what is Linux ?

We have come a long way, and I am not against proprietary software in general.

In my ideal world all games would support Linux without proton, and there would be a Cubase Linux version.

I am very happy about how far we have come though.
Focusrite stating they don't official support Linux, but it should work on a modern Distro.

There is still a lot of room for improvement, but lets stay positive.

So if max is coming to Linux, that is a good thing in my book, even if its not opensource.

[matyas]

I agree with the above posters. If you don't want to use proprietary software, you don't have to do so. I fully respect that some people are fully committed to using only open-source tools. I myself tend to prefer open-source applications when I have an option, which is why use SuperCollider, MuseScore, and OpenMusic, and I've become a subscribing supporter of Ardour. But I believe that anything that grows the Linux user base, especially in the audio and arts communities, is a good thing, and having a larger user base benefits everyone in terms of improved hardware support and general visibility.
Beyond that, I do think that Max, despite being proprietary, is a good fit for Linux. Many of the popular libraries and objects for Max are open-source themselves, and there is a rich culture of sharing code and patches among Max users. Most Max users are highly technical individuals, many write code, and some already use Linux in other aspects of their personal or professional lives.
It is to this last group that I think Cycling74's post is addressed: there is a category of Max user who would like to use Linux but is held back by the absence of Max on the platform. For some people "use PD/SuperCollider/CSound" isn't going to be the answer, because they've built an entire career on Max and may have hundreds of patches, including objects they developed themselves in some cases, and porting all of that to another environment is a non-starter. However, some of these people are interested in Linux (or at least frustrated with Apple and Microsoft) and would consider switching to Linux if Max were available.

[glowrak guy]

I'm knot a coder, or MAX user, but over the years, I've read many scintillating descriptions of MAX applications.
And having some similarities in purpose and capability with Pure Data, I suspect MAX on linux will
benefit a wide range of musicians, as well as bolstering the existing coders. Here's hoping!

[milkii]

At least it will help more people transfer to Linux and come to the ecosystem in general, which I'm sure will rub off on them and they will enrich further.