OK, on a roll!
David Merrill's Audiopint got mentioned before on this list, since it's a headless box running Linux + PD. Fantastic project, very well-documented! Here's his install instruction for Ubuntu Edgy:
http://audiopint.org/docs/install
He suggests mounting /var and /tmp on a ramdisk using /etc/fstab. Couldn't be simpler!
Where did people suggest to get ITX boards, if mini-itx.com is so unreliable?
best, d.
Derek Holzer wrote:
Come to think of it, are there any Linux distros for x86 architectures which don't use this multi-user/networked server paradigm and instead follow the "embedded" model more closely? This would be very interesting for exactly the situations I describe, where you would want the computer to behave more like a dedicated DSP unit or something similar, which just gets switched on and off with the mains like everything else in the rack without fooling around with screen, mouse or keyboard. I suppose a pushbutton wired to a "shutdown" script might do the trick too, but I'd rather go with something more bulletproof and requiring less attention.
best, d.
Derek Holzer wrote:
The whole idea of read-only is for two reasons:
- To protect the HD in case of unexpected shutdowns (which could happen
nightly in a typical museum situation) 2) To preserve the CF memory, which has a limited number of write cycles, in the case of a HD-less system
If the computer needs to be networked, then you might be moving away from the situation I have in mind, mainly an audio/video system in a gallery or museum. Another situation for this would be a "headless" computer for live stage performance, where you would often be powering it up and down like any other effects unit or sound module. (Unless you're one of those weirdos that likes typing on the laptop in front of crowds...)