I can use my Conectiv under Linux, but not Vista. Why, again?
Linux compatibility problems? Wally’s got his DJ gear working on Linux, and broken on Vista. And that makes him MAD. We’re celebrating random rant Friday, so let’s have at it until it gets fixed, ‘kay? He gripes because he loves, I’m sure. His opinions are his own, but I think it is important to be honest about the way users do tend to react when hardware support isn’t in sync with major OS updates — particularly when many of those new operating systems are preinstalled on machines, and licenses are pricey. -Ed.
UPDATED — by coincidence, see the end of the post: drivers just popped up for Vista.
As I’ve written on CDM before, I’m a big fan of the M-Audio Conectiv USB DJ audio interface. It’s a great bang-for-buck device that works really well with my existing collection of MsPinky vinyl.
Unfortunately though, I can’t use it (or Torq) with my new Vaio notebook running Vista (not easily anyway - I’m sure I could do some run-around by installing it as a generic USB audio device and using ASIO4ALL). Why not? Because M-Audio has yet to release drivers for it. Vista hasn’t changed for 7 months. Developers (including M-Audio, I’m sure) have had their hands on it for at least the last year. It’s been out officially for 5 months now.
However, I had no issues getting it up and running on my 8-year-old Linux box. I powered my ancient Dell running FC5 down, connected the USB cable, and booted back up. Sure enough, it was recognized as a USB audio device. A few modprobes and .asoundrc edits later, I’ve got it working with Alsa, Jack, etc.
The moderators’ dissembling on the Torq forums is nothing short of breathtaking. In this thread, entitled “alternatives to work around Vista conflict“, moderator MusicMeister says “And you can complain all you want, but M-Audio is only one of MANY companies that don’t work on Vista currently.” Wow! Take THAT, you whiny Vista user. Imagine wanting to use a hardware device released at the end of 2006 with an OS released at the beginning of 2007. The nerve! Great response to your customers, BTW. It’s interesting that both my RME Multiface and Presonus Firestudio work on Vista, using the same drivers for XP, even. Want to know what else works on Vista? DJDecks, Deckadance, Traktor3, Live 6.0.7, Max/MSP 4.6.3, Reason 3.0.4, Renoise 1.8. You get the picture.
Later in the thread, a user asks “How hard is it to create or update a new DRIVER?” The rather disingenuous (or grossly misinformed) response by MusicMeister is: “Very. Especially when the OS changes as much as Vista did from XP.”
You know, maybe I’m misinformed, but I find it hard to believe that much changed (in the audio layers, anyway) when I can use the same vendor-provided drivers for both XP and Vista with my Multiface and my Firestudio.
I’d go on with MusicMeister’s ridiculous statements, but the idea that Vista is SO much different from XP that it would take them 7+ months since Vista was feature-frozen to get a driver out the door for a USB 1.1 audio device is laughable on it’s face. Perhaps I’m wrong, and updating the Conectiv drivers for Vista is this huge technical challenge for M-Audio, and it’s developers are working day and night to get a stable driver out the door.
What’s much more likely is that the cause for the delay is poor technical project management at Digidesign that short-shrifts the M-Audio DJ division, and unfortunately, we customers are paying the price for that.
UPDATE Hours after this post went out, M-Audio announced the availability of beta drivers for the Conectiv here: http://www.torq-dj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3153. While I’d like to think that CDM is a major source of influence in the digital audio world, and my snarky post led to some major panic at M-Audio HQ (”CDM is complaining about the lack of drivers for the Conectiv. Get something out there - STAT!”), but it’s probably just a major coincidence.
18 Comments
Leave a CommentDJ McManus
How about a demo for this program?
I’d seriously love to actually try the lite version out. I’m quite open-minded about it. I really don’t care for the controller interfaces though.
I own 3 programs for DJing and quite frankly I had to try cracked versions to see what they were really like before buying them. Deckadance still crashes like like a blind juggler. Traktor needs to get them beat grids sorted. Live really lets you do it the way you like and does what it’s supposed to do.
rant here. - Why no metal box? I can get a tin of mints or tea for under $5 but this thing comes in looking like a happy meal toy.
June 29, 2007 @ 5:12 pm
Wallace Winfrey
The case is plastic but it’s quite solid for my needs. The knobs and dials feel good. One could splurge and get something like the Audio8 or the RME HDSP BPM, but for the price it’s a great piece of hardware. Too bad I’m actually forbidden from even trying to use the XP drivers on my Vista notebook.
June 29, 2007 @ 5:28 pm
Wallace Winfrey
BTW, I own Deckadance too, and while it’s got a lot of room for improvement I can’t say I’ve managed to crash it yet. Maybe if you need another DJ app to fool around with you should give DJDecks a try, especially with the SPM skin (search the forums).
June 29, 2007 @ 5:34 pm
regend
Serato!
Next up is the ability to manipulate video files.
June 29, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
Wallace Winfrey
MsPinky’s been able to do this (manipulate video) for 5+ years. I’m sure Serato is a fine system, but I’ve cast my lot with the little guy, the system with the Max/MSP objects and the freely-available SDK.
June 29, 2007 @ 6:33 pm
DJ McManus
I’d love to hear some thoughts on Torq from people who have tried the other software options. Maybe some views on the EQing, mixing, beat synch, and the general feel of the program.
Please, no hating on asking about beat synch. Some programs it is too choppy and others I can see actually having two tracks synched smoothly while adding extra effects and loops.
Wallace - Deckadance crahes for me if I’ve go some effects on and then trow a new track on. It has happened enough that I’m never surprised anymore. I like the feel more than Traktor even though they are similar I find the EQs in decadance smoother. I just don’t like the feel and sound of Traktor. I may just break down and get the lite version of Torq?
June 29, 2007 @ 7:11 pm
dark
http://www.torq-dj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3151&sid=6d8b2ca8a278a027ae2efed944dd05e3
Just when you did this report, later today the drivers came out.
June 30, 2007 @ 8:42 am
Adrian Anders
Simple solution: roll back to WinXP. You can most likely find the XP hardware drivers for your notebook even if Sony doesn’t officially support it by using PC Wizard (http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php). That’s what I did with my Toshiba. It took about a day to get everything squared away, and now all my legacy hardware and software works no problem on XP (screw MS for breaking compatibility so much in Vista!)
ATA
June 30, 2007 @ 8:55 pm
Wallace Winfrey
dark: yes, see my update.
adrian anders: sony will not provide me with a free copy of windows xp. the notebook shipped with vista, and i’m not buying an OS that will likely be obsolete in a year.
it’s a moot point anyway — i’ve installed the beta drivers and they work great.
July 1, 2007 @ 1:23 am
DJ McManus
Now if they post a demo I’ll know Wallace is Oprah’s brother.
July 1, 2007 @ 2:00 am
Vasques
Panic, Highly unlikely. Coincidence, I think yes. I remember 2 moderators talking about Vista support in May.
One said “Do not count on vista compatible. I am taking a big guess here on this and I do not think it will happen until after 1.5 comes out.”
The other moderator mention to him M-Audio has started to release Vista compato drivers and software.
July 1, 2007 @ 3:31 am
MusicMeister
Ouch… I’ve been quoted out of context….
I do want to make a few things clear.
1. I do NOT work for M-Audio now and never have in the past.
2. The step to Vista was significant. If you think Vista isn’t significantly different than XP try asking an IT professional that’s having to support it in the enterprise. What the hell, you can ask me because I am one of those IT professionals that is having to support it in the enterprise.
3. At the time I made those comments Serato had been working about 2 weeks - and even now they recommend using XP over Vista. Pro Tools doesn’t work on Vista, neither does Final Scratch and a lot of other applications. And of the applications you listed most do NOT require the development of a hardware driver.
4. I’ve worked with people doing driver development and it’s not an easy feat.
5. I’m surprised you didn’t bring up the OS X 10.4.9 and 10.4.10 breaking the Torq application and how it could possibly impact driver development with developers being pulled to work on fixing uers that were ‘down’ or were busy with the deployment of a new product (the Xponent).
But hey… what do I know… I’ve only been working in the IT field for 20 years….
As for the ‘complain all you want’ it was aimed squarely at some users who had been complaining in the past over what was more or less ‘non-issues’. If it ‘offended’ you - I apologize.
But again, I’m NOT an employee of M-Audio, DigiDesign, Avid or any of it’s divisions…
July 1, 2007 @ 8:18 pm
DJ McManus
Dude, you’re on the Starship Enterprise? Awesome!
Hook us up with some M-Audio t-shirts.
July 2, 2007 @ 12:10 pm
Peter Kirn
@MusicMeister:
These opinions were Wally’s, not my own, but while I tend to agree with what you’re saying, the key point is the amount of lead time Microsoft gave its developers. Music developers were invited directly to Microsoft headquarters well before the release — I think it was August 2006 when the last developer summit took place. You had an OS that was feature-frozen in 2006, that had its business release in November 2006, that was available to the public and preinstalled in January 2007. By the time you hit July 2007, you would hope that the situation were more together. And you do have to notice the discrepancy between some companies who are there and some that are not. It doesn’t seem to be for lack of resources.
Something is breaking down. It may not be entirely on the developer side, and may not be entirely on Microsoft’s side. But you have to admit, this is not the way things should operate.
I am quite confident that this is not the picture Microsoft wanted painted of the OS by July 2007. That’s not to say there’s no reason for this to happen, and you’re right in that it’s hardly unprecedented, but I hope the development community is able to come together and find a better way of working in the long run.
July 2, 2007 @ 1:49 pm
carmen
i remember getting a vista driver SDK disk in the mail in like…2003. and that was when i ordered it - it was probably available earlier. it talked about how the audio api was changing etc. so. . i can sort of blame developers. but also microsoft for deciding to break everything to add new DRM features to every portion of the OS..
July 10, 2007 @ 9:57 pm
mike
hi wally:
though this article is mostly about vista support, it is also the top hit for the few of us looking for information on how to use the connectiv with linux.
surprisingly little information out there; would you mind sharing any edits you did you make the device work with the usb subsystem and alsa?
cheers..
December 1, 2007 @ 9:13 pm
djtachu
hello, i am interested in do work my torq-connectiv with linux, how i can?, i want unbuntu. thanks.
March 13, 2008 @ 9:30 am
Chris
I too am interested in how you got Conectiv running under Linux. Which software do you use to actually mix the Mp3 files?
Thanks,
Chris
April 14, 2008 @ 6:51 pm
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