WE CAME, WE SAW, WE GOT FRUSTRATED! Oct 28th 2019

We had a plan. We knew what we had to do and when to do it. Now here's what actually happened. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty....

Nothing was as planned lol. I logged on to the server at 540pm and noticed that W10 Mixxx had crashed and therefore our autoplay was off. This only happens when W10 does something naughty to prep for some installation shenanigans so it was something we needed to deal with urgently. Nick therefore started his autoplay at 545pm. I had remembered that we needed to do a disk optimisation before doing a dual boot install, but this took only 15 minutes. So despite the initial setback, we were back in business at 6pm.

Then we encountered a second frustration. We needed to enter BIOS so we could change the boot up sequence, so I could install Ubuntu. Unfortunately, the previous owner of our server had put a BIOS password on the system. He'd also locked the BOOT UP sequence (you can enter this on most systems without going into the full BIOS Menu) into the BIOS settings, so I couldn't even go that root. It looked like we would be scuppered before I even started. (W10 does not allow you to uninstall Windows from a normal boot up. Good eh!).

Luckily, after about 20mins of trying passwords we could think of, the Rev came to the rescue with a bolt of inspiration and we got the password and were in!

So I set Ubuntu off to install. We were only 20mins behind schedule, so I heaved a sigh of relief, left the install running and went and got a glass of wine. (Well, actually, Miss Bonnie brought me a glass of wine).

And it was as smooth as you like. The install I mean, not the wine- although that was pretty nice too. But as it was installing I noticed the music Nick was playing was buffering. Gradually that buffering got worse and worse until there was no music at all.

Now I know what you're thinking. I was installing Ubuntu on our server and that was causing the issue, right? Nope. You see one of the things that make RRO unique is that we use a distributed music platform, meaning that all our DJs can broadcast from their own locations, rather than come to a traditional bricks and mortar studio. So the issue was external to what I was doing.

However, instead of being able to concentrate on the Ubuntu install, I spent the next hour frantically testing different things with Nick. Have you noticed major technical issues always seem to happen on a Sunday evening??? Not just for RRO, but for everyone?

Anyway, eventually we were forced to admit defeat- I raised a ticket with shoutcast, and Nick had to abandon his show :(

Turns out it was a major outage at Centova, beyond both our and shoutcast's control. Anyway, I then returned to Ubuntu, which had done all the heavy lifting itself and everything- including the dual boot menu on bootup- was working without changes.

So I then installed the necessary tools for our Dee Play needs, and finally, Mixxx Ubuntu itself.

And then came our third issue.

The server uses the Intel HLA sound system, the one system that Ubuntu has issues with. So whilst the play works fine, the Mic still has serious hiss issues. Okay thought I, I know what extra applets to download to fix this. Sadly, the same settings that work on my HP desktop in Studio A do not work on the DELL Server in Studio B.

So, we have a fully working Ubuntu Dee Play server, but one that is currently unable to perform a live show. And because I will be doing my 12 hour Halloween Fest on Wednesday from Studio B, this could have caused a major issue. By now it was getting late, I was still noting the external server warnings and sending them over to shoutcast, and I needed to take a break. Even worse, I couldn't do a connection test with Ubuntu Mixxx cos of the Centova outage.

So I sat back, finished by wine and thought about it.

Luckily I left the Windows 10 setup on there, so until I fix the Ubuntu mic issue, we can let the more stable Ubuntu install run the autoplay, and switch to Windows for the live shows when I (or Miss B- oh yes, she's getting the bug!) do them from here. Furthermore, Ubuntu 19 is out soon, and hopefully they have taken note on the complaints on their sound management system and made it more core to the OS. We will see.

Anyhow, overnight Centova has restarted their servers, and I have been able to connect Dee Play and broadcast. I am now doing a Ubuntu Mixxx/Centova broadcast test, and after one hour there hasn't been a single drop.

So, to quote Bon Jovi... wooooooooohoooooooooooooooooohhh, we're halfway there! (hence the Bon Jovi gif lol).

Will do some more fiddling this week to fix the Mic issue, but otherwise, all now looking good, and internal autoplay issues will be dramatically reduced!!

Saturday 26th October. Nearing DM Day! (aka DESTROY MICROSOFT DAY)

Well, all the music and relevant files on the DeePlay Server are now backed up in preparation for the installation of Ubuntu on the DeePlay server. That whole process took about 3 hours of on and off work since last night (copying files off the server onto the back up external drives etc). We also had to take note of the Microsoft assigned computer ID number and W10 licence number (did you know MS now tag YOUR computer to YOUR Win10 licence, making is even more difficult to move licence from one machine to another?- don't let your computer drive die without having a note of both numbers folks)- which you can't copy and paste or export either, you have to manually write it down or take a pic snapshot.

Now we're hoping to initially have a dual boot system- Microsoft and Ubuntu, as we've never tested Ubuntu MIxxx for more than 3 days continuous use. But MS, aware that more and more people are doing this to test drive Ubuntu (or any other Linux desktop) and then deleting MS later when they realise how much better Ubuntu is, did a sneaky trick a couple of updates ago and moved Windows essential code into the middle of your hard drive and locked it in, making dual installs a lot more difficult. (the gif represents Windows nightmares lol)

Note, nothing in the two moves I have described above is about making life easy for the user.

If there is any difficulty in setting up a dual install, I'll just go for a full install of Ubuntu and delete the entire Windows partition from the off (hence why I backed up all the music).

Anyway, here's the plan for Sunday.

1. 6pm Nick takes over the autoplay from his machine in readiness for his DiVerse 80s electro pop show at 7pm.

2. I immediately reboot the server and interrupt the boot up sequence to drop into bios and change the boot up order, so that the USB ports are first.

3. I put the Ubuntu Image USB into the server and reboot.

4. I choose "Test Drive Ubuntu" from the options screen, which allows me to install a virtual system to test Ubuntu drivers on the all the things we need. I can even download and test the apps I want to use, although none of them will will remain after I instruct the system, from within the virtual system- I don't have to restart or anything- to now do a full install.

5. (btw, in Test Drive, I can also access the resize partition applet to do any sorting in readiness for the full install- it is during this bit I can work out whether or not W10 is gonna be problematic)

6. Around 7pm I'll instruct Ubuntu to do the full install, either for dual boot or for a complete wipe out of Windows.

7. A full install, including getting updates AND 3rd party driver updates for the computer you are installing on, takes between 30 to 45 minutes (how long does Windows take???). This includes the free LibreOffice which quite frankly blows MS Office out of the water for about a 10th of the disk and RAM space).

8. Now let's say there's a few little tweaks necessary and be generous and say at 8pm I start downloading Mixxx and everything I need to configure it. That takes about 15 minutes. However, I then need to test the sound settings, especially for the mic, and may need to download and configure 3 other applets (Pulse, Pulse Effects and Sound etc). This is the tricky bit as the one failing that Ubuntu has is advanced sound management is not built in from the ground up. On the plus side, once you have got the settings right, unlike Windows, it doesn't change them to suit its own apps!!!

9. Then at 9pm say, I'll restore the music. Now, if I was able to do a dual boot, Ubuntu will allow me to access the Windows partition, so I can simple copy the music on the internal drive and be done in 15 minutes. If I wasn't then I'll have to copy music back from the external drives. Again however, USB speeds and file moves seem to be so much faster with Ubuntu, so by the time Nick has finished his show and allowed for an extra hour autoplay (thanks Nick), everything will be up and running and less troublesome than Windows :)

There, easy, right!?!

However, this IS Revolution Radio.Online. I'll write up what actually happens after!

23rd October 2019: IT'S SHOWTIME!

Well, as testing on the Falcon continues, it is of course show day for me and I am in the middle of The Wednesday Supplement but at the same time, Windows 10 caused another problem on our DeePlay server. Since that last "bug" update about 2 weeks ago, the one that caused problems all over the world, our server has had more issues in this period, than in all the other time we've had the server up here in the North!

So we have decided that we are going to update the server to Ubuntu this week. Oh yes. The time is nigh for Windows here at RRO.

Time for the bells to ring!

(think about my choice of gif lol)

Saturday 19th October 2019: MERGING THE TECH

I haven't updated the diary for a while but that does not mean I haven't been busy looking and updating the tech. We now have the syntax worked out for the Ubuntu use of HLA based sound systems (I've done all my shows in Studio A recently without issues) and because of recent disastrous Windows 10 updates, we will now speed up the roll out of Ubuntu across RRO show systems, including the main server. This will reduce the interruptions in service, both for DeePlay and our live shows. In fact today, I will be updating the RRO DJ Guide by adding a Ubuntu support section.

Secondly, my beloved Falcon is slowly coming on leaps and bounds. I now have a fully operational workhorse of a computer, with enhanced sound and graphic management tools, audio control panels, full Office suite, web browser, and gorgeous multi-tasking OS, as well as external device management (currently an Atari CD Rom but an external DVD drive will be added shortly). I am still waiting to purchase the adapter to connect her to the internet, and, sadly, the old 1994 mixing software cannot manage directly the MP3 plays on Mixxx in the show computer, although new software updates (yes, Atari computers are still having software produced!) will indeed let me do that. And of course, when I update the Falcon to the new MiNT OS, it will link more easily to the Ubuntu OS on the show computer.

Not bad for a 27 year old computer with 1.2GB of disk space and 14MB of RAM (yes, MEGABYTE).

More updates next week.

October 4th 2019: Ticking Over

Well, it's been a few days since my last post (been crazy outside of RRO!) but that doesn't mean gentle reader that the Tech Man hasn't been quietly busy.

First off, Windows updates policy has now started to take its toll on the other DJs systems. As will my laptop, Ms Deed's desktop got an update that corrupted her Windows install, and will not repair or restore no matter what she did. So it looks like Ubuntu may be rolled out across RRO sooner than expected. Tech Man has of course been involved in that discussion with some initial advice, and has spent spare time the last few days upping his knowledge of Ubuntu settings.

What have we discovered as part of this?

Well, Ubuntu is better, more stable and faster than Windows. Updates are properly managed and major updates come every 6 months, after extensive testing across multiple platform configurations, unlike Windows, which is purposely designed to only work with the latest and greatest systems and peripherals. On the downside, the basic File Manager is, well, basic- although you can download a more advanced one easy enough.

Now the interface is similar to Windows in term of point and click (although I think it looks much more elegant than Windows, and has a simpler app management and launch system than Windows), so if you're proficient with Windows you should pick up basic usage of Ubuntu within a few minutes. Furthermore you get a wealth of apps, both by Ubuntu and third party developers, downloaded and installed for free on install.

However, the full power of Ubuntu lies within Terminal access, that is you need to learn how to utilise the command structure of the system. People like me who grew up with the Atari, Amiga or Acorn operating systems (all superior to Windows even now!), can learn that pretty quickly, but even so, using it is not only tricky (the syntax has to be spot on), but potentially fraught with dangers.

The other downside is that for some reason the Ubuntu designers didn't think to include a fully integrated sound management system in the design. You have to download a set of separate applets to set up sound drivers for different apps. Worse, there are certain devices, including the Intel HLA sound cards, that Ubuntu don't like. To make these work, you have to get syntax right, and set up each time you use an app in this context. The good news is, once it's set up it stays set up until you switch it off, unlike Windows that will quite happily hijack settings on the fly whilst in use!

Overall, Ubuntu is deffo the one to go for as Windows becomes more about MS selling you stuff dynamically more and more with every update (as well as screwing up more and more older systems), and Ubuntu is more stable and breathes new life into those self same older systems.

The second thing we've been working on is Dee Play 2.0, launched this week. Dee Play is our autoplay between the live shows, and the new version has more rock genres, far many more bands and artists, and is designed to mean that you should never hear the same song twice in any 7 day period. Furthermore, the autoplay will change every 4 weeks, and we have 4 blocks ready to go, and we still have 75,000 songs to sort through to see what else goes into those blocks, including more new bands and artists, and a few surprises to break up the none stop rock to give you a bit of variety (songs by bands like Toyah, Kasabian, Pretenders etc).

Lastly, Project Falcon is continuing quite nicely, although we are waiting for a network card so we can connect to the internet AND router to interact with the rest of the studio equipment (although all the extra music peripherals it can already talk to via the hardware mixing desk and inbuilt DSP chip- not bad for a computer built in 1992 running on 14mb of RAM. Yes, 14mb!!!).

At the moment I am testing all the Atari software I have to see which will work on the Falcon (rather than the even older STe or TT computers- both of which by the way are still fabulous computers in different markets- the STe for games and productivity, the TT for DTP and design).

Anyway, that's where we are at right now. More to follow as we start to roll out Ubuntu to the other DJs, and the Falcon allows me to integrate finally full blown vinyl into the live shows :)

September 24th

Been quiet for a few days cos a) I needed a break and 2) tech wise it's been a of a bitty kind of day. First off, Dee is now back and working (yay!) because I realised, just cos W10 no longer runs the WINDOWS app, doesn't mean that Ubuntu wouldn't!

Sure enough, using Crossover, the app works fine and we can now talk to Dee again. And she can talk to us. The very definition of a bittersweet win lol.

Secondly, we are still having issues with the mic and sound card settings on the Unbuntu show computer. There is an exact syntax to be had I am sure (ie what order do I open the apps and applets to set it up for Mixxx), but I still haven't found it. Trust me to have a show desktop that features the sound card Linux doesn't like lol. Once I do have it working, the good news is, it stays working. No more of the mic going a little askew mid show cos Windows wants to hijack the sound card for its own nefarious purposes!!

But still, it is frustrating that I can't just switch it on and the mic is set to go lol. However, every time I do I kinda work out a little bit more about how Pulse interacts with the devices, apps and OS.

On top of that, I just ordered a network card that should enable the Falcon to connect to the internet, which means I can then really get her moving :)

So, onwards!

Saturday 21st September. Unexpected Bonuses of Project Falcon

So anyway, Project Falcon gave me two big bonus pressies.

First, leg room. It went from this:

to this:

Yummy. When I am now doing my shows I don't have to lean slightly forward cos my thighs wouldn't go under the table.

And secondly, I can now access my CD cabinet and open the drawers properly.

Anyway, I can't really do any more on either Project Falcon or Project Ubuntu until Monday. But the life of a Mad Tech-Man never really stops. This afternoon I have been frantically working on the DeePlay autoplay, which is due for its proper release next week. Yikes!

Right now however, I think it's time for a glass of wine, feet up, and get ready for Darkness & Chaos at 7pm. :)

September 20th. Going Retro To Build Tomorrow.

So, here she is folks, the Atari Falcon, all the way from 1992. Multitasking operating system in 4MB of RAM (though I have since updated her to 14MB- yes, MEGAbytes). Full Office suite of apps, DTP (Calamus and Time Works), various graphics, video and music apps, all loaded into 210MB hard drive. With built in midi ports AND a Digital Signal Processor (aka DSP)- something only the $10k NeXT computer had at the time!

So why do this?

Three reasons.

1. There is a line between MultiTOS (the OS), Linux development and Ubuntu.

2. The Falcon was, and still is, a remarkable studio machine. Longer term I hope to have her controlling all the additional devices in Studio A- CD input, Vinyl, Tape and so on- sending that output directly to Mixxx in the Ubuntu broadcast desktop.

3. Fun. I needed something to do that was a break from the black art of sound card management in a Ubuntu computer.

The project also gave me double the leg space width wise and, crucially, raised the level a few inches, meaning I can now sit directly under the computers during show time, rather than have to lean a little, not good with my bone and joint problems!

Today, I need to tweak the layout slightly (my next cup of coffee will sort that lol), finish testing all the peripherals for the Falcon, do more tweaking on the Mic setup on the Ubuntu system, and also put together the playlists from the TWS and BRS350!

I shall be doing all of that with a smile.

September 19th. We Set Up. We Played. We Conquered.

Phew.

So anyway, I went live with the Ubuntu system and the mic was fine for both shows. True, I didn't switch the computer off or shut MIxxx down once I had it working fine on teatime Tuesday.

BUT it also occured to me I didn't have to QUERY the mic between the TWS and the BRS like I did on a Windows setup- W10 is always trying to steal your sound settings to quietly launch Groove in the background grrrr: I did both shows back to back with no break in stream and no hisssssssssssss on the mic :)

Now I know I haven't got the setup quite right yet, as Mixxx needs resetting every start up on the desktop show machine. That said I did notice I missed a step and haven't installed "pavuaudio" like I did on the old show laptop (on which Mixxx does hold its setup). That however will have to be a job for tomorrow.

For today, I begin Project Falcon!

Yes folks, I am now going to re-setup my studio so I have space for my Atari Falcon computer from 1992. Why? Because Atari computers were amazing for their time and you'll still see them (the STe, TT or Falcon) in studios somewhere up and down the... well, world (especially Germany, where they make modern Atari clones for music use).

My ultimate goal will be to use the Falcon as the mixing desk for everything in the studio- PC, CDTV, CDi, tape deck and record player. THAT will be some time away, but for today and tomorrow, I want it set up, comfortably accessible and everything working.

Then tomorrow back to getting the Ubuntu desktop properly configured.

September 18th. Test it or Break It!

Okay, so here's the deal. I installed Ubuntu on the laptop. I saw how elegant it was, how fast, how versatile, how it made a 10 year old laptop run faster than a 2 year old desktop with twice the memory (but running Windows 10). And when I tested Mixxx for a few hours on autoplay and it was fab, I was like, "Yay! Let's move everything over to Ubuntu!"

Luckily, decades of IT experience penetrated through my little over-heated brain and said, "TEST it for a while first before you do that!" Anyway, I ignored that and decided to install it on my show desktop in Studio A, replacing the Windows 10 configuration.

And that's when the problems started. Or rather, problem. But as far as broadcasting live goes, it's a pretty big one.

Anyway, before we go into all that, here's that list of pros and cons of Ubuntu over Windows 10

Pros:

1. Less resources- the combined OS & LibreOffice install (along with loads of other useful tools) saved a WHOPPING 40GB of disk space.

2. Beautiful to look at. It might not seem important but trust me it is.

3. Faster. 10 year old laptop walks all over 2 year old desktop with twice the RAM!

4. Free. Just about everything is free. But do donate here and there to keep the system updated.

5. Will run most Windows apps without the need for a Windows licence. Even MS Office. In fact, it runs a fab Windows based photo editing suite that Windows stopped running with Windows 7!

6. More and more native versions of your apps uploaded every week.

7. Limited to TWO big updates a year. Why? Cos they let the community test for 6 months on 100,000s of different configs, old and new, unlike Microcrap whose response to many computers that suddenly stopped working with W10: "It's time to upgrade to a new computer." And yes, that was their main defence, in big graphics, on their website.

8. You control when minor updates occur.

9. Automatic download on install of all your hardware drivers- and doesn't insist that it has better drivers!

10. Plug and Play (and un-dock) works instantly. Unlike Plug & Pray in Windows 10. Especially when you try to undock ("device is in use" when it clearly isn't, anybody?)

11. 100s more, too many to list.

Cons:

1. The basic file manager is a bit naff. Thankfully, there are free alternatives.

2. Sometimes, a Terminal approach is required (like the Command Line prompt in W10. I actually like this cos it does everything with a single command- go find that app, download it, install it and make sure it is configured right- but I appreciate most people want to just point and click.

3. The biggie. Linux based systems have very little mic control built into the OS from the ground up. You have to download applets and configure them. Even worse, for some reason, linux based systems hate Intel HLA sound cards. Both my HP desktop and HP laptop use HLA.

So now you know why I am worried about the shows today, and why the voice of experience was right. I should have tested more. You see, I tested the stream and autoplays etc, and all was good. I didn't think to test the mic, until I installed it on the show desktop.

And I sounded like a snake. The hiss was appalling. I tried the laptop after and that was the same. I now know, following research, the information in Con 3 above. I think I have, thanks to the great Ubuntu community folks, a patchwork fix. It is a different patchwork fix on the laptop and on the desktop.

Today will be a test that will confirm that, or break it.

The Journey may be about to come to an abrupt end! Join me at 2pm today to find out.

September 17th. Project Ubuntu.

Ubuntu is probably the most popular of all the Linux-based operating systems- and with the disaster that is the W10 Update for the sake of Updates regime (i.e. fix issues that shouldn't have been released in the first place, and make MS apps run better than competitive apps) causing mass computer crashes and massive data loss all over the place, ALL Linux based systems are growing in popularity, with millions of new users in the last 3 months alone.

Now, for us, we had a tricky issue. Do we remain with Windows, an already flawed OS that is being used as a weapon of mass-anti-competitiveness (regardless of who gets caught in the middle)- and from a company determined to wipe out apps like Mixxx in favour of its own Groove app becoming a radio hub, but which is ubiqitus and most people know how to use? Or, do we go for a simpler, more elegant system that turns older and less powerful computers into new work horses, with greater robustness, but with a less familiar support path?

Well, when Windows 10 updates did for my laptop- and wouldn't self repair or reinstall, I had a perfect excuse to give it a try.

So off I went. And it was simple to install- download and make an image on either a DVD or memory stick, reboot and viola, off it went into either a straight install, or a test Ubuntu first option. I had nearly 250GB of files locked on my hard drive that I couldn't get access to cos of Windows, and I had consigned myself to the fact they were gone. But I decided to test Ubuntu first, not in the hope of saving my files, but the OS is so powerful, it gave me full access to them anyway!

But what really blew me away was how much it looked like, and behaved like, my all time favourite computer system, the Atari Falcon, running its multi-tasking OS (in 4MB, of RAM yes, that's 4 MEGABYTES!!!).

Within moments, I was using Ubuntu like I'd been using it for years, and as it has native versions of Mixxx and Audacity ready to go, suddenly my brain went into technical ecstacy and I thought about all the things we could do and avoid over Windows!!

It also allows you to resize, create, delete partitions on the fly without losing data (cept if you delete lol), and so I created a Files partition around my files and a couple of install partitions, and then said, right install!

It installed with minimal fuss and in a fraction of the time of even a W10 cumulative update, let alone the full blown software.

I'll tell you pros and cons of Ubuntu tomorrow, and then outline what Project Ubuntu has in mind for RevolutionRadio.Online :)

September 16th. Back to the Future

I mentioned yesterday that Windows and L2MR were pushing us (me!?!) to breaking point. Thankfully, two things happened at the same time.

First, L2MRs complete lack of regard for its users (and our listeners), growing unreliability and a demand for a whopping £1kpa for a paltry 25 streams at 320K (when we had unlimited streams before), forced us to think again.

Bon and I really didn't want to drop the CD quality sound, and so I, wearily remembering the endless searching a couple of years ago for a good sound quality stream provider, did what all desperate people do. I went to Google.

And lo, a veritable miracle did occur!

First up in the results, SHOUTca.st appeared. And not only did we get our 320K streaming to unlimited numbers of listeners again, but a host of tools that really tipped us over the edge on rebranding the station. And all for a fraction of the l2mr bill!

You ain't seen nothing yet from what we can do with these giyz!

Then Windows 10 updates finally killed my show laptop. I mean, really, utterly, Monty Python parrot sketch did for it.

Now, the Rev had been suggesting Ubuntu as an alternative for a while, and so I thought, well, this PC is a gonna, Windows won't even repair and reinstall, so what have I got to lose????

And the outcome of this would become known as Project Ubuntu. And that will be the entry for tomorrow.

15th September. Remembering where we came from.

When the Rev and I set up Crossfire Radio we knew we needed to do a number of things to differentiate us from all the other internet rock shows that were out there and about to be out there. First off we decided to be completely legal- not only licensed, but also in how we source our music- unlike most of the shows setting up then (many of whom are still illegal in both ways even ). But we knew we needed something more instantly tangible to our listeners.

We decided therefore to make sure we had the best quality sounding music possible (one of the outcomes of wanting to make sure anyone connected to us had legally sourced music- how many times have you listened to illegal shows and had songs cut off in the middle, or sound like they are coming at you from a gramophone?), and so began to look carefully at all the radio hosts.

At the time, the vast majority only offered 96kbps to 128kbps streaming. Only one offered CD quality sound (320kbps), and that was l2mr (Listen 2 My Radio). Despite having an awful user interface and a terrible player page, we finally decided to go with them as I was sure I could create a nicer looking player in our website.

And all was good.

Until Windows 10 hit, made worse by Microcraps realisation that the current incumbent occupant of the white house would allow them to get away with anti competitive murder. And at the same time, l2mr decided that they would no longer even advertise how to get help, closed their Facebook help page and so on, and sat back on their pile of .

Worse, k2mr decided they suddenly didn't like our setup and started to shut us down mid show because we wouldn't use their player page, despite it running unsuitable ads such as sex toys, escorts, gambling and "uniform dating"!

Faced with a dual attack from the two platforms that we ran the station on, we were having issue after issue, and just keeping everything up and running was becoming a full time job.

So something had to give.

Thankfully, two things came to the rescue. And I'll talk about those in the next post.