FOSSPicks
VeeSeeVSTRack
We were one of the first publications to cover VCV Rack, the open source modular synthesizer platform. Releases have become prolific, feature-packed, and even commercial, and we have to hold back from featuring it every single issue. If you've not used VCV, download it now. It allows you to plug virtual re-creations of real hardware into a virtual rack and wire them to create any signal path you wish, from crazy experimental music, to deep and convolving reverb effects. It's incredible, and it's not surprising that since we first featured it, VCV Rack has become one of the most important open source audio projects of the last decade, with many module makers releasing virtual versions of their own, often open source, models.
But as great as VCV is, it doesn't integrate too well with the latest Linux audio applications. In particular, it's a standalone application rather than a plugin for your audio application of choice. On Windows, a developer known as "bsp" has put considerable effort into making VCV Rack work as a VST plugin, resulting in VeeSeeVSTRack. To handle the multiple instances of VCV, bsp even needed to create a custom drawing library, but it was worth it. On Windows, you can now use VCV directly within your favorite audio application, rather than always having to find a way of piping audio into your chosen tool. And with help from bsp, this wrapper and the new drawing library have been ported to Linux, giving us access to the most powerful audio processing tool you can imagine, directly within your VST-compatible host. VeeSeeVSTRack is amazing, and we had no trouble dropping the pre-build binary into our VST plugin path and using it within Ardour. But it should also work with other Linux VST compatible apps, such as Bitwig Studio and Qtractor. Give it a go!
Project Website
https://github.com/bsp2/VeeSeeVSTRack/
Gist editor
Lepton
If you've been on GitHub at all, you'll have noticed that something often referred to as "gists" have become very popular. These gists are a kind of coding note or recipe that consists of either a single file or part of a file that you keep aside or share. However, they don't need to be code; they can be anything you can conveniently note down using Git and Markdown. A gist could just as easily be the beginnings of a novel as it could be a script for clearing out your unused Docker containers. There are public gists that can be discovered and searched, and private gists you can keep to yourself or whoever you happen to share the link with (gists are never totally private). But there isn't a convenient way of working with your gists outside of the GitHub environment, and that's exactly what Lepton provides from your desktop.
When first launched, Lepton asks you to authenticate the use of the application with your GitHub account. With that done, you see a simple interface split into a main view for your public and private gists and their descriptions, and a panel on the left that allows you to sort through a collection using tags, languages, and whether they're pinned. All of this is basically mimicking the functionality of the web interface, which isn't surprising considering this is an Electron application running React. But as with the average Electron Twitter client, it feels better integrated with your desktop when you have a single window – especially when you start to learn the keyboard shortcuts – and the Markdown editor is much nicer than the web version, especially when you fold the gists you're not working on away.
Project Website
https://github.com/hackjutsu/Lepton
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.
-
ZorinOS 17.1 Released, Includes Improved Windows App Support
If you need or desire to run Windows applications on Linux, there's one distribution intent on making that easier for you and its new release further improves that feature.
-
Linux Market Share Surpasses 4% for the First Time
Look out Windows and macOS, Linux is on the rise and has even topped ChromeOS to become the fourth most widely used OS around the globe.
-
KDE’s Plasma 6 Officially Available
KDE’s Plasma 6.0 "Megarelease" has happened, and it's brimming with new features, polish, and performance.
-
Latest Version of Tails Unleashed
Tails 6.0 is based on Debian 12 and includes GNOME 43.
-
KDE Announces New Slimbook V with Plenty of Power and KDE’s Plasma 6
If you're a fan of KDE Plasma, you'll be thrilled to hear they've announced a new Slimbook with an AMD CPU and the latest version of KDE Plasma desktop.
-
Monthly Sponsorship Includes Early Access to elementary OS 8
If you want to get a glimpse of what's in the pipeline for elementary OS 8, just set up a monthly sponsorship to help fund its continued existence.