Jacklab Audio Distribution 1.0 for Media Artists
The Jacklab Audio Distribution (JAD) 1.0 aims to offer what the media artist's heart desires, audio, video and imaging. And it aims to help users migrate from Windows.
The distribution is a modified version of Suse 10.2 which uses a real time kernel. A real time kernel is better suited to multimedia applications and music software, as it prioritizes these processes.
JAD 1.0 is aiming to keep the bar low for Linux newcomers to help musicians and multimedia artists get started. After the install, users can start recording sound tracks with the Ardour 2 recording software, or edit videos with Kdenlive. The software synthesizer ZynAddSubFX, and the Rosegarden sequencer are included. Sound plugins can be integrated via the Linux LADSPA interface, and thanks to Wine plugins in the commercial VST format are also supported. The image manipulation programs Inkspace and Gimp are also included.
Thanks to Wine and Jost, the distribution integrates VST (Virtual Studio Technology), an interface between the audio software and effect plugins.
Jacklab is a community project by OpenSuse. For a more complete description of the JAD media distribution, check out the release notes. You can download JAD from the project website as a live CD or installer. The site also has a Wiki and a support forum.