Audacity 2.0 Released • Hacker News Board

Re: Audacity 2.0 Released

#61

Post by TeMPOraL » Sat, Mar 17, 2012, 4:03 PM UTC

lmm wrote: post #56

dfc wrote: post #29

Whenever I have used audacity to do simple audio edits I feel like I am using an elephant gun for a fly swatter. For some reason I never feel the same way when I use gimp to do the equivalent minor image modification.

Really? I find the opposite; gimp has a two minute load time and an interface that expects you to study it. Audacity opens up and gives you big obvious buttons for the simple things - if anything it looks too simple, as if all you can do is basic cutting and splicing.

Exactly. I use Paint.NET for most of my work with images; GIMP is used as a last resort, if PDN is missing a feature I really need at that moment.

Re: Audacity 2.0 Released

#62

Post by cowmix » Sat, Mar 17, 2012, 4:04 PM UTC

5xz41s0P8T5N wrote: post #20

jodoherty wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't what he's doing, but if you use an audio routing system like jackd on Linux or Soundflower on Mac OS X, you can capture audio output from one application (flash youtube videos, Skype, iTunes, etc.), mix it with your system input, route the superposition of both signals to Audacity, and record everything into the same stream. You can also use audio routing to mix a conversation into the input of an icecast…

OS X: Audio Hijack (USD 32) http://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/buy.php

Or SoundFlower for OSX:

http://code.google.com/p/soundflower/

Re: Audacity 2.0 Released

#63

Post by cowmix » Sat, Mar 17, 2012, 4:06 PM UTC

wildwood wrote: post #21

genu1 wrote: post #10

To all my Mac users out there: What are you using to record Skype calls? Anyone know if Audacity 2 will allow Mac users to record system audio?

Audacity plus Soundflower will do the trick. http://cycling74.com/products/soundflower/

SoundFlower is a little buggy on Lion still.

Re: Audacity 2.0 Released

#64

Post by jakejake » Sat, Mar 17, 2012, 5:09 PM UTC

joelackner wrote: post #26

VMG wrote: post #24

it works great but some visual polish wouldn't hurt...

i tried offering my help, mostly for web and icon work, but the developers never responded. i'm sure i'm not the first.

Sometimes it's hard to accept an offer for help even if you know you need it because you are thinking of the amount of work required to accept that help (ie re-skinning). I tend to get bogged down and overloaded myself like that sometimes to my own detriment.

Maybe if you keep trying, or even look at the code and see if you can make a patch file with a few new buttons - that would result in some progress. It would be great because audacity could use some UI love.

Re: Audacity 2.0 Released

#65

Post by petercooper » Sat, Mar 17, 2012, 7:49 PM UTC

ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #52

haberman wrote: post #33

Wow; I was one of the first developers to work on Audacity way back in 2001, but I haven't kept up with its development in a long time. It's exciting to see a new major release. I'm always amazed and proud at how widely I see Audacity being used. Most recently I spent the 5 weeks as a juror on a criminal trial, and I saw Audacity installed on the prosecutor's computer.

Audacity is AWESOME!!! It's perfect for removing background hissing on cheap mics. For any of you who have a lot of hissing or humming coming from your mic when you record podcasts or demo videos for your startups. Audacity can take it out in just a few clicks using its noise removal filter. Just remember, whenever you start recording an audio track, wait 5 seconds before you start talking, and then use those 5 secon…

Totally. I use it for all my podcasts. I'd advise more time if you can spare it though (10-15s seems ideal). And it works great on aircon/consistent bg noise too.

Re: Audacity 2.0 Released

#66

Post by leviathant » Mon, Mar 19, 2012, 9:26 PM UTC

akira2501 wrote: post #50

leviathant wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I was really hoping that with 2.0, there would be at least some attempt at refining the interface. Compare the interface to Reaper (The Cockos team has three main contributors, right?), Cubase or Vegas, or if you want to get shiny, Propellerheads or Line6. A fresh coat of paint goes a long way.

Sorry to be snarky; but, compare $0 (Audacity) to $225 (reaper), $500 (cubase), $600 (vegas), $130 (Propellerheads).

Having bought and upgraded Vegas & Cubase, and evaluated Reaper (which is $0 for cripple-free evaluation & $60 for a non-commercial license) I am fully aware of the cost. Winamp (made by one of the guys behind Reaper) was free, even before AOL bought Nullsoft, and still managed to look better than every other MP3 player out there.

There are people who have offered their services, presumably free of charge. I think Audacity would be a lot more inviting if more effort was put into the look and usability of the interface. Need money? Come up with a plan and a Kickstarter page.

I'm not saying it should be a DAW. I'm just saying it should look like something that was released in 2012, rather than something that was released in 1998.