page format cleanup
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<article>
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<header id="title-block-header">
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<h1 class="title">DJ Setup Evolution</h1>
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<p class="date">2020-04-29T00:00:00-08:00</p>
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</header>
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<p>During a relatively recent Dally Rhythms stream (it was on 2020.03.29, which is relative compared to the age of the universe), I shared a picture of my current DJ setup with the fediverse.</p>
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<p>In doing so, I explained how my setup had changed throughout the years and some people on SDF expressed interest in the history of my setup. This article is to share the evolution of my current setup over 12-ish years of DJing.</p>
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<h2 id="starting-out">Starting Out</h2>
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<p>My interest in electronic music started in March of ’96 with Firestarter by The Prodigy. My young, naive self didn’t realize the significance of electronic music with that song (nor realized it was “electronic music”), but that sound stuck with me growing up. As I grew up and my taste in music changed, I began to understand and appreciate the art of DJing and mixing music. Around 2006, I learned that a co-worker was a DJ, but was discouraged from pursuing the hobby when they shared how much their Pioneer CDJ + DJM setup cost.</p>
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<p>My interest in DJing and electronic music grew, but being well below the poverty line, I could never justify the cost of gear and didn’t have anyone to share that cost or their gear (I had moved away from my previous co-worker/DJ friend). Around 2008, I became friends with some ravers who also had an interest in DJing and they introduced me to Native Instrument’s Traktor Pro and midi controllers. Before this, I thought that turntables or CDJs were the only way to DJ and so when I tried researching DJing, it was only within that context. DJ software with midi controllers made DJing much more financially accessible. I saved up some money and purchased a Numark Total Control, which came with a lite version of Traktor Pro (I believe it only allowed two decks, no recording, no streaming, and other limitations).</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="/images/numarkTotalControl.jpg" alt="Numark Total Control midi controller" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Numark Total Control midi controller</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>I eventually saved up money again and purchased a full version of Traktor Pro and started playing with the robust midi mapping capability. If you aren’t familiar with the idea of midi controllers and midi mapping, then the following article will get you caught up.</p>
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||||
<p><a href="https://djtechtools.com/2015/02/26/intro-to-basic-midi-mapping-with-traktor/">Intro to Basic Midi Mapping with Traktor</a></p>
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<p>I used and abused that Total Control for a couple years, even DJing for a couple parties and campouts. I used the headphone jack on my laptop to get audio out to a system, sometimes only using some cheap desktop speakers. Nobody really complained as long as the music was good and could be heard, though as I practiced and started learning more about DJing, I realized the importance of being able to cue in a pair of headphones. This realization led me to saving up again and getting a Numark DJiO USB audio interface. I don’t remember what my first pair of headphones were, though I assume they were some cheap, over-the-ears model.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="/images/numarkDJiO.jpg" alt="Numark DJiO USB audio interface" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Numark DJiO USB audio interface</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<h2 id="controllerism">Controllerism</h2>
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<p>As a fan of Ean Golden and a reader of DJ Tech Tools, I really wanted to introduce elements of Controllerism into my setup.</p>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4DUUDw3mww">A performance by Ean Golden</a></li>
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<li><a href="https://www.djtechtools.com">DJTechTools Website</a></li>
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<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controllerism">Controllerism Wikipedia Page</a></li>
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</ul>
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<p>I was tweaking my midi map of my Total Control quite regularly, but found myself wanting more out of my setup. These feelings led me to saving some money, selling the Total Control and DJiO to an old friend who was interested in digital DJing, and purchasing the Novation Twitch, which had a built-in audio interface (which unfortunately was quite quiet for whatever reason). The Novation Twitch was an amazing controller that introduced the form factor of controllers that is still in use today, though it was built with Serato in mind, not Traktor Pro. I was able to still midi map it, but I found myself using it with Serato much more.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="images/novationTwitch.jpg" alt="Novation Twitch midi controller" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Novation Twitch midi controller</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>Eventually, music production started to interest me, along with exploring traditional DJing. While I have looked at and considered many different DAWs, Ableton Live was always the one that stood out, mostly because it can be used as a DJing tool, in addition to producing music. During this time, I received an original Novation Launchpad as a Christmas gift to use with my copy of Ableton Live (initially pirated, eventually purchased). My Launchpad is still being used, though more for controlling Traktor than Ableton.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="/images/novationLaunchpad.png" alt="Novation Launchpad midi controller" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Novation Launchpad midi controller</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<h2 id="settling-in">Settling In</h2>
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<p>2012 was a quite the pivotal year for me, my identity, and my DJing; it was the year I went back to school and it was the year that I purchased my Allen & Heath Xone:DB2. This purchase did not come after I had saved up money though, it came out of my student loan for that school year (obviously a terrible decision, but we are long past that point in time). After much internal deliberation, I sold my Novation Twitch to help offset the cost of the Xone:DB2. I had figured that I could map my Launchpad in Traktor to closely mimic the workflow that the Twitch provided with the Xone:DB2. This deliberation included me considering an Allen & Heath Xone:92 and Traktor Scratch Audio 6, instead of the Xone:DB2. I decided on the Xone:DB2 because of the singularity of the system, instead of a mixer and audio interface. In hindsight, I wish I had gone with the Xone:92 due to the issues I have ran into with the Xone:DB2 drivers, but I still love my DB2.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="/images/allenHeathXoneDB2.jpg" alt="Allen & Heath Xone:DB2 mixer" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Allen & Heath Xone:DB2 mixer</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>During this time, I started analyzing my mixing and realizing that I really wasn’t the next greatest controllerist. Most of the time, I was blending two songs together and that can get kinda boring if the sync is turned on. I wanted to move towards a more traditional DJ setup and force myself to be able to DJ with anything. This was where I again researched gear, saved up money, sold some things, and purchased two Denon SC2900s (took a few months to get both of them). The Denon SC2900 was an amazing CDJ that could also be a midi controller for Traktor Pro (having been upgraded to version Pro 2 at some point). The player allowed me to learn how to manually mix on a CDJ without the sync enabled, while also being able to fall back on the familiarity of Traktor and my mapped Launchpad.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="/images/denonSC2900.jpg" alt="Denon SC2900 CDJ" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Denon SC2900 CDJ</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<h2 id="currentyear">#currentYear</h2>
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<p>After learning and feeling comfortable with mixing on CDJs, I was left with one last traditional DJ medium; turntables. Native Instruments announced that Traktor digital vinyl system (DVS) will work with any audio interface when they released the Traktor Pro 3 update. This announcement is what encouraged me to once again save money, sell items (the SC2900s), and purchase new equipment. This time I purchased two Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB turntables with a pair of Traktor control vinyl.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="/images/audioTechnicaATLP120USB.jpg" alt="Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB turntable" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB turntable</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>So my latest setup consists of two Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB, a Novation Launchpad mkI, and an Allen & Heath Xone:DB2 controlling Traktor Pro 3 and mixing digital files and actual vinyl (though that last point is only during private practice sessions). This setup includes pieces of kit that were purchased eight or more years ago, and I doubt it will be the same eight years from now. My headphones are the Audio Technica ATH-M50 and they are perfect for me. I did have the V-Moda Crossfade at some point, but they were stolen from me. The Crossfade’s sounded amazing, but weren’t that comfortable on my head. I feel quite happy and comfortable with my current setup and don’t have this urge to change it. Check back in a couple years.</p>
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<header id="title-block-header">
|
||||
<h1 class="title">DJ Setup Evolution</h1>
|
||||
<p class="date">2020-04-29T00:00:00-08:00</p>
|
||||
</header>
|
||||
<p>During a relatively recent Dally Rhythms stream (it was on 2020.03.29, which is relative compared to the age of the universe), I shared a picture of my current DJ setup with the fediverse.</p>
|
||||
<p>In doing so, I explained how my setup had changed throughout the years and some people on SDF expressed interest in the history of my setup. This article is to share the evolution of my current setup over 12-ish years of DJing.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="starting-out">Starting Out</h2>
|
||||
<p>My interest in electronic music started in March of ’96 with Firestarter by The Prodigy. My young, naive self didn’t realize the significance of electronic music with that song (nor realized it was “electronic music”), but that sound stuck with me growing up. As I grew up and my taste in music changed, I began to understand and appreciate the art of DJing and mixing music. Around 2006, I learned that a co-worker was a DJ, but was discouraged from pursuing the hobby when they shared how much their Pioneer CDJ + DJM setup cost.</p>
|
||||
<p>My interest in DJing and electronic music grew, but being well below the poverty line, I could never justify the cost of gear and didn’t have anyone to share that cost or their gear (I had moved away from my previous co-worker/DJ friend). Around 2008, I became friends with some ravers who also had an interest in DJing and they introduced me to Native Instrument’s Traktor Pro and midi controllers. Before this, I thought that turntables or CDJs were the only way to DJ and so when I tried researching DJing, it was only within that context. DJ software with midi controllers made DJing much more financially accessible. I saved up some money and purchased a Numark Total Control, which came with a lite version of Traktor Pro (I believe it only allowed two decks, no recording, no streaming, and other limitations).</p>
|
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<figure>
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<img src="/images/numarkTotalControl.jpg" alt="Numark Total Control midi controller" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Numark Total Control midi controller</figcaption>
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</figure>
|
||||
<p>I eventually saved up money again and purchased a full version of Traktor Pro and started playing with the robust midi mapping capability. If you aren’t familiar with the idea of midi controllers and midi mapping, then the following article will get you caught up.</p>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://djtechtools.com/2015/02/26/intro-to-basic-midi-mapping-with-traktor/">Intro to Basic Midi Mapping with Traktor</a></p>
|
||||
<p>I used and abused that Total Control for a couple years, even DJing for a couple parties and campouts. I used the headphone jack on my laptop to get audio out to a system, sometimes only using some cheap desktop speakers. Nobody really complained as long as the music was good and could be heard, though as I practiced and started learning more about DJing, I realized the importance of being able to cue in a pair of headphones. This realization led me to saving up again and getting a Numark DJiO USB audio interface. I don’t remember what my first pair of headphones were, though I assume they were some cheap, over-the-ears model.</p>
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||||
<figure>
|
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<img src="/images/numarkDJiO.jpg" alt="Numark DJiO USB audio interface" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Numark DJiO USB audio interface</figcaption>
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||||
</figure>
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<h2 id="controllerism">Controllerism</h2>
|
||||
<p>As a fan of Ean Golden and a reader of DJ Tech Tools, I really wanted to introduce elements of Controllerism into my setup.</p>
|
||||
<ul>
|
||||
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4DUUDw3mww">A performance by Ean Golden</a></li>
|
||||
<li><a href="https://www.djtechtools.com">DJTechTools Website</a></li>
|
||||
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controllerism">Controllerism Wikipedia Page</a></li>
|
||||
</ul>
|
||||
<p>I was tweaking my midi map of my Total Control quite regularly, but found myself wanting more out of my setup. These feelings led me to saving some money, selling the Total Control and DJiO to an old friend who was interested in digital DJing, and purchasing the Novation Twitch, which had a built-in audio interface (which unfortunately was quite quiet for whatever reason). The Novation Twitch was an amazing controller that introduced the form factor of controllers that is still in use today, though it was built with Serato in mind, not Traktor Pro. I was able to still midi map it, but I found myself using it with Serato much more.</p>
|
||||
<figure>
|
||||
<img src="images/novationTwitch.jpg" alt="Novation Twitch midi controller" />
|
||||
<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Novation Twitch midi controller</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p>Eventually, music production started to interest me, along with exploring traditional DJing. While I have looked at and considered many different DAWs, Ableton Live was always the one that stood out, mostly because it can be used as a DJing tool, in addition to producing music. During this time, I received an original Novation Launchpad as a Christmas gift to use with my copy of Ableton Live (initially pirated, eventually purchased). My Launchpad is still being used, though more for controlling Traktor than Ableton.</p>
|
||||
<figure>
|
||||
<img src="/images/novationLaunchpad.png" alt="Novation Launchpad midi controller" />
|
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Novation Launchpad midi controller</figcaption>
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||||
</figure>
|
||||
<h2 id="settling-in">Settling In</h2>
|
||||
<p>2012 was a quite the pivotal year for me, my identity, and my DJing; it was the year I went back to school and it was the year that I purchased my Allen & Heath Xone:DB2. This purchase did not come after I had saved up money though, it came out of my student loan for that school year (obviously a terrible decision, but we are long past that point in time). After much internal deliberation, I sold my Novation Twitch to help offset the cost of the Xone:DB2. I had figured that I could map my Launchpad in Traktor to closely mimic the workflow that the Twitch provided with the Xone:DB2. This deliberation included me considering an Allen & Heath Xone:92 and Traktor Scratch Audio 6, instead of the Xone:DB2. I decided on the Xone:DB2 because of the singularity of the system, instead of a mixer and audio interface. In hindsight, I wish I had gone with the Xone:92 due to the issues I have ran into with the Xone:DB2 drivers, but I still love my DB2.</p>
|
||||
<figure>
|
||||
<img src="/images/allenHeathXoneDB2.jpg" alt="Allen & Heath Xone:DB2 mixer" />
|
||||
<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Allen & Heath Xone:DB2 mixer</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p>During this time, I started analyzing my mixing and realizing that I really wasn’t the next greatest controllerist. Most of the time, I was blending two songs together and that can get kinda boring if the sync is turned on. I wanted to move towards a more traditional DJ setup and force myself to be able to DJ with anything. This was where I again researched gear, saved up money, sold some things, and purchased two Denon SC2900s (took a few months to get both of them). The Denon SC2900 was an amazing CDJ that could also be a midi controller for Traktor Pro (having been upgraded to version Pro 2 at some point). The player allowed me to learn how to manually mix on a CDJ without the sync enabled, while also being able to fall back on the familiarity of Traktor and my mapped Launchpad.</p>
|
||||
<figure>
|
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<img src="/images/denonSC2900.jpg" alt="Denon SC2900 CDJ" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Denon SC2900 CDJ</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<h2 id="currentyear">#currentYear</h2>
|
||||
<p>After learning and feeling comfortable with mixing on CDJs, I was left with one last traditional DJ medium; turntables. Native Instruments announced that Traktor digital vinyl system (DVS) will work with any audio interface when they released the Traktor Pro 3 update. This announcement is what encouraged me to once again save money, sell items (the SC2900s), and purchase new equipment. This time I purchased two Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB turntables with a pair of Traktor control vinyl.</p>
|
||||
<figure>
|
||||
<img src="/images/audioTechnicaATLP120USB.jpg" alt="Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB turntable" />
|
||||
<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB turntable</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p>So my latest setup consists of two Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB, a Novation Launchpad mkI, and an Allen & Heath Xone:DB2 controlling Traktor Pro 3 and mixing digital files and actual vinyl (though that last point is only during private practice sessions). This setup includes pieces of kit that were purchased eight or more years ago, and I doubt it will be the same eight years from now. My headphones are the Audio Technica ATH-M50 and they are perfect for me. I did have the V-Moda Crossfade at some point, but they were stolen from me. The Crossfade’s sounded amazing, but weren’t that comfortable on my head. I feel quite happy and comfortable with my current setup and don’t have this urge to change it. Check back in a couple years.</p>
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</article>
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@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
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<article>
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<header id="title-block-header">
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<h1 class="title">Hello, world! - 2020 Edition</h1>
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<p class="date">2020-02-01T00:00:00-08:00</p>
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||||
</header>
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||||
<p>Welcome! I am iiogama and this is my slice of the internet, a digital home where I can play, explore, and express myself with almost complete control. I’ll explain the “almost” part shortly, let’s start with more of the myself part of “About Me”. I have an academic interest in sociology, an active interest in various outdoor activities, and a growing spiritual interest in eastern philosophies, while being passionate about computing technology and audible art. My intent for this blog is to document and share what I have learned regarding these interests and passions, while also encouraging me to write more.</p>
|
||||
<p>As an introduction to my technical background, I’ll explain the server that is running this website and my current (as of 2020.02.01) setup for managing the server and updating this blog. The current setup is entirely subject to change, due to my tinkering/exploring ways (honestly, I have techno-FOMO). This site is hosted on a VPS provided by Vultr, which I recently switched from Linode, which was switched from Digital Ocean (hence the previously mentioned techno-FOMO). As much as I would like to have my own server in my home with complete control and reducing my reliance on external services, I do not have the resources to acquire that hardware. I selected Vultr because they offer OpenBSD as an OS option and I have recently been exploring what OpenBSD offers over Linux, which is what I primarily have ran on my personal computers and servers. I have used almost every major distro, starting with Ubuntu 7.04 and moving to CrunchBang, Debian, Arch, Manjaro, Debian, Fedora, and again, back to Debian. I’ve played a bit with Solus, Parabola, Deepin, and quite possibly many others that I cannot remember at this time. I have extensively used OS X/MacOS and Windows for personal and professional use-cases, but have always preferred the FOSS OS options. Details on the why and how to my OpenBSD switch will come in a future blog post.</p>
|
||||
<p>My current setup for writing is an iPad Pro running iSH, Blink.sh, and iVim, which is still being tuned. The iPad Pro absolutely sounds antithetical to my previously stated preference to FOSS OS options, but it came at a time where my old laptop friend broke, both physically and digitally. The case around the screen hinge broke around the same time that I lost almost all of my data on a Debian install. I was down a personal computer and decided that I needed something that my digital tinkering couldn’t break. The iPad offers an interesting environment with obstacles to overcome for writing and music creation. One day, I hope to get a Macbook Pro to install OpenBSD on, but until that day, I will be using an iPad Pro.</p>
|
||||
<p>Moving past my technical background and into my creative side, I enjoy DJing and producing electronic music. At the time of writing, I have been DJing as a hobbyist for about 10 years and broadcasting a live mix show on anonradio.net for one year. I enjoy DJing a wide range of electronic styles, from deep house to drum & bass; hardcore to psydub; trance to chillhop, though my anonradio show focuses on deeper sounds of house and techno. I started with a Numark Total Control midi controller and Traktor Pro and ventured into controllerism by midi-mapping a Novation Launchpad to controlling Traktor Pro, and then moved to CDJs and ended up using DVS with Traktor Pro 3. A recent update to Mac OS Catalina has broken my ability to connect my Allen & Heath Xone:DB2 to the Macbook (I know, I know, I never mentioned the Macbook in the technical background paragraph, we can get to that later), so I’ve been using the iPad Pro to DJ, while broadcasting with my phone. It’s not an ideal DJ setup, but totally works for now.</p>
|
||||
<p>As previously stated, I also like to produce electronic music, though I don’t spend as much time on that as I do computing and DJing. I have played with Ableton Live, but currently use two Novation Circuits as drum machines and controllers for various synth apps on the iPad Pro. It’s an incredibly fun live production setup that allows me to play and discover my own “sound”. I plan to start taking some ideas I’ve come up with and start releasing songs with this setup.</p>
|
||||
<p>In conclusion, another welcome to my site. As you can see in this rambly post, there is quite a bit that makes up “me” that I am willing and wanting to share. I keep the homepage updated more than this blog with all of the ways that you can interact with me online. If you have any comments about this or future posts, reach out to me with those methods :)</p>
|
||||
<header id="title-block-header">
|
||||
<h1 class="title">Hello, world! - 2020 Edition</h1>
|
||||
<p class="date">2020-02-01T00:00:00-08:00</p>
|
||||
</header>
|
||||
<p>Welcome! I am iiogama and this is my slice of the internet, a digital home where I can play, explore, and express myself with almost complete control. I’ll explain the “almost” part shortly, let’s start with more of the myself part of “About Me”. I have an academic interest in sociology, an active interest in various outdoor activities, and a growing spiritual interest in eastern philosophies, while being passionate about computing technology and audible art. My intent for this blog is to document and share what I have learned regarding these interests and passions, while also encouraging me to write more.</p>
|
||||
<p>As an introduction to my technical background, I’ll explain the server that is running this website and my current (as of 2020.02.01) setup for managing the server and updating this blog. The current setup is entirely subject to change, due to my tinkering/exploring ways (honestly, I have techno-FOMO). This site is hosted on a VPS provided by Vultr, which I recently switched from Linode, which was switched from Digital Ocean (hence the previously mentioned techno-FOMO). As much as I would like to have my own server in my home with complete control and reducing my reliance on external services, I do not have the resources to acquire that hardware. I selected Vultr because they offer OpenBSD as an OS option and I have recently been exploring what OpenBSD offers over Linux, which is what I primarily have ran on my personal computers and servers. I have used almost every major distro, starting with Ubuntu 7.04 and moving to CrunchBang, Debian, Arch, Manjaro, Debian, Fedora, and again, back to Debian. I’ve played a bit with Solus, Parabola, Deepin, and quite possibly many others that I cannot remember at this time. I have extensively used OS X/MacOS and Windows for personal and professional use-cases, but have always preferred the FOSS OS options. Details on the why and how to my OpenBSD switch will come in a future blog post.</p>
|
||||
<p>My current setup for writing is an iPad Pro running iSH, Blink.sh, and iVim, which is still being tuned. The iPad Pro absolutely sounds antithetical to my previously stated preference to FOSS OS options, but it came at a time where my old laptop friend broke, both physically and digitally. The case around the screen hinge broke around the same time that I lost almost all of my data on a Debian install. I was down a personal computer and decided that I needed something that my digital tinkering couldn’t break. The iPad offers an interesting environment with obstacles to overcome for writing and music creation. One day, I hope to get a Macbook Pro to install OpenBSD on, but until that day, I will be using an iPad Pro.</p>
|
||||
<p>Moving past my technical background and into my creative side, I enjoy DJing and producing electronic music. At the time of writing, I have been DJing as a hobbyist for about 10 years and broadcasting a live mix show on anonradio.net for one year. I enjoy DJing a wide range of electronic styles, from deep house to drum & bass; hardcore to psydub; trance to chillhop, though my anonradio show focuses on deeper sounds of house and techno. I started with a Numark Total Control midi controller and Traktor Pro and ventured into controllerism by midi-mapping a Novation Launchpad to controlling Traktor Pro, and then moved to CDJs and ended up using DVS with Traktor Pro 3. A recent update to Mac OS Catalina has broken my ability to connect my Allen & Heath Xone:DB2 to the Macbook (I know, I know, I never mentioned the Macbook in the technical background paragraph, we can get to that later), so I’ve been using the iPad Pro to DJ, while broadcasting with my phone. It’s not an ideal DJ setup, but totally works for now.</p>
|
||||
<p>As previously stated, I also like to produce electronic music, though I don’t spend as much time on that as I do computing and DJing. I have played with Ableton Live, but currently use two Novation Circuits as drum machines and controllers for various synth apps on the iPad Pro. It’s an incredibly fun live production setup that allows me to play and discover my own “sound”. I plan to start taking some ideas I’ve come up with and start releasing songs with this setup.</p>
|
||||
<p>In conclusion, another welcome to my site. As you can see in this rambly post, there is quite a bit that makes up “me” that I am willing and wanting to share. I keep the homepage updated more than this blog with all of the ways that you can interact with me online. If you have any comments about this or future posts, reach out to me with those methods :)</p>
|
||||
</article>
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,40 +1,40 @@
|
||||
<article>
|
||||
<header id="title-block-header">
|
||||
<h1 class="title">Imperfect iPad Apps</h1>
|
||||
<p class="date">2020-03-13T00:00:00-08:00</p>
|
||||
</header>
|
||||
<h3 id="they-each-have-something-wrong">They each have something wrong</h3>
|
||||
<p>This post is for explaining the pros and cons of a group of shell and shell-like iOS apps that I have explored on my iPad Pro. Before going into details about the apps, I’m going to first explain how and why I ended up using the iPad Pro as my main device.</p>
|
||||
<p>Despite running Linux as my main OS for years, I decided recently to switch to an iPad Pro as my daily driver after some issues with a Thinkpad T430 became too much. The Thinkpad was running Debian Buster and had some hardware issues that started affecting the portability of the device, such as the backplate to the screen breaking at the hinge, making it difficult to open and close the lid; the latch for securing the extra drive in the ultrabay losing its ability to stay latched; the battery was unable to maintain a charge for much more than an hour. These hardware issues were pretty minor, but they were also accompanied by a (nearly) complete data loss that may or may not have been associated with Nextcloud (I have no evidence of that, just a suspicion that I am unable to prove). I had reached a point where I was considering a drastic change to my personal workflow.</p>
|
||||
<p>The iPad Pro became a consideration after coming across multiple people using them as a live performing tool (Jakob Haq, Electronisounds, Dylan Paris, and more). I did some research on how other people use an iPad as their main device and decided to make to make the switch myself. One major hurdle to switching from a Linux device to an iPad is the lack of a shell. I prefer using commandline programs to graphic programs, which I completely understand is antithetical to the iOS UX philosophy. I still stuck with the switch because there are some talented developers who have brought the shell to iOS. The apps I have tried are iSH, Termius, Blink.sh, a-Shell, iVim, and LibTerm. I have also learned of OpenTerm, but never used it.</p>
|
||||
<ul>
|
||||
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZFPiLpzd4cKOsBS9CIu3x">Jakob Haq’s YouTube Channel</a></li>
|
||||
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX1L0U_AaeJrmRVr8JhCq0">Electronisounds’ YouTube Channel</a></li>
|
||||
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYicqa83y7EVsMLRuIQ4q6A">Dylan Paris’ YouTube Channel</a></li>
|
||||
</ul>
|
||||
<h2 id="ish">iSH</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://ish.app">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>iSH is an amazing project bringing a real Linux distro to iOS. It’s essentially an x86 emulator running an Alpine Linux in an iOS app. The app is only available (at the time of writing) in beta using Apple’s TestFlight service. While there are quite a few things that don’t work in the app, most basic programs and functions do work (ssh, vim, unix tools, etc). This app would solely meet my work needs except that the one and only issue with using iSH for any kinda of real work is the speed of the app. Vim is incredibly slow with a noticeable latency between key presses and perceived output. Tmux and screen has some display glitches, like the cursor being on top of the last character. The developer seems to be addressing most of the issues with iSH, but at this time, it is noticably a beta project and some issues, like the latency, may not be addressable considering it’s an x86 emulator running on an iPad.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="termius">Termius</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://www.termius.com">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>Termius is not a shell, but rather manages ssh connections. As long as you have a network connection and a remote server, you can have a shell environment to work in, but of course those two things can be hard to come by. Termuis follows a freemium model, which allows you to use most of the basic features of the app for free, but blocks premium features unless you pay a monthly fee. The premium features are built around syncing your settings between devices through their server. I am not particularly fond of cloud based services, nor monthly fees for software.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="blink.sh">Blink.sh</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://blink.sh">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>Blink.sh would almost be perfect. It’s similar to Termius, in that it is only meant to manage remote connections. I like it better than Termius, because it feels like you’re in a real shell when you use it and it’s only a one-time payment. There are a few local commands you can run to manage files (it even has ed, the standard unix editor), but it doesn’t work well, or at all, with files outside of it’s iOS directory.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="a-shell">a-Shell</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://holzschu.github.io/a-Shell_iOS">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>a-Shell would almost be perfect (too). It acts as a local shell on the iPad with basically the same commands available as Blink.sh, except ed is replaced with vim. Sshing into a server with a-Shell isn’t great though, with the display getting messed up anytime you run a curses-like app. The feature that a-Shell offers over everything else is the ability to managed and edit any local iOS file. Paired with Working Copy, a-Shell becomes very powerful. That could be indicative of the iOS “There’s an app for that” philosophy (which is a commoditized version of the Unix philosophy). The two apps are pretty good at their intended purpose, but struggle beyond that.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="working-copy">Working Copy</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://workingcopyapp.com">Direct Link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>Working Copy is not a shell-like app, it’s a git client for iOS. Using git, it allows you to edit and sync your projects with a remote server. It does have a built in text editor, but it’s rather basic without any vim-like modal features that I’m accustomed to. A-Shell is able to edit the files saved within Working Copy directly. These two apps allow someone to work on files in a similar manner to a computer with a shell.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="ivim">iVim</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://github.com/terrychou/iVim">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>I really wanted to integrate iVim into my iOS workflow, I really did. It is fast, really fast compared to running vim in any of the other mentioned apps. The issues with iVim is that it is awkward to use with Working Copy and I was not able to scp files to my server from iVim. Everything that I tried to do took way too much to time to research whether iVim was capable and to test it out.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="libterm">LibTerm</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://libterm.app">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>I did not spend much time with LibTerm, but the little bit I did work with it, I found it quite buggy. By that time, I had already started working with Blink.sh + a-Shell + Working Copy and LibTerm did not offer anything over those three apps.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="openterm">OpenTerm</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://github.com/louisdh/openterm">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>I have not tried out this app. It costs $3.99 in the app store and since my work needs were met after paying for Blink.sh and Working Copy, I didn’t see a reason to buy OpenTerm. I may buy it down the line to see if I can consolidate my workflow, but not at this time.</p>
|
||||
<p>After trying all of these apps, I ended up sticking with Blink.sh for remote connection management, Working Copy for automated remote syncing, and a-Shell for local file management. These three apps together provide a work flow that is similar enough to a computer with a shell.</p>
|
||||
<header id="title-block-header">
|
||||
<h1 class="title">Imperfect iPad Apps</h1>
|
||||
<p class="date">2020-03-13T00:00:00-08:00</p>
|
||||
</header>
|
||||
<h3 id="they-each-have-something-wrong">They each have something wrong</h3>
|
||||
<p>This post is for explaining the pros and cons of a group of shell and shell-like iOS apps that I have explored on my iPad Pro. Before going into details about the apps, I’m going to first explain how and why I ended up using the iPad Pro as my main device.</p>
|
||||
<p>Despite running Linux as my main OS for years, I decided recently to switch to an iPad Pro as my daily driver after some issues with a Thinkpad T430 became too much. The Thinkpad was running Debian Buster and had some hardware issues that started affecting the portability of the device, such as the backplate to the screen breaking at the hinge, making it difficult to open and close the lid; the latch for securing the extra drive in the ultrabay losing its ability to stay latched; the battery was unable to maintain a charge for much more than an hour. These hardware issues were pretty minor, but they were also accompanied by a (nearly) complete data loss that may or may not have been associated with Nextcloud (I have no evidence of that, just a suspicion that I am unable to prove). I had reached a point where I was considering a drastic change to my personal workflow.</p>
|
||||
<p>The iPad Pro became a consideration after coming across multiple people using them as a live performing tool (Jakob Haq, Electronisounds, Dylan Paris, and more). I did some research on how other people use an iPad as their main device and decided to make to make the switch myself. One major hurdle to switching from a Linux device to an iPad is the lack of a shell. I prefer using commandline programs to graphic programs, which I completely understand is antithetical to the iOS UX philosophy. I still stuck with the switch because there are some talented developers who have brought the shell to iOS. The apps I have tried are iSH, Termius, Blink.sh, a-Shell, iVim, and LibTerm. I have also learned of OpenTerm, but never used it.</p>
|
||||
<ul>
|
||||
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZFPiLpzd4cKOsBS9CIu3x">Jakob Haq’s YouTube Channel</a></li>
|
||||
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX1L0U_AaeJrmRVr8JhCq0">Electronisounds’ YouTube Channel</a></li>
|
||||
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYicqa83y7EVsMLRuIQ4q6A">Dylan Paris’ YouTube Channel</a></li>
|
||||
</ul>
|
||||
<h2 id="ish">iSH</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://ish.app">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>iSH is an amazing project bringing a real Linux distro to iOS. It’s essentially an x86 emulator running an Alpine Linux in an iOS app. The app is only available (at the time of writing) in beta using Apple’s TestFlight service. While there are quite a few things that don’t work in the app, most basic programs and functions do work (ssh, vim, unix tools, etc). This app would solely meet my work needs except that the one and only issue with using iSH for any kinda of real work is the speed of the app. Vim is incredibly slow with a noticeable latency between key presses and perceived output. Tmux and screen has some display glitches, like the cursor being on top of the last character. The developer seems to be addressing most of the issues with iSH, but at this time, it is noticably a beta project and some issues, like the latency, may not be addressable considering it’s an x86 emulator running on an iPad.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="termius">Termius</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://www.termius.com">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>Termius is not a shell, but rather manages ssh connections. As long as you have a network connection and a remote server, you can have a shell environment to work in, but of course those two things can be hard to come by. Termuis follows a freemium model, which allows you to use most of the basic features of the app for free, but blocks premium features unless you pay a monthly fee. The premium features are built around syncing your settings between devices through their server. I am not particularly fond of cloud based services, nor monthly fees for software.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="blink.sh">Blink.sh</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://blink.sh">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>Blink.sh would almost be perfect. It’s similar to Termius, in that it is only meant to manage remote connections. I like it better than Termius, because it feels like you’re in a real shell when you use it and it’s only a one-time payment. There are a few local commands you can run to manage files (it even has ed, the standard unix editor), but it doesn’t work well, or at all, with files outside of it’s iOS directory.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="a-shell">a-Shell</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://holzschu.github.io/a-Shell_iOS">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>a-Shell would almost be perfect (too). It acts as a local shell on the iPad with basically the same commands available as Blink.sh, except ed is replaced with vim. Sshing into a server with a-Shell isn’t great though, with the display getting messed up anytime you run a curses-like app. The feature that a-Shell offers over everything else is the ability to managed and edit any local iOS file. Paired with Working Copy, a-Shell becomes very powerful. That could be indicative of the iOS “There’s an app for that” philosophy (which is a commoditized version of the Unix philosophy). The two apps are pretty good at their intended purpose, but struggle beyond that.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="working-copy">Working Copy</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://workingcopyapp.com">Direct Link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>Working Copy is not a shell-like app, it’s a git client for iOS. Using git, it allows you to edit and sync your projects with a remote server. It does have a built in text editor, but it’s rather basic without any vim-like modal features that I’m accustomed to. A-Shell is able to edit the files saved within Working Copy directly. These two apps allow someone to work on files in a similar manner to a computer with a shell.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="ivim">iVim</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://github.com/terrychou/iVim">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>I really wanted to integrate iVim into my iOS workflow, I really did. It is fast, really fast compared to running vim in any of the other mentioned apps. The issues with iVim is that it is awkward to use with Working Copy and I was not able to scp files to my server from iVim. Everything that I tried to do took way too much to time to research whether iVim was capable and to test it out.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="libterm">LibTerm</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://libterm.app">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>I did not spend much time with LibTerm, but the little bit I did work with it, I found it quite buggy. By that time, I had already started working with Blink.sh + a-Shell + Working Copy and LibTerm did not offer anything over those three apps.</p>
|
||||
<h2 id="openterm">OpenTerm</h2>
|
||||
<p><a href="https://github.com/louisdh/openterm">Direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p>I have not tried out this app. It costs $3.99 in the app store and since my work needs were met after paying for Blink.sh and Working Copy, I didn’t see a reason to buy OpenTerm. I may buy it down the line to see if I can consolidate my workflow, but not at this time.</p>
|
||||
<p>After trying all of these apps, I ended up sticking with Blink.sh for remote connection management, Working Copy for automated remote syncing, and a-Shell for local file management. These three apps together provide a work flow that is similar enough to a computer with a shell.</p>
|
||||
</article>
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -10,5 +10,5 @@
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<audio controls src="/songs/160-8A-iiogama-chinchilla_in_heat.wav" type="audio/mpeg" />
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p><a href="/songs/160-8A-iiogama-chinchilla_in_heat.wav">direct link</a></p>
|
||||
<p><a href="/songs/160-8A-iiogama-chinchilla_in_heat.wav">direct download</a></p>
|
||||
</article>
|
||||
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user