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Plus 1 for VueScan, has kept my $$$ slide/negative scanner going quite nicely.
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I too, thanks to VueScan, was able to reuse an old Epson scanner with negative film scanning capability. 
I wrote some applications in windows that use scanners, and I discovered very early that most scanners, both old and new, do not have native 64-bit twain support. Only WIA. If I remember correctly there is a layer inside twain to access wia scanners but not vice versa, at least that I know of. VueScan probably accesses old scanners "directly" bypassing the wia or twain layers of the operating system.
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I'm currently using Linux Mint (based on Ubuntu 18.04) and the scanner support is the best I've ever had on an OS. I was blown away by how easy it was to use the network scanner.
In terms of general hardware support - I've found Linus to be very good. It seems that only the special gear is a problem. So far the only thing I've not got to work is the Guitar USB integration for a game I bought a while back.
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Now that's interesting. Thank you.
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honey the codewitch wrote: Is it really too much to ask?
Ah, that is why I am working in embedded -> Only the necessary and sometimes even less.
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But do you run your IDE on an embedded system? That would show real commitment.
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I can of expected that question, you're the winner.
Yes, I use embedded linux in a VM running on a hitex, remote-controlled by window 95 on a Mac. But I often omit that part and only mention the embedded thing.
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honey the codewitch wrote: What I wouldn't give for a nice, stable, OS without all the garbage, that just worked, and was close looped dev enough that it all worked together consistently, and supported my hardware.
I'm a big fan of virtualization as, for me, it solves a lot of problems. I've got one beefy system, and the key to running things smoothly lies in dedicating separate VMs to separate tasks. If you load everything on one system (whether physical or virtual), sooner or later you risk getting into a situation where you have "too much to lose" if it goes down. So it helps to keep tasks segregated. If my VM host dies, I don't care, I know firsthand that moving VMs to another host, while not trivial, is absolutely feasible. I've gone through that experience years ago with one of the original Sandybridge motherboards that had SATA ports that would die randomly. I have nothing installed on the VM host OS, other than motherboard-specific drivers and that sort of thing. I practically live in RDP, remotely connecting to the individual VMs as needed.
Any hardware that doesn't work in a VM gets hooked up to a separate physical machine, which can be a lot cheaper. You could use that one for your MIDI hardware, and RDP into your VMs.
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Yeah, I mean, Ideally I'd have a separate machine for my digital audio workstation but the trouble is that
A) I develop audio stuff, and I need functioning MIDI and audio
B) I don't have the money or space to maintain two desktops.
Real programmers use butterflies
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Then it sounds to me like you might need to try different hypervisors - and settle on one that will let you tinker with your MIDI hardware within a VM, despite the hardware being abstracted.
Or use only your MIDI stuff on the host, and have it serve double duty in also running VMs. Not quite as segregated, but if you can only have a single system, that might be your best alternative.
Do you have a need for both the host and some software running in a VM accessing the MIDI interface? That's where things might break down - if you can't run that software outside of a VM, then you're placing more and more on the host.
Beyond this, I'm just talking out of my a$$ as I don't know your specific requirements.
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I hear you and have come to the same conclusion. Currently I can't run all my DAW gear in the host because its linux. the next host will be win10
Real programmers use butterflies
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The only problem I have with running everything on Win10 (Enterprise, because that's how I roll) is Sonar grabs exclusive control of the sound. Is that how ASIO works? No idea, don't care. A minor inconvenience.
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Yes, that's how ASIO works. It's the price you pay for low latency. Some DAWs, like FL Studio (my DAW of choice) have the option of either ASIO or the DirectSound driver. With DirectSound it doesn't lock out your sound for other apps. It's not as low latency as ASIO technically, but with a modern computer it almost doesn't matter anymore. Bottom line is you can use DirectSound if your DAW will let you and you'll probably be fine.
Real programmers use butterflies
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Quote: Registry bloat is the most likely culprit, but series of service packs and patches can't help.
Guess who's the biggest culprit regarding registry? 
honey the codewitch wrote: What I wouldn't give for a nice, stable, OS without all the garbage, that just worked, and was close looped dev enough that it all worked together consistently, and supported my hardware.
Windows 7 used to be that, until they started adding telemetry spyware via automatic (optional) updates, and then forcing it on every machine with cumulative updates. While the cumulative updates did help regarding the registry (it still grew, but not as fast as it used to), I hate MS for rolling optional telemetry updates into these. I got so tired of removing that crap over and over again that i finally decided to set my boxes to manual update only. Unfortunately, this only delayed the actual problem, because there was no way to only apply security updates without installing previous cumulative updates 
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
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You need to use PCI pass-through, I think that would fix your midi problem, unless your hardware is not Linux compatible. The whole USB controller needs to be passed to the VM. I got a PCI USB card for that purpose in my rig.
I am running Xubuntu host with Xubuntu guest (safe web browsing) and Windows 10 guest (gaming only). The three are isolated from each other (AMD cpu, memory, most hardware, only the keyboard, mouse, and monitor are shared) by the kernel. The Win 10 VM has it's own AMD GPU / Samsung NVME for gaming.
My setup has been very stable, more so than most Win 10 installs. I think the key is being very picky on the hardware choices. I built this rig over a year ago.
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Geez. Solve a software problem with hardware. I already did that once with this install. meh.
I'll consider it, but i sure don't want an extra USB controller
Real programmers use butterflies
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Here's a different take on how to solve the untrustworthy-OS problem. Simply forget about the OS. Assume that it's buggy, inconvenient, always changing, insecure, and steals your private data. That said, write a software framework that ensures that not only are security and privacy protected, but also ownership of each and any data component you deem as being your virtual property. Put this framework code in all or any app you want (of course I am ignoring for discussions sake all the problems of how you do this). That way, you have the same app interfaces you are used to and you have never given your data away to clouds or OSes. You will always own your virtual stuff even though TCP/IP can take them anywhere.
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small comfort when it nukes my GRUB install and i can't boot anymore, but i hear you
Real programmers use butterflies
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I'm going to have to join the "Windows 10 ain't all that bad" brigade despite my inherent dislike for it.
Some thoughts:
I look after quite a few family & friends computers (at least 20 at a rough count), all Win 10 now except for 1 Mac. The only ones where Win 10 has borked, slowed down etc., have been the laptops with mechanical drives. Replacing with an SSD seems to have cured all of them.
My 3 home PCs are all home built with decent hardware (Asus, Crucial, Samsung/Intel SSD, WD etc.) - none of them have ever gone wrong (from an OS point of view); over the last 5 years I have had 1 PSU burn out (it had previously been used for a bitcoin hashing rig, so no surprise there) and 1 4TB SATA disk fail (part of a RAID 6 array) - never have I lost any data nor had a computer fail to start.
I also have linux running on 7 Raspberry Pis and in a remote VM that runs my web site. I think that they have all fallen over at some point, usually during an update. The VM one failed miserably doing that and I had to wipe it and restart from scratch. Even worse VMWare ESXi on the remote server later fell over too during an update (from 5 to 6 IIRC) - that was fun.
Finally, as for trying to use VMs for anything other than simple workstation tasks is a hiding to nowt (as they say up North), all the VM editors maintain that you can get seamless direct access to hardware.. it's a lie! You might be lucky and get USB3 working for slightly faster data transfers than USB2 but forget about DACs, video capture etc. Similarly my DVB-S2 card has remained steadfastly unrecognised by 33 different products. I also have some audio software that won't run on Win10 - I ended up putting it on an old Win 7 laptop rather than struggling with a VM.
OK, so where does that get us? Grin a bear it with Win10, strip out all the excess crud and run it on good hardware.
Sorry for going on so much.
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Have you looked at FreeBSD? It's much more 'designed' than Linux. When Windows 10 came out I decided that I needed to look for some alternatives. I played with FreeBSD for about a year and really liked it. The problem is that they're behind Linux when it comes to newer hardware.
I currently dual boot Windows 10 and Devuan Linux but have been looking at replacing Linux with FreeBSD. The main reason I didn't use FreeBSD to start was the hassle of trying to get dual boot to work properly. Was never able to get it to work well back then. Hopefully, things are a little easier these days.
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Oooh, I didn't consider FreeBSD. Not sure why I didn't think of it myself. I'll strongly consider it.
The main problem i have with these (linux, freebsd) is they don't have the software i use
Real programmers use butterflies
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For me, 85%-90% of the software I use is available under Linux, Windows 10 and FreeBSD (jEdit, Firefox, Thunderbird, Libre Office, g++, etc). It's really only Games and photo editing (Affinity Photo) that keep Windows 10 on my machine.
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We'll trap you in your homes which we fill with brainwashing broadcasts in order to keep you outraged (to keep you engaged) but otherwise fearful and complacent (to keep you useful).
Enjoy!
Real programmers use butterflies
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People were already fleeing the propaganda in droves, so I'm not even sure that having a captive audience will help.
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I don't think so either but it isn't for lack of trying. James Woods (who I normally avoid but had a point this time) posted an image on twitter (i can't find it now) of a reporter in a hazmat suit being filmed by their cameraman - who was in plainclothes. They sure made sure they suited up for the camera though. It's ridiculous. BE AFRAID. ANYTHING AS LONG AS YOU PAY ATTENTION TO ME. They'll cause lasting social damage they'll never have to answer for. All because the industry is dying. It's sad.
Real programmers use butterflies
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