Beowulf wrote:
> I am going to set up a PC with linux (also MS-WindowsXP) as a workstation
> for HD video/audio editing (filmmaking). What do you all think is the
> best route to go for Ubuntu, 32bit or 64bit? At first 64bit seemed to me
> the way to go for speed, but I am also now thinking about the issues of
> availability of applications for 64 bit compared to 32 bit. What I mean
> is, if my goal is to be able to download, install, and try out various
> open source linux applications like non-linear video editors, audio
> editors and mixers, etc., won't 32 bit give me the best chance of those
> being able to install compared to a 64 bit system? Or would I be able to
> (if I can survive the grief of dependency hell) compile source from
> tarballs for 64 bit (a route I would prefer not to go down if possible).
> Though 64 bit might be faster, won't 32 bit be more compatible for
> software app installs? Or will I really appreciate the speed of 64 bit
> for rendering, etc? This will be a standalone workstation, so I can
> afford to let renders go for hours if needed, or even overnight.
>
I run (just for grins) a whole mix of Slackware/WinXP/SLAMD64 systems, depending on
what open source and proprietary software is available for my needs.

As to 64-bit processing, performance and speed will vary depending on the task: your
hard drive and memory subsystems can be a bottleneck. Although current CPUs are
"fast" motherboards, memory and hard drives (affordable for me, that is) haven't kept up.

Video and audio processing can benefit from 64bit if you build the right system.

ok, jumping off my soapbox, the various posts didn't mention the freshmeat repository
(if you hadn't looked yet)

artistic s/w: http://freshmeat.net/browse/901/

multimedia: http://freshmeat.net/browse/99/

You also mentioned audacity (btw cdex and audacity may merge hot ****!), for
multitrack authoring, audio recordng, music notation editor, midi sequencer try:

rosegarden - http://freshmeat.net/projects/rosegarden/

with it and audacity you'll have one heck of a music studio. More capability than
this amateur needs!

Good luck. I feel your pain in trying to find linux "equivalents"