DreamStudio is based on Ubuntu LTS, with a low-latency kernel and lots of software for artists and musicians. Since the developer is an artist and musician, he obviously knows what’s needed and this distro has a good reputation.

It comes on a 3GB DVD; there’s no checksum and the Ubuntu disk check doesn’t seem to work, so it’s a case of burn, run, and hope.

DreamStudio recommends a dual-core processor and 2GB of RAM. Since I have a single-core and 1GB, I was expecting trouble and I shan’t go into details. But the feature which will trouble a lot of people is the use of the Unity desktop. With no proper menu — just an alphabetical list of 170 applications without descriptions — one is completely lost: do you know what Celtx does? One can ask dash to search for a topic, like ‘midi’, but it will obviously take a long time to find ones way around and customise dash or the dock. Luckily there’s a classified list of specialist software at http://dream.dickmacinnis.com/forum/

Support is available — live at $30 per hour or email at $10 per month — which may be attractive to some. Otherwise, DreamStudio is let down by its interface: Ubuntu Studio is far more friendly.