Guix Bluetooth Headset

Guix Bluetooth Headset

[yasu]

Hi,

Does anyone use Bluetooth Headset (say Bose NC 700) with Guix?

Please post the required configuration! :-)

Cheers,
Yasu

Re: Guix Bluetooth Headset

[Joshua Branson]

Have you tried looking at h-node.org?

That will give you some hints at what hardware works well with
GNU/Linux.

I personally have a RIG headset with integrated microphone.  It was a
bit of an impulse buy.  It doesn't use bluetooth.  It has one chord.  I
can use it to record my voice, or listen to music.  But I can't seem to
do both at the same time with it.  :( 

Thanks,

Joshua

--
Joshua Branson
Sent from Emacs and Gnus
https://gnucode.me

Re: Guix Bluetooth Headset

[Yasuaki Kudo]

Hi Joshua,

My bluetooth USB device  itself seems to be recognized by  the kernel but there is this whole layers of software I don't understand - (when I used to use NixOS on the same hardware,  it worked - I think it was a combination of something called PulseAudi and Bluetooth)

So I just want to know whether someone  actually has a working configuration I can just copy.

I am curious how many people actually use Guix for the user-facing computers - do people use Ubuntu something and use Guix as a mere package manager or install Guix on a headless (virtual) computer and remotely use it?

Cheers,
Yasu


> On Sep 25, 2020, at 21:53, Joshua Branson <jbranso@dismail.de> wrote:
> 
> 
> Have you tried looking at h-node.org?
> 
> That will give you some hints at what hardware works well with
> GNU/Linux.
> 
> I personally have a RIG headset with integrated microphone.  It was a
> bit of an impulse buy.  It doesn't use bluetooth.  It has one chord.  I
> can use it to record my voice, or listen to music.  But I can't seem to
> do both at the same time with it.  :( 
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Joshua
> 
> --
> Joshua Branson
> Sent from Emacs and Gnus
> https://gnucode.me

Re: Guix Bluetooth Headset

[Ekaitz Zarraga]

Hi all,

I'm a full-time Guix user but I don't really think I have average requirements for my computing.

I tried to connect to a bluetooth speaker once, there's a thread in the mailing lists about it... I didn't manage to do it.

I tried through Gnome first, and it literally doesn't show any Bluetooth device. I was able to use some bluetooth controllers like Bluez or so and I managed to pair the device (and Gnome still didn't recognize the bluetooth but did recognize the pairing, amazing stuff), but I didn't manage to make the music sound through it.

I'd like to help more but this is what I got.

This is the kind of things that are discouraging. Guix is a good thing but the user experience is sometimes plainly horrible, for stuff that should be simple.

> I am curious how many people actually use Guix for the user-facing computers - do people use Ubuntu something and use Guix as a mere package manager or install Guix on a headless (virtual) computer and remotely use it?

I am curious too, because I only use Guix for the only computer I own, but I'm not sure if it could be reasonable for anyone else, mostly because sometimes Guix users are supposed to know too much about internal software layers and there's no help about those times where you don't know enough.

This bluetooth case is very accurate case to explain this kind of situation. Sound has a very weird software stack, if you combine it with bluetooth everything gets complicated. If you don't know about it you are in trouble.

Sorry for the depressing thoughts, but this is how I feel.

I hope you find your way to make it work and share it.

Best,
Ekaitz


‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Friday, September 25, 2020 4:16 PM, Yasuaki Kudo <yasu@yasuaki.com> wrote:

> Hi Joshua,
>
> My bluetooth USB device itself seems to be recognized by the kernel but there is this whole layers of software I don't understand - (when I used to use NixOS on the same hardware, it worked - I think it was a combination of something called PulseAudi and Bluetooth)
>
> So I just want to know whether someone actually has a working configuration I can just copy.
>
> I am curious how many people actually use Guix for the user-facing computers - do people use Ubuntu something and use Guix as a mere package manager or install Guix on a headless (virtual) computer and remotely use it?
>
> Cheers,
> Yasu
>
> > On Sep 25, 2020, at 21:53, Joshua Branson jbranso@dismail.de wrote:
> > Have you tried looking at h-node.org?
> > That will give you some hints at what hardware works well with
> > GNU/Linux.
> > I personally have a RIG headset with integrated microphone. It was a
> > bit of an impulse buy. It doesn't use bluetooth. It has one chord. I
> > can use it to record my voice, or listen to music. But I can't seem to
> > do both at the same time with it. :(
> > Thanks,
> > Joshua
> > --
> > Joshua Branson
> > Sent from Emacs and Gnus
> > https://gnucode.me

Re: Guix Bluetooth Headset

[Yasuaki Kudo]

I totally agree - while diverging a little from my original bluetooth question, it seems that we need to have an "unofficial" "Guix-Compromised" downstream distribution.

The frustrating thing is that with the zero-tolerance attitude of Guix project (while well-meaning and I applaud such high standards), it is difficult to even discuss such things as tactical abandonment of libre-software purity in order dramatically improve the actual end-user experience.

We only effectively discuss delivering the best possible user-experience (while ignoring the ethical questions) when we can employ all possible means including using bad software form companies we dislike.

Having said that, I think the Guix' stance is actually very defendable and we would be barking up the wrong tree to complain to the Guix team.

This is why I think we need a proper downstream distribution of Guix with the goal of delivering the best Linux experience albeit with perhaps degraded software purity. 😅


-Yasu


> On Sep 26, 2020, at 21:03, Ekaitz Zarraga <ekaitz@elenq.tech> wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I'm a full-time Guix user but I don't really think I have average requirements for my computing.
> 
> I tried to connect to a bluetooth speaker once, there's a thread in the mailing lists about it... I didn't manage to do it.
> 
> I tried through Gnome first, and it literally doesn't show any Bluetooth device. I was able to use some bluetooth controllers like Bluez or so and I managed to pair the device (and Gnome still didn't recognize the bluetooth but did recognize the pairing, amazing stuff), but I didn't manage to make the music sound through it.
> 
> I'd like to help more but this is what I got.
> 
> This is the kind of things that are discouraging. Guix is a good thing but the user experience is sometimes plainly horrible, for stuff that should be simple.
> 
>> I am curious how many people actually use Guix for the user-facing computers - do people use Ubuntu something and use Guix as a mere package manager or install Guix on a headless (virtual) computer and remotely use it?
> 
> I am curious too, because I only use Guix for the only computer I own, but I'm not sure if it could be reasonable for anyone else, mostly because sometimes Guix users are supposed to know too much about internal software layers and there's no help about those times where you don't know enough.
> 
> This bluetooth case is very accurate case to explain this kind of situation. Sound has a very weird software stack, if you combine it with bluetooth everything gets complicated. If you don't know about it you are in trouble.
> 
> Sorry for the depressing thoughts, but this is how I feel.
> 
> I hope you find your way to make it work and share it.
> 
> Best,
> Ekaitz
> 
> 
> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
>> On Friday, September 25, 2020 4:16 PM, Yasuaki Kudo <yasu@yasuaki.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Joshua,
>> 
>> My bluetooth USB device itself seems to be recognized by the kernel but there is this whole layers of software I don't understand - (when I used to use NixOS on the same hardware, it worked - I think it was a combination of something called PulseAudi and Bluetooth)
>> 
>> So I just want to know whether someone actually has a working configuration I can just copy.
>> 
>> I am curious how many people actually use Guix for the user-facing computers - do people use Ubuntu something and use Guix as a mere package manager or install Guix on a headless (virtual) computer and remotely use it?
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> Yasu
>> 
>>>> On Sep 25, 2020, at 21:53, Joshua Branson jbranso@dismail.de wrote:
>>> Have you tried looking at h-node.org?
>>> That will give you some hints at what hardware works well with
>>> GNU/Linux.
>>> I personally have a RIG headset with integrated microphone. It was a
>>> bit of an impulse buy. It doesn't use bluetooth. It has one chord. I
>>> can use it to record my voice, or listen to music. But I can't seem to
>>> do both at the same time with it. :(
>>> Thanks,
>>> Joshua
>>> --
>>> Joshua Branson
>>> Sent from Emacs and Gnus
>>> https://gnucode.me
> 
> 

Re: Guix Bluetooth Headset

[Ekaitz Zarraga]

Well... I don't think both goals are incompatible.
I'm totally fine with Guix being Free Software only distribution and I encourage the project to keep that path because I strongly believe it's the right thing to do.
That doesn't mean the user needs to have a deep understanding of the software layers involved in a system. I'd say it's unrelated.

The issues with the device compatibility is a different story that should get better at some point, and there's NonGuix out there too that can solve some issues for those users that can accept binary blobs.

The problem with the bluetooth for instance it's not a matter of hardware support neither. I have the drivers for the device installed, but I have no clue about how to configure the software to make all the different pieces work together. That's something we can improve without compromising the Ethical values of Guix, which are, in my opinion unquestionable at this point.

This case of the sound system is a clear example of a software stack that have been too complex for ages in every single distro but distros managed well enough to hide that complexity from the users (because they were no actual reasons to expose it) and Guix didn't manage to do it that well. I'm 100% sure there's a working configuration we can already use, but it's *really* hard to find it.
That discoverability issue is what carries most of the friction with the user in Guix. Of course, in my opinion.

Hope we can use this thread to improve this point with some documentation, code or packages. I'm open to help in any of those areas.

Best,
Ekaitz



‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Saturday, September 26, 2020 3:17 PM, Yasuaki Kudo <yasu@yasuaki.com> wrote:

> I totally agree - while diverging a little from my original bluetooth question, it seems that we need to have an "unofficial" "Guix-Compromised" downstream distribution.
>
> The frustrating thing is that with the zero-tolerance attitude of Guix project (while well-meaning and I applaud such high standards), it is difficult to even discuss such things as tactical abandonment of libre-software purity in order dramatically improve the actual end-user experience.
>
> We only effectively discuss delivering the best possible user-experience (while ignoring the ethical questions) when we can employ all possible means including using bad software form companies we dislike.
>
> Having said that, I think the Guix' stance is actually very defendable and we would be barking up the wrong tree to complain to the Guix team.
>
> This is why I think we need a proper downstream distribution of Guix with the goal of delivering the best Linux experience albeit with perhaps degraded software purity. 😅
>
> -Yasu
>
> > On Sep 26, 2020, at 21:03, Ekaitz Zarraga ekaitz@elenq.tech wrote:
> > Hi all,
> > I'm a full-time Guix user but I don't really think I have average requirements for my computing.
> > I tried to connect to a bluetooth speaker once, there's a thread in the mailing lists about it... I didn't manage to do it.
> > I tried through Gnome first, and it literally doesn't show any Bluetooth device. I was able to use some bluetooth controllers like Bluez or so and I managed to pair the device (and Gnome still didn't recognize the bluetooth but did recognize the pairing, amazing stuff), but I didn't manage to make the music sound through it.
> > I'd like to help more but this is what I got.
> > This is the kind of things that are discouraging. Guix is a good thing but the user experience is sometimes plainly horrible, for stuff that should be simple.
> >
> > > I am curious how many people actually use Guix for the user-facing computers - do people use Ubuntu something and use Guix as a mere package manager or install Guix on a headless (virtual) computer and remotely use it?
> >
> > I am curious too, because I only use Guix for the only computer I own, but I'm not sure if it could be reasonable for anyone else, mostly because sometimes Guix users are supposed to know too much about internal software layers and there's no help about those times where you don't know enough.
> > This bluetooth case is very accurate case to explain this kind of situation. Sound has a very weird software stack, if you combine it with bluetooth everything gets complicated. If you don't know about it you are in trouble.
> > Sorry for the depressing thoughts, but this is how I feel.
> > I hope you find your way to make it work and share it.
> > Best,
> > Ekaitz
> > ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
> >
> > > On Friday, September 25, 2020 4:16 PM, Yasuaki Kudo yasu@yasuaki.com wrote:
> > > Hi Joshua,
> > > My bluetooth USB device itself seems to be recognized by the kernel but there is this whole layers of software I don't understand - (when I used to use NixOS on the same hardware, it worked - I think it was a combination of something called PulseAudi and Bluetooth)
> > > So I just want to know whether someone actually has a working configuration I can just copy.
> > > I am curious how many people actually use Guix for the user-facing computers - do people use Ubuntu something and use Guix as a mere package manager or install Guix on a headless (virtual) computer and remotely use it?
> > > Cheers,
> > > Yasu
> > >
> > > > > On Sep 25, 2020, at 21:53, Joshua Branson jbranso@dismail.de wrote:
> > > > > Have you tried looking at h-node.org?
> > > > > That will give you some hints at what hardware works well with
> > > > > GNU/Linux.
> > > > > I personally have a RIG headset with integrated microphone. It was a
> > > > > bit of an impulse buy. It doesn't use bluetooth. It has one chord. I
> > > > > can use it to record my voice, or listen to music. But I can't seem to
> > > > > do both at the same time with it. :(
> > > > > Thanks,
> > > > > Joshua
> > > > > --
> > > > > Joshua Branson
> > > > > Sent from Emacs and Gnus
> > > > > https://gnucode.me

Re: Guix Bluetooth Headset

[Guillaume Le Vaillant]

[-- Attachment #1.1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1011 bytes --]


Hi,

I have a headset that can be used either with a cord or with Bluetooth,
and I got it to almost work with Bluetooth. The only problem I have is
that I want it to use the A2DP profile but most of the time it decides
to use the HSP profile and refuses to switch to A2DP, therefore the
sound is not as good.

In my 'config.scm' file I had to modify the pulseaudio service to use
a custom configuration file (in attachment):

--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
(operating-system
  ...
  (services
   (cons* ...
          (bluetooth-service)
          (modify-services %desktop-services
            (pulseaudio-service-type config =>
              (pulseaudio-configuration
               (inherit config)
               (script-file (local-file "/etc/guix/default.pa"))))))))
--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---

I'm also using the vanilla Linux kernel instead of Linux-libre, but I'm
not sure if it makes a difference for Bluetooth headsets.

HTH!

[-- Attachment #1.2: default.pa --]
[-- Type: application/octet-stream, Size: 4820 bytes --]

#!/usr/bin/env -S pulseaudio -nF
#
# This file is part of PulseAudio.
#
# PulseAudio is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
# under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
# (at your option) any later version.
#
# PulseAudio is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
# WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
# General Public License for more details.
#
# You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
# along with PulseAudio; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

# This startup script is used only if PulseAudio is started per-user
# (i.e. not in system mode)

.fail

### Automatically restore the volume of streams and devices
load-module module-device-restore
load-module module-stream-restore
load-module module-card-restore

### Automatically augment property information from .desktop files
### stored in /usr/share/application
load-module module-augment-properties

### Should be after module-*-restore but before module-*-detect
load-module module-switch-on-port-available

### Load audio drivers statically
### (it's probably better to not load these drivers manually, but instead
### use module-udev-detect -- see below -- for doing this automatically)
#load-module module-alsa-sink
#load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,0
#load-module module-null-sink
#load-module module-pipe-sink

### Automatically load driver modules depending on the hardware available
.ifexists module-udev-detect.so
load-module module-udev-detect
.else
### Use the static hardware detection module (for systems that lack udev support)
load-module module-detect
.endif

### Automatically connect sink and source if JACK server is present
.ifexists module-jackdbus-detect.so
.nofail
load-module module-jackdbus-detect channels=2
.fail
.endif

### Automatically load driver modules for Bluetooth hardware
.ifexists module-bluetooth-policy.so
load-module module-bluetooth-policy
.endif

.ifexists module-bluetooth-discover.so
load-module module-bluetooth-discover
load-module module-switch-on-connect
.endif

### Load several protocols
.ifexists module-esound-protocol-unix.so
load-module module-esound-protocol-unix
.endif
load-module module-native-protocol-unix

### Network access (may be configured with paprefs, so leave this commented
### here if you plan to use paprefs)
#load-module module-esound-protocol-tcp
#load-module module-native-protocol-tcp
#load-module module-zeroconf-publish

### Load the RTP receiver module (also configured via paprefs, see above)
#load-module module-rtp-recv

### Load the RTP sender module (also configured via paprefs, see above)
#load-module module-null-sink sink_name=rtp format=s16be channels=2 rate=44100 sink_properties="device.description='RTP Multicast Sink'"
#load-module module-rtp-send source=rtp.monitor

### Load additional modules from GSettings. This can be configured with the paprefs tool.
### Please keep in mind that the modules configured by paprefs might conflict with manually
### loaded modules.
.ifexists module-gsettings.so
.nofail
load-module module-gsettings
.fail
.endif


### Automatically restore the default sink/source when changed by the user
### during runtime
### NOTE: This should be loaded as early as possible so that subsequent modules
### that look up the default sink/source get the right value
load-module module-default-device-restore

### Automatically move streams to the default sink if the sink they are
### connected to dies, similar for sources
load-module module-rescue-streams

### Make sure we always have a sink around, even if it is a null sink.
load-module module-always-sink

### Honour intended role device property
load-module module-intended-roles

### Automatically suspend sinks/sources that become idle for too long
load-module module-suspend-on-idle

### If autoexit on idle is enabled we want to make sure we only quit
### when no local session needs us anymore.
.ifexists module-console-kit.so
#load-module module-console-kit

.endif
.ifexists module-systemd-login.so
load-module module-systemd-login
.endif

### Enable positioned event sounds
load-module module-position-event-sounds

### Cork music/video streams when a phone stream is active
load-module module-role-cork

### Modules to allow autoloading of filters (such as echo cancellation)
### on demand. module-filter-heuristics tries to determine what filters
### make sense, and module-filter-apply does the heavy-lifting of
### loading modules and rerouting streams.
load-module module-filter-heuristics
load-module module-filter-apply

### Make some devices default
#set-default-sink output
#set-default-source input

[-- Attachment #2: signature.asc --]
[-- Type: application/pgp-signature, Size: 247 bytes --]

Re: Guix Bluetooth Headset

[Ekaitz Zarraga]

ElenQ Technology
Ethical Innovation

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Saturday, September 26, 2020 4:04 PM, Guillaume Le Vaillant <glv@posteo.net> wrote:

>
>
> Hi,
>
> I have a headset that can be used either with a cord or with Bluetooth,
> and I got it to almost work with Bluetooth. The only problem I have is
> that I want it to use the A2DP profile but most of the time it decides
> to use the HSP profile and refuses to switch to A2DP, therefore the
> sound is not as good.
>
> In my 'config.scm' file I had to modify the pulseaudio service to use
> a custom configuration file (in attachment):
>
> --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
> (operating-system
> ...
> (services
> (cons* ...
> (bluetooth-service)
> (modify-services %desktop-services
> (pulseaudio-service-type config =>
>
>               (pulseaudio-configuration
>                (inherit config)
>                (script-file (local-file "/etc/guix/default.pa"))))))))
>
>
> --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---
>
> I'm also using the vanilla Linux kernel instead of Linux-libre, but I'm
> not sure if it makes a difference for Bluetooth headsets.
>
> HTH!

Thanks for example!
The main problem I see to this approach is that it doesn't look very accessible...

I'll try to make it work in my speaker.

Best,
Ekaitz