Houdini vs. The Feisty Fawn by Georg Dümlein

The X11 Error

While running my houdini sessions the terminal repeatedly printed messages like
X11 Error (169): BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device

This is caused by a reference to an wacom graphic tabled in xorg. Why they assume everybody got an wacom, I don't know. I guess most of the time this doesn't show up, but as Houdini can process the information of a graphic tablet it is an unlucky situation.

If you want to get rid of this error you need to edit the xorg.conf: gksu gedit /etx/X11/xorg.conf &


In the section called "ServerLayout" comment the lines referring to "stylus", "cursor", "eraser" by adding a # to the beginning of each line. I also commented the three corrsponding sections "InputDevice" that use the driver "wacom".


*** IMPORTANT: If you do this and don't do it well your system won't boot next time! In this case you need to boot in recovery mode and fix the xorg.conf using vi. I know this because it happened to me.

Now save and close the file. If you are sure, reboot. The error should be gone now.

*** Note: Since 1995 I never rebooted a *nix system that many times. Ok - I don't know nothing about X11 and graphical environments. A little bit of Solaris that was the reason for my previous nickname Suneater may be the exception. But this Ubuntu real looks and feels like a windows desktop with its continuous reboots.

Advanced Techniques

The following techniques require a deeper understanding of the way a linux system works and aren't really necessary to run the software. That's why I don't provide screenshots. If you feel ready you will know what to do.

Jean-Claude Nouchy (sum][one) offered the following advice:

If you symlink /bin/sh to /bin/bash you don't need to change the install scripts. Something you would have to do evertime you install a new houdini build. To do so delete the /bin/sh symlink by entering sudo rm /bin/sh and create a new one pointing to bash: sudo ln -s /bin/bash /bin/sh


Conclusion

Even if Ubuntu Linux looks and feels like an end user environment, it still requires some basic knowledge about its inner workings. It is still dimmish to me: are the steps outlined just hacks or is this the way to go? Sure you can 'install' sesinetd to be run at every boot, but I prefer to link it to my houdini session ...

The implication of this linux masquerade is: as soon as it is really a one-size-fits-all-one-click-one-look-mac/pc-lookalike-fake-environment the masses of smattering users - like me - will undermine the stability and credibility of this system. I foresee the time when they chant: "Thank God - it's not a *nix!"

Until then I say thank you Chip Collier (photex) for the help and tips on my first journey to a desktop-replacement-linux. And also DaJuice for the Houdini Icon.

And last but not least: Thank you SideFX for offering such a great tool for free - you know how to threat your multiplicators.


About the Author



Munich-born R&D TD Georg Duemlein (RDG) has a degree in Product Design from the Bauhaus University Weimar. When he is not researching the interplay of aesthetics and technology he likes to cook and spend time in his garden. In 2007, he founded "count-as-one", a school for applied proceduralism, which offers TD courses and consulting for Sidefx Houdini and Autodesk 3D Studio MAX.

Website: http://www.preset.de/

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