"As Linux grows in popularity among artists working in
media such as audio/video and animation, we can expect to see more
interest in the system's audio capabilities and its available sound
and music software. Sound workers migrating from Windows or the Mac
will look for tools similar to what they have enjoyed using on
their previous platforms, and one of their most frequently asked
questions is "What Linux audio editor will most completely take the
place of Cool Edit?".
Cool Edit is perhaps the most popular sound file editor
available for the Windows OS family. It has been in continuous
development for more than 10 years: Programmer David Johnston
originally wrote Cool Edit as shareware for Windows 3.1, and in
1995 the Syntrillium corporation began managing the commercial
development of the program (the company still maintains and
distributes the shareware version available on the Internet).
For various reasons, it has been rather difficult to advise Cool
Edit users on a Linux equivalent. While there are many sound file
editors available for Linux none are up to Cool Edit's standard,
particularly with regards to transparency and ease of use. In
response to this challenge, I decided to work on extending and
enhancing Snd, a powerful audio editor for Linux and other Unix
platforms."