Mac files on Linux question..

Wed Oct 15 13:17:54 PDT 2003

On Tue, Oct 14, 2003 at 10:06:01PM -0700, Michael T. Halligan wrote:
> I'm trying to help my roommate retrieve some ProTools files
> from a DVD he was given after a recording session.. I can seem
> to transfer everything except for the session file.. For some reason
> when linux seese one of these files it turns it into a dbase3 file.
> I've tried creating a new session file, ftping it to linux, it becomes
> a dbase3 file (at least that's what "file filename" outputs) that
> is no longer a protools file.. And when I just try ftping from the
> mounted dvd to my roommate's mac, same thing, it loses it's file type.
> 
> I've been tooling around for macutils for about an hour, and still
> no luck.. Any thoughts beyond telling my roommate to go buy a dvd
> drive?

What is the file *actually* supposed to be, a raw data track, or what?

BTW I suppose it's possible that it is a database file containing some
additional notes;  when I burn CDs I can fill in with extra info like
"publisher" and "application" and even the name I want the CD mounted
under.  I preseume the same is true of burning DVDs.  So the idea that
ProTools "native format" for keeping all these parts in one image
might closely resemble a dtabase doesn't strike me as that odd.

Linux does not change the bits during FTP transmission unless you send it
up FTP in "ascii" format instead of "binary".  (And even if you did this
would change line-end characters, not everything.)  FTP doesn't know squati
on its own about what "file" does.  And "file" just reads some magic it's
trained to look for - it can be wrong, and when people find what the 
distinction is, the magic file gets updated.

Rather like the old game of "what animal am I thinking of" to teach new
college students about neural networks...

Linux does permit you to use dd on the raw device of a cd or dvd player
to just draw all the bits from the beginning off the disc.  I've done
this myself to clone CDs.  A properly dd'd away image of a CD is
mountable (-o loop) as if it were still on a CD.  So if any bits are
being left on the DVD and screwing things up, using dd could help.

-* Heather Stern * Starshine Technical Services * star at starshine.org *-