Why Linux is not (yet) ready for the desktop

[David Gerard]

2009/5/18 Brian Fahrlander <wheeldweller at gmail.com>:
> David Gerard wrote:

>> I particularly empathise with the sound one. Linux sound is all sorts
>> of stupid fucked up, in accreting shells of new sound systems that
>> claim and fail to completely emulate the previous sound system.

>   Well, the sound system is in a state of change...and has been for some
> time. But I think PulseAudio is the way to go. Just making sound locally is
> great...but what happens when you walk up with a USB headset? The bluetooth
> bud from your phone? And let's not forget the future.


The catch comes when system N+1 claims backward compatibility with
system N (as Pulse does with ALSA) and fails to deliver in practice
(as Pulse does with ALSA). Same for ALSA and OSS. Not to mention all
the other attempts.

Linux sound remains really quite remarkably fucked-up shit and if it
works the user is lucky and/or the distro has worked very hard indeed.


- d.