Sound config both in and out.

[George Farris]

I was reading through the details for using sound in Dapper.  It all
seems a little messed up.  I realize it is a Linux issue.  I didn't
really see anything that covered audio input only output.

As I see it the issues are:

Programs that used ESD
Programs that use ALSA
Programs that use OSS.

I've have had a number of people ask how multiple programs are going to
be handled.  Specifically, if one is running music through Rhythmbox and
Skype is run will the system puke or what will happen?  With Breezy it
is a major pain, Wine sound may or may not work, if I'm running Totem or
RB, I can't fire up Skype without killing ESD.  Granted Skype is crap as
far as sound support is involved but it still needs to be handled.
Throw network audio on thin clients into the mess and it really gets
confusing.

Whatever happened to polyaudio, did it die a horrible death when
confronted with all this crap?  Is there a strong consensus about the
future of audio on Ubuntu.  With long term support this is going to be a
really important issue.

Consumer desktops need two things to work really well, Sound and Video.
I believe Ubuntu has a fairly good grip on a lot of other desktop items
but these two are pretty important.

Is there other information other than whats on the wiki?  Does Ubuntu
have a solid plan for sound support?


-- 
George Farris   farrisg at mala.bc.ca
Malaspina University-College