Ubuntu and Multimedia (audio, in particular)

[Matthias Heiler]

Michael Richter <ttmrichter at gmail.com> writes:

>    - Where can I get multimedia players for Linux that work without
>    the headaches and hassles -- kind of like I've been finding under
>    Windows since wWin98?  (I thought the bazaar was supposed to be
>    more responsive and flexible than the cathedral!)

Setting up sound under Linux (not just ubuntu) can be amazingly
annoying.  I believe this actually has something to do with the
bazaar-style of development which in this particular case causes
troubles: In the Linux world there are many means for controlling
sound.  Historically, each of them probably made sense but today the
poor user has to configure alsa, oss, etc. in a way that they don't
interfere with one another.  The same is unfortunately true for the
multimedia applications.  (I have four of five multimedia players
installed on kubuntu, none of which works perfectly.  For each
particular file I usually can find one that does, though.)

In a cathedral somebody can enforce the true gospel, on the bazaar it
takes longer until dead-ends vanish from the market.  That's the prize
to pay for the flexibility and speed the bazaar gives you.