[linux-audio-user] Another New Debian User

[Scott Downie]

I'm following the same trajectory that Laura described earlier.

I finally assembled my Linux system (Athlon 1900, ASUS A7V333 and an
M-Audio Delta 1010) and installed Mandrake. Mandrake went nowhere fast
so I decided to go back to my original Debian plan. I followed "The
Very Verbose Debian 3.0 Installation Walkthrough" (at OSNews.com)
which recommends apt-get-ting packages as you need them rather than
installing a whole bunch of apps by default.

Then I started through "Installing and Configuring ALSA Sound Modules
in Debian GNU/Linux HOWTO" (at LinuxOrbit.com), but the gaping chasms
in my Linux knowledge eventually prompted me to stop, back out the
ALSA pieces I had installed, and consider the Big Picture.

What is the Big Picture? I've got Dave Phillips' excellent "Linux
Music & Sound." But by necessity, it's too vague at the outset (when
discussing system configuration, for example) because he wants to
cover a wide swath of Linux eventualities. I'd like to get your
opinions on the following questions:

* Is the alsa-project.org the best place for module-specific
installation information (for Debian, anyway)? If so, the ice1712
information (which is what I think I need for the Delta 1010) is still
too abstract for a Linux newbie like myself to grasp.

* What tools make life easier or make life harder? For example,
Synaptic seems as though it makes the apt-get process too easy. Is
Synaptic really making my configuration job harder because it is
hiding compilation or configuration steps that I need to be tweaking?

* What simple tests can I run on which apps to let me know that my
configuration was successful? Or do most of these audio apps come with
built-in test routines to let you know that you've successfully
transmitted/received MIDI or digital audio?

If you would like to answer a small question in lieu of one of the
larger questions listed above, here's one: What is the best first step
I--as a Linux neophyte--can take to get Debian (kernel 2.4.16-k7) to
make friends with my M-Audio 1010 box?

Thanks!

Scott