[linux-audio-user] Re: [Alsa-user] VxPocket and hotplug - need help getting it working

[Asbjørn Sæbø]

On Tue, Mar 21, 2006 at 03:31:27PM -0500, Lee Revell wrote:
> On Tue, 2006-03-21 at 11:41 +0000, tim hall wrote:
> > My reasoning behind this point/question is that studios and production
> > environments are likely to want to run 'stable' distros and Debian is 
> > always going to ship with at least year old software, whether anyone 
> > thinks it's a good idea or not. [...]

> If a production environment wants to use a 2-year old kernel they had
> better be willing to use 2-year old hardware if they need full driver
> support.

Please, do not take this as a complaint.  Although I am quite annoued 
not getting my sound card to work, I am grateful for the help and advice 
I have received from several people here.

However, I would like to point out that in this case, the problem is not 
new hardware.  The vxpocket card is bought around 2000, and I have 
reports of it working with alsa 1.0.3.  And the laptop is from 2003.


I also think that Tim is raising a valid point.  I can fully understand
that those working on ALSA have more than enough to do with current
development, and that debugging errors on older versions running on
unknown hadware may not be very feasible.  But that is not of little 
help for those of us less skilled and stuck with what seems like (at 
least for us having them) hard problems.  Some mechanism for solving 
situations like this would be most helpful.

I do not know what a suitable solution might be.  Paid-for support could 
be an alternative.  A vendor selling "certified" hardware and 
combinations of hardware might be another.  I know that I have spent 
more than a full week trying to solve my problem now (and more before 
that), and would probably be willing to pay something for qualified 
help.

The fact still remains, though, that the deepest insight into alsa is 
found among the developers.  So, for the hardest problems, the 
developers would probably still have to be involved.  And there we are 
again.


With kind regards
Asbjørn