[LAU] perhaps why some of us have more trouble w/ pulseaudio than others (ICE1712/M-audio delta problem w/ pulseaudio)

[Chris Cannam]

On Thu, May 13, 2010 at 1:53 AM, Paul Davis <paul at linuxaudiosystems.com> wrote:
> If you check, Lennart has never really had the goal of providing a new
> native API. He doesn't advocate using the current API and he doesn't have
> "the new one" ready or even described. Pulse to date has not been about
> replacing the API(s) used for audio.

Still, I've used the current PulseAudio callback-driven API, and it
isn't the most felicitous API but it certainly works.  I've been
thinking of adding a driver for it to Rosegarden, just to wind people
u-- sorry, I mean to get basic playback working on systems without
JACK.  Perhaps fortunately, as always I haven't managed to find the
time.

I've just spent a few minutes configuring PulseAudio on an Arch Linux
system that didn't originally use it, and I have to say that if your
workflow includes blips, bloops, media players, and YouTube as well as
"serious" audio applications, it really does help to have Pulse
working right.  It's the badly configured or incompletely installed
Pulse that you really have to beware of, and if that's your problem,
it's just good as a principle to learn how it works and how to fix it
rather than to assume that its developers have simply been wasting far
more of their time than you ever will on it.  A lot of readers here
would find it enlightening to find out what it really consists of and
how you make it work properly: I certainly have; it's a fascinating
system.  And it's not hard to get every type of "desktop" audio
playing through Pulse, and then have the whole thing step neatly aside
when you want to do real work with JACK.  Of course I accept that for
many readers here "desktop" audio is of less than no interest, but for
some it may be.

The real problem PulseAudio has is that you will curse Lennart for the
entire time it isn't working properly, and then totally forget about
it when it is.


Chris