17 May
2009
17 May
'09
9:45 a.m.
Hi Esben,
Before I respond to your suggestions and observations I want to
emphasize again that I am in now way opposed to Pulseaudio per se, and I
understand clearly the job it's trying to do. I also understand the need
for a sound server for any given distro. However, I also understand and
do not like the fact that there are at least half a dozen competing
sound servers for the Linux desktop, which is ridiculous (and points to
the disconnect between the LA* groups and the groups that comprise the
decision-making teams for the distros).
Well, desktops seemed to do okay for my purposes for a long time without
standardized sound servers. Actually the point is rather mitigated by
the fact that I usually scrap the GNOME/KDE desktops in favor of Fluxbox
or similar.
Having said that, I again emphasize that I do understand the situation.
I don't blame Pulseaudio for anything except being in my way, and as I
said in my first message, that's unfortunate. Pulseaudio winds up taking
heat for decisions made by distro maintainters, a very poor outcome.
IMO a far better solution would be a one-click setup configuration
option between a system based on Pulseaudio or one based on raw ALSA.
The newbies can proceed with the normal Pulseaudio setup until they find
reason to switch, and the advanced users are quiet and happy.
Setting up Pulseaudio as a JACK client is something that should be done
without the the user's intervention. Again, it's a distro problem, but
if the distro presents itself as an audio production system then a
number of config options should be handled by the
installer/configurator, not by the end user.
Once more, I understand your POV. I agree with Fons, though, that it
ought to be a non-issue by not being there at all. If your suggestion
resolves the problem without creating other problems, then good on it.
But whatever it does it should do so tranparently, without the user's
intervention, and in such a way that it could be easily and cleanly
disabled and/or removed. EOF. ;)
Best regards,
dp
Dave Phillips <dlphillips(a)woh.rr.com> writes:
What config file ? Where ? What if I don't know what is a config file ?
What does it mean if something is a "JACK client" ? The newbies coming
to us from Win/Mac environments (or not) aren't newbies when it comes to
sound & music software, but this stuff will be terra incognita for most
of them.
For me, the advice is useful, and I will try it when I next wrestle with
Ubuntu (which seems welded to Pulseaudio).
I do in any Ubuntu system is to disable
Pulseaudio (along with a
raft of other stuff).
Well, if you enter the configuration file, you can set it up as a JACK
client.
This is major
pain, because Ubuntu (GNOME?) has coupled its desktop
to the server.
And rightly so. It would be a major design fault to not abstract this
from the desktop environment.
I can't
safely remove Pulseaudio, but I can disable it according to
a set of instructions I found with a Google search.
Well, or just set it up as a JACK client and be done with it.
Btw, 'killall pulseaudio' doesn't
work. The server is set up for
persistence, so the daemon simply relaunches itself, staying in the
way of a successful JACK start.
As you and I and all of us run JACK all the time, pulseaudio is set up
as a JACK client, so.. problem solved.
My needs are
professional, ergo I do not need or want Pulseaudio.
I just can't see this as an issue, cause it's not;). Pulse runs as a
JACK client. End of story;).