thanks Raffaele!!
here the output from [aplay -l]:
================================
kim@kim-laptop:~$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: STAC92xx Analog [STAC92xx Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 3: INTEL HDMI [INTEL HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: system [iMic USB audio system], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
=================================
excellent!! :)
now, does anyone know of a HDMI hardware interface that can serve as a
studio audio I/O?