Hi folks, I would like to bring several issues into the glare and to propose a non-invasive and forward- and backward-compatible (for 6.06 LTS and Gutsy+1 LTS in particular) resolution to them.
(1) For some time now, the Ubuntu alsa-utils source package has shipped a udev rule that restores sound card volume levels on boot[0]. Several Ubuntu releases have seen changes in ALSA's mixer element names. These changes have wrought much weeping and gnashing of teeth[1], because the changes in mixer element names do not correspond to known (at fresh boot into the new kernel) state file[2] fields. (2) Moreover, some users of one family of any particular ALSA driver require one particular mixer setting (on a binary toggle), while users of a newer version of the same family of audio cards _using the identical ALSA driver_ require precisely the opposite mixer setting[3]. (3) Further, users are required to set, to a particular configuration solely dependent on the revision of the audio hardware in the machine, this mixer state. (4) Additionally, users seem split on whether a default login sound in a graphical environment should be muted[4] or audible. To alleviate the issues given above, I am requesting comments from developers and users alike regarding the following proposal that changes alsa-utils's initscript usage[0]: /etc/init.d/alsa-utils will no longer be invoked in the udev rule shipped in the alsa-utils source package (for reference, it is included below[5]). This change means that volume restoration would be delegated to KMix, mixer_applet2, and xfce4-mixer (for Kubuntu, Ubuntu/Edubuntu/Ubuntu Studio, and Xubuntu, respectively). The change resolves issue 1[1], since at shutdown `alsactl store` is executed, which stores the new state; also resolved are issues 2[3], 3, and 4[5], since the driver is responsible for setting a sane toggle. Users who elect to continue to restore volume levels at boot can do so by adding the invocation of `/etc/init.d/alsa-utils start` to /etc/rc.local. I am particularly interested in further suggestions. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Finally, in accordance with the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, because a new job will remove me from consistent Internet access for three consecutive years beginning 9 July 2007, I am resigning from both the community lead for Ubuntu's ALSA maintainership and from Ubuntu core at the end of the Gutsy development cycle. I would like to recognise Luke Yelavich and Toby Smithe in particular whose efforts in improving sound usability in Ubuntu are ongoing. Additionally, my own efforts would not be possible without those of Martin Pitt, Thomas Hood, the remaining Debian ALSA packaging team, the users who frequent #alsa/Freenode, upstream ALSA core itself, and of course, the developers of all Free software I've used. All the best, Daniel Chen [0] `alsactl restore` is invoked via /etc/init.d/alsa-utils as a RUN target for each detected audio device. See [4] below. [1] e.g., https://launchpad.net/bugs/21804 [2] /var/lib/alsa/asound.state [3] e.g., https://launchpad.net/bugs/106380 [4] e.g., https://launchpad.net/bugs/45739 [5] RUN+="/sbin/start-stop-daemon --start --background --pidfile /var/run/alsa/bogus --startas /etc/init.d/alsa-utils -- start %n"
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