best sound subsystem for freebsd for a desktop

[Polytropon]

On Tue, 19 May 2020 18:05:47 +0200, Ralf Mardorf via freebsd-questions wrote:
> On Tue, 19 May 2020 17:38:39 +0200, Polytropon wrote:
> >> 3. system noises like you'd expect from a desktop  
> >
> >Depends on the desktop environment you use, and how it is
> >configured to entertain, erm annoy the user. I don't expect
> >a desktop to make any noises, unless the head is banged
> >onto it. :-)
> 
> The bell, aka as PC speaker beep, could be a useful desktop sound,
> unless the user does run vi.

In X, you can even configure what the bell sound should
be (using something like "xset b 100 1000 15"). With xbiff,
it says "You have mail!". And certain MUAs can even define
their own media files for things they want you to hear.
NOW PAY ATTENTION TO ME! YOU HAVE NO NEW MESSAGES!!! :-)



> Joking apart, desktop sound is not just an annoyance, it is also a
> serious risk, especially if different sources could access audio output
> at the same time.

Programs, if configured properly, can deal with that. For
example mplayer can have its own volume setting independent
from other sounds. The master volume can be used as a
"ceiling value", even if PCM is at 100.



> Imagine you set the wanted level for the trash bin sound, after that
> you watch a very silent video. You increase the volume of the amplifier
> much, to listen to the video and after watching and listening the
> video, you move it to the trash bin, without decreasing the volume
> first. The trash bin sound could blow the speakers.

And curious people can hear things they're not supposed
to hear and to know:

"Please enter your secret password."

"Eytsh you en tee ee are two."

Shhh!

"You entered the password hunter two. Is that your password?"

Um...

"Please speak louder into the microphone. Is hunter two your
password?"

Yes?

"You have confirmed your password hunter twelve. You are now
logged in to Facebook. Now enter your credit card number and
secret PIN to confirm your identity."

Erm...

;-)




-- 
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...