> On Sun, Mar 23, 2014 at 14:22, Alexandre Ratchov wrote: > >> So we should take all our hardware mixers, and crank them to full > >> volume right at boot time. > >> > > > > IMO, this is the best option. > > Strongest possible disagree. The keyboard beep on my thinkpads at full > volume is mind shattering. Among other noises. I do not want to be in > the situation where I'm hoping that sndiod will then soft lower the > volume to an acceptable level. The fact that there is a mixer that > mplayer is not aware of could be considered a feature. > > Across a variety of machines, running a variety of operating > systems and software, I am constantly adjusting the volume up or down > depending on the sitatuation because there is no one level that's > perfect. I make the following observation about my emotional state when > doing so: > > When I have to raise the volume, I am annoyed. > When I have to lower the volume, I am *angry*. > > > Hardware defaults are too quiet, they have always been too quiet. > > I think that's fine. Quiet is secure by default. :) > > We ship a default /etc/mixerctl.conf with a commented entry that raises > the volume. If people want loud, it's an easy change to make.
The "two mixers" model is broken. There should only be one mixer. The software mixer should notice when hardware mixer changes happen behind the scene. The software mixer should also tune the hardware mixer itself into a high or low range. Basically, somewhere along the way writing this code Alexandre started to think that users could cope with a multi-control mixer board. That is not realistic.
