On Sat, Apr 20, 2013 at 5:34 PM, Walter Dnes <[email protected]> wrote: > I think you've hit the nail on the head. Complex setups require > complex software... deal with it. An analogy is that an 18-wheeler > semi-tractor trailer with a 17-speed manual transmission (plus air brakes > that require months of training to manage/use) is much more powerful > than a Chevy Sonic hatchback when it comes to hauling huge loads. But > for someoneone who merely wants to zip out to the supermarket and buy a > week's groceries, the hatchback is much more appropriate. > > Similarly, PulseAudio may be better at handling complex situations > like you describe. The yelling and screaming you're hearing are from > the 99% of people whose setups are not complex enough to justify > PulseAudio. Making 100% of setups more complex in order to handle the > 1% of edge cases is simply wrong.
The "complexity" overhead of pulseaudio is vaaastly overstated here. Yes, as a general principle, adding unneeded complexity is bad. But that takes into account general ideas on the relative tradeoffs of having it there or not. But listen to the happy PA users here who don't feel any problem with their setup. The complexity doesn't bite them. Analogy: 99% of people aren't going to need a11y. But the whole point of installing it by default on most desktop systems is that you can't predict who will need it, and _it does not harm_ (or very little harm) to the people who don't. So your tradeoffs are: A) no a11y unless elected by user: - for the 1%: a11y is a pain to install because the user might not even be able to see the screen (very big pain) - for the 99% use a few megabytes less on their disk. (very small gain) B) a11y for everyone unless elected removed: - for the 1%: they can use the system properly (no pain) - for the 99%: use a few megabytes more on their disk (very small pain) Obviously (B) is a better default choice. Ditto pulseaudio. -- This email is: [ ] actionable [ ] fyi [x] social Response needed: [ ] yes [x] up to you [ ] no Time-sensitive: [ ] immediate [ ] soon [x] none
