Doug Way wrote:
> 
> So I take it that other (non-Squeak) Linux applications also generally crash when trying to play sounds with a typical (non-NAS) sound driver setup?  (or whatever setup causes Squeak to crash)  Or is this just a Squeak thing?
> 
> I'm just wondering if there's any way that Squeak could at least fail silently rather than crash in this situation.  It seems a bit ridiculous that it's this easy for a newbie to crash Squeak on Linux.

As you can imagine, it's pretty complex! Indeed, there are probably
people out there who see the very idea of sound in a Unix (or *nix
alike) as the work of the devil. (And I'm not 100% convinced that
they're wrong!)

Without the NAS stuff _some_ Linux applications know how to handle
"sound sharing". For example, XMMS is a rather nice mp3 and wav player.
If I run it under Kde (which has its own sound effects, a la Windows 9*
-- or Mac, I guess) then the Kde effects play and XMMS "comes back"
immediately, as though nothing untoward had happened. Others, like mtvp
(an mpeg player) behave OK, but simply loose their sound if XMMS is
running.

The sound in Kde doesn't interfere with Squeak, but XMMS causes the
dreaded crash/lock-up. (But only, IIRC, with Squeak's mpeg player.)

How all this is done, I've no idea. Perhaps one of the Kde developers
could tell us? 

Cheers

John


-- 
Reputed to be the reason Windows 2000 was nearly a year late, (paid in
shares M$Ds needed the cash and kudos) Netproject's Eddie Bleasdale has
renewed his challenge to virus writers. The first person to infect his
Linux box wins 10,000 pounds.

http://www.silicon.com/bin/bladerunner?30REQEVENT=&REQAUTH=21046&14001REQSUB=REQINT1=48211