If you??™re really pinched, check out
eBay, where you probably can get a decent SoundBlaster-compatible card (still the standard) for
next to nothing.
If you try the procedures in this book but still don??™t have a working sound card, visit
www.alsa-project.org, home of the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA).
ALSA is the preferred sound software for Linux and is built into the Linux kernel itself (beginning with
the 2.6 kernel). The ALSA site offers support, information, and help.
The following list summarizes the basic features that are included in the popular SoundBlaster family
of sound cards:
Sound recording and playback??”The card can convert analog sound into 8-bit or 16-
bit digital numbers. To convert the sound, the board samples the sound in waves from
5 KHz to 48 KHz, or 5,000 to 48,100 times per second. The higher the sampling rate,
the better the sound and the larger the output files.
Full-duplex support??”Full-duplex means that recording and playback occur at the
same time. This is particularly useful for bidirectional Internet communication, such as
Voice-Over-IP (VOIP) telephony or simultaneous recording and playback.
Input/output ports??”Several different ports on the board enable you to connect other
input/output devices.
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