[pulseaudio-discuss] Keeping a USB mic selected when unplugged & plugged in again

[Whit Blauvelt]

On Thu, Sep 09, 2010 at 08:14:20PM -0400, Whit Blauvelt wrote:

> >>> set-default-source alsa_input.usb-Generic_FREETALK_Everyman_0000000001-00-Everyman.analog-stereo

...

> The pacmd man page mentions being able to take commands in the same format
> as .pulse/default.pa. But creating a default.pa with that line doesn't
> result in the radio button being checked after the headset is unplugged
> and then plugged in again. Nor does restarting pulseaudio from it's init.d
> script after creating that file. So that default.pa's just for a full
> reboot of the computer?

Interestingly, having that in a default.pa file stops pulseaudio from
starting on reboot. 

E: main.c: Source alsa_input.usb-Generic_FREETALK_Everyman_0000000001-00-Everyman.analog-stereo does not exist.
E: main.c: Daemon startup without any loaded modules, refusing to work.

At least once I've seen the modules not load for usb support when the
system's booted without the headset plugged in. But this is _with_ it
plugged it in. Or is this just something else breaking coincident with that
one-line default.pa file's introduction to the system?

This whole pulseaudio system is incredibly fragile, at least on this Ubuntu
10.04 system. I don't know where the primary responsibilty for the
unfortunate state of it lies - whether it's the Canonical implementation, or
the project itself. But so many aspects of it just seem broken. I'm not
saying this to discourage the project's volunteers. Nor am I the person to
fix it. But I hope those working on it are able to rework it soon into
something better reflecting its promise, and common user needs.

Whit