THIRD time trying to post this... I'm having a couple of problems with pulseaudio. I can't find answers on the web and it's driving me perfectly batty. 1. When I boot into Ubuntu 10.04, the signal from the built-in hardware input is routed out to the built-in hardware output. That is, if I turn up the speakers and rub the microphone, I can hear the sound coming out of the speakers. By contrast, if I boot into Windows, the sound is not so routed. This is an irritant for normal use, but I also plan to perform live electronic music using Ubuntu. If sound from the laptop's built-in microphone pollutes the output audio stream, that's completely unacceptable. (OTOH, Jack suspends PA and this might stop the unwanted routing. I hope... I don't remember exactly, will check later.) I haven't been able to find any way to break the connection. There is no client application that sends in --> out. It's either pulseaudio or alsa, and the source of the connection is invisible in all configuration tools. This is very seriously frustrating for me. Any hints would help. 2. As a workaround for problem #1, I thought I could turn down the main system volume and then turn up the volume in client applications. But I found, for instance, that changing the system volume also changes the volume in rhythm box and vice versa. Why are these not independent? Where is the preference so that I can make them independent? Thanks. James -- James Harkins /// dewdrop world jamshark70 at dewdrop-world.net http://www.dewdrop-world.net "Come said the Muse, Sing me a song no poet has yet chanted, Sing me the universal." -- Whitman blog: http://www.dewdrop-world.net/words audio clips: http://www.dewdrop-world.net/audio more audio: http://soundcloud.com/dewdrop_world/tracks