JACK is not apart of the standard Linux sound experience for anybody but sound technicians or musicians. I'll fully concede that this particular situation may be shit, but it does not represent the typical Linux user, or even the typical Linux power user, experience.
Can't say I've ever noticed Pulse latency, even while playing Quake, except when using Pulse's networking features. Maybe I have crude ears.
I'm trying to convey the fact that you need something like JACK in order to do real time audio DSP, while in Windows/Mac, it just works. More importantly, in 2013, per-application volume control should be a given. It's possible under Pulse AFAIK, just not under ALSA.
It may not represent the typical Linux users, but while audio processing also doesn't represent the typical PC user, it works under mainstream operating systems. Until such a simple thing also "just works", I won't be happy with sound on Linux.
Basically, I'm from the group of people who want things to work on Linux for the same use cases they work on mainstream OSs before I state that it "just works". I believe saying things "just work" only because it works for most of my needs is detrimental, as it gives a wrong image and may frustrate people trying to do something different , as it has happened to me in the past, I've caught myself trying to do non-standard things a lot (read: most) of the time.
> I'm trying to convey the fact that you need something like JACK in order to do real time audio DSP, while in Windows/Mac, it just works.
There's a ton of Windows applications that take over audio and do a lot of driver weirdness. There's still ASIO incompatibilies, latency issues, etc. In fact it happens in the same space where PulseAudio and JACK intersect on Windows.
Having something that just works similar to the way CoreAudio just works would be a killer feature to have in Linux.
Instead, we get ALSA and Pulseaudio, the odd couple of audio interfaces.
Can't say I've ever noticed Pulse latency, even while playing Quake, except when using Pulse's networking features. Maybe I have crude ears.