PulseAudio Turns 1.0

PulseAudio, the sound server that has been adopted by KDE (and others), has reached version 1.0. According to the release notes, "The first thing you need to know is that 1.0 is just a number. We do not attach specific significance to the 1.0 moniker. It's really just a way to clean up version numbers - it's an eternal debate as to what constitutes "1.0 quality" and in the end we could easily go on forever with the previous numbering scheme."

Colin Guthrie, who announced the release, says he has already put packages in Mageia Cauldron and will backport them to Mageia 1 soon. So, for those using Mageia like me, you're in luck. Other distros are sure to follow suit.

Key Features of 1.0:

● D-Bus based control protocol (beta)
● Source Output Volumes
● Passthrough Support
● Improved sample rate adaptation in module-rtp-receive
● Volume Change Sync for flat volumes
● Enhanced Port Volume controls
● New, future proof format for metadata files
● New equalizer and acoustic echo cancellation modules
● If Jack is running, PulseAudio will connect to it automatically by default

Extended explanations of these features can be found on the PulseAudio wiki. But basically what this means for you is more control and options with improved sound reproduction and playback. Packages are available and listed in the announcement for the impatient, but most can just wait for updates from their distribution.