[gamzer]

Now you made me curious. How would I be able to switch between different sound cards on the fly without restarting applications if PulseAudio did not exist?

[dsr_]

Let's take a common case: I have a motherboard sound device which I use 95% of the time, and I have a USB camera that has a built-in microphone.

When I go to settings in Google Hangout, it asks me which device I want to use. ALSA presents the interfaces. I choose whatever combination I want -- mic from the camera, headphone out through the mobo -- and it works.

[toyg]

How many people ever had more than one sound card in their computer, let alone a need to switch between them ?

http://xkcd.com/619/

[JoshTriplett]

Everyone with headphones or headsets using Bluetooth or USB.

[shardling]

I have some USB speakers I'm fond of, and PulseAudio was indeed the only way they ever worked right for me on Linux.

[akldfgj]

As CPU counts continue to rise and Flash support continues to get dropped from more pltforms, that comic will become more ironic.

[zokier]

I think I have four: Onboard audio, pcie sound card, usb microphone and hdmi audio on video card.

[CamperBob2]

Not sure if serious