hardware

I have summarized some resources about sound card requirements on my course notes 2.3 metalist:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg9xxrf5_214gjr99k

After assessing my existing hardware and looking at some blog entries, I noticed that this issue has not

received much attention, even though the sound card is the central workhorse in webcasting.

I'm thinking aloud here, but if you have any thoughts please comment.

I've recently bought a new, fairly high spec PC running Windows XP SP2. I have three sound capture devices attached: a SoundMax internal card that came with the PC, a Soundblaster Audigy that I've just added and an M-Audio Firewire 410 audio interface, which I have to record my own music. Sounds complicated. Now I also have Virtual Audio Cables which I suppose falls into this list. (VAC keeps saying "Test" btw?)

I was having problems with the SoundMax, hence the addition of the Audigy. The Firewire interface I regard as a separate issue. Everything can work - I just don't know when it will and when it will fail. I was in at the beginning of the small group meeting last night on the Skypecast and had tested Skype with our friend the Skype Lady before the meet. Everything was OK. Previously I had been using the Java-based Elluminate environment to play back some conference sessions. During our meeting I had Web Huddle running.