Linux.com: Sound in GNU/Linux Nov 1, 2004, 11 :00 UTC (8 Talkback[s]) (4956 reads) (Other stories by Jem Matzan)
"Getting sound to work properly in GNU/Linux can be a real pain (not that it can't be in Windows, too), and even if it works perfectly from the start, the technologies that live between you and the hardware are often confusing and mysterious. This article will outline ALSA, OSS, Esound, and aRts and what they do; we'll also list some tips for identifying your sound card or onboard sound chip and for getting sound to work in GNU/Linux.
"There are two distinct layers to the sound system in GNU/Linux: the kernel driver, and the sound server.
You need the driver for the sound card to work with the operating system, but the sound server is optional. While you don't need it to play sound, you will need it to play more than one sound at once, and some servers have more features than just managing sound requests..."
