Open Sound System
From iA wiki
See also Audio | ALSA | Linux | *NIX
Home Page: http://www.opensound.com
Aka: Open Sound System
The default sound architecture by 4 Front Technologies in stable Linux kernel version 2.2 and 2.4. It has been deprecated in Linux kernel 2.5 (devel) and 2.6 (stable) since it has been replaced and superseeded by ALSA. The Linux kernel comes with an older, Free (GPL) version of OSS. The newer, proprietary version is free of cost for home/personal use; however you'll need to reinstall it every 4 months.
OSS binaries are available for many Unices including platforms and versions of
Details are available on the OSS homepage.
OSS now, since version 3.99.2a, has ALSA compatibility. Some sound cards are not supported by ALSA while others are supported by OSS -- either by the free or the non-free version. The ALSA drivers are also occasionally harder to get properly working.
Related
- Kerneltrap: Linux: The Future Of The Open Sound System.
- XMMS - Also by 4 Front Technologies. GPL.
- List of supported soundcards.
- List of supported software.
