One huge problem in a standard Ubuntu install is that not all programs are actually using the PulseAudio daemon but instead still use ALSA. This is especially true with the flashplugin. Since PulseAudio and ALSA can’t use the hardware device at the same time, they block each other which leads to hangs and maybe even… Read More »
The default soundcard to be used with ALSA is that with the index 0 in /proc/asound/cards. Usually this is the first found sound device. If you want to change this order, you have to find out the name of the kernel module used for that card and then add the desired index to it in… Read More »
A nice collection of all available siren sounds in a NYPD police car can be found at the NY Times. The “Air Horn” sound going through a horn loudspeaker should give the typical horn sound of ambulances.
Enable in Ubuntu If you want some scripts to emit beeps, e.g. because you don’t always have your headphones on, you first have to enable the pcspkr module. This is per default disabled in Ubuntu. To enable it again, do the following: After that, you can play around with the beep program.
If you have no sound in Flash videos but in all other programs, there are two possibilities: Bug report is #396558.