automaticable

By default, Ubuntu Hardy Heron uses PulseAudio for audio mixing, which disables surround sound by default. I just bought new 5.1-channel speakers, but I was only heard sound coming from the front two. Disappointed, I went searching for the answer in the forums. If you want surround sound on your Linux setup, keep reading below..

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I love seeing films on opening night, and with a movie as good as Iron Man it was a great experience. The audience was really excited, cheering and clapping whenever something amazing happened. Normally I am not into the whole audience interaction thing in movie theaters, but I think Iron Man was the perfect film to play along with.

So what made the movie so good? For a film based on a comic book, Iron Man took itself very seriously. There were no emo dance scenes a la Spiderman, anyway. Serious does not mean boring or dry though. Iron Man was funny; actually, it was hilarious at times. Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect match for this military mogul: smart, confident, and drunk. Speaking of smart, I don’t think there has been another comic hero movie where the main character’s super power was his smarts. At least not like Downey’s character, Tony Stark. Stark is an engineer capable of building amazing power sources the size of tennis balls out of scraps in a cave. He is an expert with computers, soldering, metalworking…pretty much everything needed to make the most powerful suit in the world. Convenient for him, huh?

I highly recommend this movie. It is action packed, but doesn’t focus on the explosions or fight scenes. As I mentioned earlier, it is also really smart and funny as well. I think those are the three elements that make for a great action flick. In the end Iron Man is about the struggle we as Americans go through having the most powerful military in the world. The best defense is a good offense, but what happens when our offense falls into the hands of our enemies?