Dom Incollingo writes:
Are there any major disadvantages to using software like Totem to play music CDs rather than using KsCD with an audio cable? For example, are players like Totem more CPU-intensive?
Yes, basically, without the cable, the software must perform real-time CDDA (digital audio extraction) and play it via the sound card's PCM channel. This involves the CPU to do work, both reading the CD and writing the data to the sound card. With the cable, all the software needs to do is to tell the drive to start playing out of its analog output, and then do nothing (except polling periodically to check the playback position and status).
Also, is it fairly common for newer desktop computers to ship without an audio cable and to rely on players like Totem to play CDs?
Yes indeed. Many new computers now do not have an internal analog line connection to the CD drive. Since the CPUs are so fast nowadays the increased CPU usage with CDDA playback seems innocuous enough. -Ti -- Ti Kan http://www.amb.org/ti Vorsprung durch Technik