i used ubuntu in college, but i haven't used it since then (almost 2 years now). well, i was just considering giving it another try with a fresh install, and i'm not sure if the ubuntu forums are going to provide enough support for me. i was just poking around to see if anyone ever hacked a driver for the sound blaster extigy (external sound card) to play DVDs in 5.1 channels. short answer: no. long answer: the issue hasn't developed at all in the past 2 years; in fact, i'm encountering horror stories about intrepid making the extigy stop working in WINDOWS.

so many questions go unanswered in ubuntuforums, so many posts without replies. it's scary. it reminds me of some of my negative experiences with ubuntu in the past: trying to change the cursor (to replace that big, fat, stupid i-beam that used to be the default--i hope they've changed that) yielded no responses in ubuntuforums....

anyway, i just thought i'd express my appreciation for the responsiveness of this forum. i feel like people are actually listening when i post here.