[sf-lug] Meeting notes for SF-LUG Jit.si meeing of 2022-05-01 + a little newssf

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Bobbie Sellers (bliss-sf4ever at dslextreme.com):

> Well I was on time to the meeting but through-out my
> microphone was out of action and nothing I could do restored
> its function.

I get a _lot_ of use, for A/V meetings and otherwise, out of one of
these, a CMTECK G006 USB microphone:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/384858970058

It is utterly reliable, has excellent sound quality, is slightly
directional, and you certainly cannot complain about expense.

Of course, if your problem lies at the software level, switching mics
won't help.  But, seems to me, the first thing to do is test-boot a 
known-good, familiar live distro, and test mic functionality.  If the
problem vanishes, that increases suspicion about your normal software's
configuration.  If the problem persists, that raises suspicion about
your hardware.

Having a spare, known-good mic on hand would permit using the same sort
of logic to eliminate one suspect category or the other (software or
hardware), narrowing the possibilities greatly.  This is a standard
troubleshooting method:  You marshal in your head the possible causes,
then test-change parts of the setup to try to eliminate suspects.  It's 
the Hercule Poirot approach to tech problems.