That was fun. Except that it's not that sweet of a laptop after all. Apparently Vista is incapable of monitoring incoming audio through the built-in sound card, the 1/8 in. audio input of which was the sole reason I bought this Acer. (the brand, it turns out, all around rejects Windows XP. Won't take it. So downgrading, as I had planned to, is out of the question. Incidentally, Dell charges $100 to downgrade to XP. That should have been my first clue to stay the fuck away from Vista, but of course the economy collapsed and the temping business instantly got 2000% harder. So, yes, a $450 laptop. Seriously, thanks Acer. You make dreams come true, and once I figure out a workaround for this problem, I'll sponsor your dumb computer.)
It's practically impossible to find a lap top with a quarter inch audio input, anyway. Apparently. Now.
Yes, I know, I'm stupid for not getting a mac. What are you, white?
So I wanted to use Cool Edit Pro. I grew up on Cool Edit Pro. I am Peter Quistgard. That is my actual name. And it's the strangest thing. I can't hear anything I play through the monitor headphones. It's almost as if there is no audio input at all--except that there it is, being recorded on the screen. Makes using the program impossible. And for Vista, or Acer, or Realtek, or whoever not to send the stupid audio through the stupid audio card is absurd.
According to this board, only people with Realtek sound cards are fucked. Oh good. That's me. All the other sound cards have a patch.
A person on that message board received this reply from Acer when asked about the problem:
Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you with this matter. If I understand correctly, you want to connect your iPod (or other external playback device) and play the sound through the speakers on the computer. Unfortunately in Vista this is not possible. I realize that XP may have been able to do this however Windows Vista is very different and does not have all the same functionality. I'm sorry but we are unable to assist further with this matter.
Respectfully,
Acer America
Online Technical Support
Word.
