At my Etch-system, some of my programs need for alsaconf to be run before I start the program, in order to get the sound to work. This does not apply to all progs (native KDE/Gnome progs do not need this, example. k3b, noautun, gaim). Of the programs I use daily, it is Skype, Wine and some linux games that need alsaconf before start.
Same here, running Debian unstable. I use gnome at the desktop, and Gaim and Amarok don't work unless I run alsaconf first. -- http://arhuaco.org http://emQbit.com