galaxy express 999 to planet CCRMA

my vaio x-55 came w/ pre-loaded win xp that got scraped in favour of fedora core 3.
well, considering funding source for the laptop, i got no saying in what os gets installed.

most of the time, except like when i can't find tax software or when i can't seem to play vod from korean sites, i'm pretty content with my fedora core box. a few things not working that used to work, one is audio device and the other is ssh login to company's wifi. gotta play with atheros drive for wifi, but since it works everywhere else, oh well...

since i have about 45 min one way, total of an hour and half minimum to kill on commute daily, and since i see enough of netflix & other media customers watching some tv series or movies on laptop, or on video ipod on shuttle, i'm interested in figuring out my vaio to once again speak & sing.
linux is great in many ways, yet it's not quiet windows when it comes to pre-loaded settings, where system detects and pre-configures sound stuff. i'm keep getting that there's device detection problem. when i type in 'lsmod' i see /dev/snd just fine, and i've tweaked some /etc/ files and added audio group. and ran redhat's package update util, and it seems rpms on my laptop are all up to date. so with some web surfing i encountered 'planet CCRMA'. like 'planet linux' or 'planet debian' or 'planet Hormes', heh. too late to be snooping and following steps on planet CCRMA just now. will have to give a try tomorrow evening. maybe i can enjoy some silly video on the way to work, and stop jumping off the bus still half asleep, in no time.