Ubuntu Sound Recorder configuration problem

The default sound recorder in Ubuntu 9.10 is Sound Recorder, which is a part of the Gnome desktop environment. However, this implementation of Sound Recorder seems to have a problem, which means, that the configuration settings are lost from time to time. If you use Sound Recorder to record critical conversations, then this is a critical problem. What could cause this? Reboot? Power down?

Let us test this. A machine with Ubuntu 9.10 is booted. Sound Recorder is started. The Volume Control dialogue is opened from the menu. The input volume is set to amplification. The sound input is set to internal. The input connector is set to line-in. The Volume Control dialogue is closed. At this point, the user should be able to assume, that the configuration settings will be remembered until changed by the user at a later time. The computer is then powered down and powered up again. Sound Recorder is started, the Volume Control dialogue is opened and we are ready to check our configuration settings. The configuration settings are found to be as expected.

Reboot and power down is not causing the problem. What else could cause the loss of Sound Recorder configuration settings?

Sound Recorder uses Sound Preferences, which is a part of the Gnome desktop environment. That makes the sound settings centralized for sound applications. Centralized sound settings are unreliable for critical usage of Sound Recorder.

A solution could be to use another sound recorder, such as the built in rec, which is a part of SoX, the Swiss Army knife of sound processing programs.