Re: [Usability] Fwd: New Sound Preferences and Volume Control

[Jacob Beauregard <deadowlsurvivor gmail com>]

Listen: this group analysis has become so completely unstructured to the
point that it's ridiculous. Yes, brainstorming is good, but only if
that's the intention of the discussion. The issue here is that solutions
are being designed when we don't even fully understand the problems that
predate PulseAudio and opportunities that arise from PulseAudio.

Thoughts:

-Centralized Control
---IMO: Regardless of the benefits of direct association, a centralized
control should be implemented, and there are many reasons to do this.
-Direct Object Association (for applications with sound)
---Volume Control on Title Bars
------Neglects GNOME users that don't use Metacity
---Volume Control as GUI control
------IMO: Should be in the HIG as require for an application using
sound.
-Sound Prioritization
---User's likely would not configure beyond default prioritization
unless it impacted their continued normal use of the computer.
---Components:
------Multimedia
------Temporary Sounds
---Scenarios:
------Multimedia
---------Watching a video
---------Listening to music
---------Playing a game
---------(...)
------Temporary Sounds
---------Messages
---------Errors
---------Interface feedback
------------(Ex. minimizing a window sound effect)
---Scenarios which do not support the most common scenario-based
prioritizations.
------A user may play music in the background of a quiet video (ex. a
Silent Film)
------A user may mute a movie and play music (ex. The Wizard of Oz/Dark
Side of the Moon)
------A user may play music in the background while playing a game
(often muting the game's music if it has music, but not necessarily the
sound effects)
------A user may want to receive alerts/messages while performing any of
the tasks above

-Temp sounds may interfere with multimedia, but not vice versa.
-Multimedia may interfere with other multimedia.
-Temp sounds should not interfere with other temp sounds.
-Temp sounds and multimedia may interfere with audio input.
-A user may currently (and intentionally) prioritize a temp sound
produced by an application by not muting sounds in that application.

Problem:
-Turning off undesired sound interferences isn't easy or intuitive
---Impacts multimedia
---Primarily caused by temporary sounds of other applications
---The majority of the time, existing multimedia will interfere with
other multimedia
Opportunity:
-A centralized volume control that aggregates application-specific
volumes simplifies interference removal.

Problem:
-There is inconsistency in the use of a volume GUI control
---Ex. Pidgin's volume controls are buried in preferences (though not
muting).
Opportunity:
-???

Incomplete analysis, but it's something.