On 13/12/2008, Jacob Beauregard <[email protected]> wrote:

> Volume has too many personal and environmental influences to create an
> interface simpler than letting the user directly control the volume. I
> believe I've already listed off quite a few of them.


Yeah, but the trick is in how we define "control". Just because it has
always done through a slider doesn't mean it has to be that way, in every
situation. When the user don't care about a precise volume but just a
relative setting, a different interface could provide better control with
less effort.


I have a design proposal for a really simple interface that would address
many of the scenarios described in this thread and provide direct control
with just a few clicks. I expose it here for your evaluation:

The interface idea is based around the "focus of sound" concept that I
explained in a previous message in this thread: applications with the focus
will play louder than those without it, thus creating a two-level relative
priority set.

* The basic interface is an enhanced gnome-panel volume control. I've
created a mockup:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33364...@n04/3108031818/

This replaces the old, too small volume control with an always visible
slider that allows for direct volume control with one click - important for
users without mousewheel, using a laptop trackpad, a tablet touchscreen or
an accesibility pointing device.

You'll notice that it also includes a "pin" button

By default,



The question is not then, building the right mental model to represent
> volume sets, but rather how to make it easy to control volume directly.








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