unity-design team mailing list archive

[Sense Hofstede <qense@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On 3 May 2010 11:04, Alex Lourie <djay.il@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> How about a dinamic ordering in the indicator?
>
> So if I don't have any music player currently running (or playing), the an
> "active" application should appear first (for example, Firefox, or better
> even - VOIP application, such as empathy or Skype).

Very good idea! It would indeed be a huge usability benefit if the
applications are sorted on their activity so you can easily set the
volume of the application you're most likely interacting with.

> If the "active" application doesn't support audio functions, then present
> the first one that does, etc.

I don't think we should include anything that doesn't use audio in the
Sound Indicator.

>
> I believe that this would make more sense - after all, by going to Sound
> Indicator, you'd probably want to do something regarding the volume, isn't
> it?
>
> Alex
>
> On Mon, May 3, 2010 at 11:34 AM, Sense Hofstede <qense@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> When the talks about Sound Indicator started on this mailing list I
>> had some ideas for what the applet could look like but I never got
>> around drawing them. Now I have and I would like to ask what you think
>> of them. They're essentially two variants of the same idea where the
>> first mock-up is a bad version of the second.
>> In both mock-ups I forgot to add a menu entry for launching the
>> PulseAudio volume control window. It should be there though.
>>
>> The general idea:
>>
>> We have been shipping PulseAudio for a few releases now and I'd say
>> it's time to start using the functionality it offers. I think we
>> should add a slider for each different application in the Sound
>> Indicator so the user is aware that she or he can change the sound
>> levels independently as well as all at the same time. The necessary
>> information would be extracted from PulseAudio, but applications that
>> want more should register themselves with the indicator by providing
>> their PulseAudio-name.
>> At the top of all mock-ups is a music player. E.g. Rhythmbox wouldn't
>> get its own applet but instead register itself with the Sound
>> Indicator. You can control the player from the Sound Indicator as well
>> as toggle its visibility.
>> The visibility or focus of all applications can be toggled from the
>> Sound Indicator to provide consistency and a service to our users.
>>
>> You can mute an application or the system by single-clicking the speaker
>> icon.
>>
>> In all mock-ups I've added the master volume slider to the bottom of
>> the indicator menu, but it might be better to move it to the top to
>> make the most-often used action the easiest to reach.
>>
>> Mock-up One
>> <http://people.ubuntu.com/~qense/SoundIndicatorMockupOne.jpg>
>>
>> As you can see in this mock-up the music player is at the top. The
>> menu is kept lean and per application there is only a short title and
>> the application-specific volume slider directly after it. The music
>> player has got an extra part that shows the currently playing song and
>> offers controls.
>>
>> Mock-up Two
>> <http://people.ubuntu.com/~qense/SoundIndicatorMockupTwo.jpg>
>>
>> The entries in the menu of this mock-up take much more space because
>> the applications are listed by first their icon and then their long
>> title. Under that is their volume slider. The music player has again a
>> control and information block under its volume slider. The master
>> volume slider starts where the icons of the applications begin to
>> stress that it affects the whole system.
>>
>> Regards,
>> --
>> Sense Hofstede
>> [ˈsɛn.sə ˈɦɔf.steː.də]
>>
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>
>



-- 
Sense Hofstede
[ˈsɛn.sə ˈɦɔf.steː.də]