nishri@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Alex Nishri) (07/15/89)
It would be nice if the "mute" state was reset when one logged out. Failing that, it would be nice if there were a visual indication that "mute" had been activated. I have seen people think the sound was broken on a NeXT when in fact the last person to use it had pushed the "mute" key.
rick@Jessica.stanford.edu (Rick Wong) (07/17/89)
In article <1989Jul14.151221.13930@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> nishri@gpu.utcs.UUCP (Alex Nishri) writes: >It would be nice if the "mute" state was reset when one logged out. Failing >that, it would be nice if there were a visual indication that "mute" had been >activated. > >I have seen people think the sound was broken on a NeXT when in fact the last >person to use it had pushed the "mute" key. One thing that irritates me is that, when the mute is on, pressing the volume keys doesn't turn the mute off. Geez, even my TV does that right. Yet another case of programmers thinking like programmers . . . Rick "Just-getting-in-my-snide-remark-for-the-day" Wong rick@jessica.stanford.edu
epsilon@wet.UUCP (Eric P. Scott) (07/19/89)
In article <3703@portia.Stanford.EDU> rick@Jessica.UUCP (Rick Wong) writes: |In article <1989Jul14.151221.13930@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> nishri@gpu.utcs.UUCP (Alex Nishri) writes: |>It would be nice if the "mute" state was reset when one logged out. Failing |>that, it would be nice if there were a visual indication that "mute" had been |>activated. |> |>I have seen people think the sound was broken on a NeXT when in fact the last |>person to use it had pushed the "mute" key. | |One thing that irritates me is that, when the mute is on, pressing the volume |keys doesn't turn the mute off. Geez, even my TV does that right. | |Yet another case of programmers thinking like programmers . . . | |Rick "Just-getting-in-my-snide-remark-for-the-day" Wong |rick@jessica.stanford.edu The NeXT does The Right Thing(tm)--you're just confused about what Mute does. Mute nukes the speakers. The headphone jack still works, and the volume controls still work. Turning the speaker back on when touching the volume keys is entirely the wrong thing to do when you have a cluster of colocated NeXTs (as we do). The "walkperson-compatible headphone jack" was one of the brightest things NeXT did. I found unacceptable high-end noise when I plugged Sony MDR-V6s in, though--might have been just that particular cube. I agree, there should be some sort of visual indication. (Snoop through the include files sometime-- apparently there are/were plans to support LEDs). You might consider canceling Mute with a LoginHook. -=EPS=- / SFSU
duggie@Jessica.stanford.edu (Doug Felt) (07/19/89)
Before we trademark that phrase... If it is easy to get confused about what Mute does, then perhaps Mute is not doing The Right Thing. User testing will be the answer to this-- if lots of users hit the volume key repeatedly wondering whether they hit it, or whether it was working, or whether the speaker is broken, then there is a problem with the design. Not with the users. I personally wonder whether in a room with lots of colocated NeXT boxes you want the Mute key to turn ON the speakers. Perhaps The Right Thing is to cut the speakers whenever headphones are plugged in, have the mute key cut the volume (whether to speakers or headphones), and have the volume key cancel muting in addition to its usual function. Just a thought. Doug Felt