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Redditors design worst volume sliders possible

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Re: Redditors design worst volume sliders possible

#51

Post by iamdave »

Chaebixi wrote: post #7

My favorite one was the last one: ----------------------------------------------------------- > Login to Change Volume > You'll need to log in before you can modify the volume. Remember: Be nice or else. > Login ----------------------------------------------------------- > Register Today > New accounts can leave comments immediately, and gain full volume permissions after one week. > Register now --------------------…

"Be nice or else"

Hrm, wonder if that person is a member of yayhooray the design community; those exact words are what greets you when you log in.

Or, it used to back in the old days.

Re: Redditors design worst volume sliders possible

#53

Post by derefr »

cyberferret wrote: post #3

These are hilarious. I use audio software a lot, and it is amazing how something which seems quite simple in concept, such as a circular volume button, can be so differently implemented via UX. Every time I see a knob style button on any of my audio plugins UI, I have to think: * Will the point at which I touch/click on the knob set the knob value to that position, or will it simply be the starting anchor at which I…

A thought: have you ever seen a knob that actually turns by doing a two-fingered rotation gesture on a trackpad while hovered over it? I think that's the only skeuomorphic knob I'd actually be happy with.

Re: Redditors design worst volume sliders possible

#54

Post by derefr »

mark242 wrote: post #18
cyberferret wrote: post #3

These are hilarious. I use audio software a lot, and it is amazing how something which seems quite simple in concept, such as a circular volume button, can be so differently implemented via UX. Every time I see a knob style button on any of my audio plugins UI, I have to think: * Will the point at which I touch/click on the knob set the knob value to that position, or will it simply be the starting anchor at which I…

Volume is a percentage, and a very analog control. The idea that you would have to have a round knob to twist on a computer screen is ridiculous, almost like some imaginary need for a specific shutter button to press to take a photo on a phone (just touch the screen!). It's a one-dimensional value, make it a one-dimensional control. Slider. Done.

> almost like some imaginary need for a specific shutter button to press to take a photo on a phone (just touch the screen!).

I've always wanted a shutter button on my phone, because of what it would imply: the ability to take a picture instantaneously, as the first action that wakes the phone from sleep. I often miss shots because of the six seconds required to get from my phone being in my pocket to having the Camera app open.

Re: Redditors design worst volume sliders possible

#55

Post by arfar »

svantana wrote: post #42
colanderman wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget, is it linear or logarithmic? It baffles me that it's 2017 and people who implement volume sliders never even consider that the obvious choice might not be the best...

Well logarithmic doesn't make sense, because it never gets to zero. However something like p^0.42 (sound pressure with an exponent<1) works well because it is similar to the perceived sound level. An interesting connection is that the power function "becomes" a logarithm as the exponent goes to zero.

Log/lin depends on your target market a lot I think. I don't know, but I imagine, audio engineers and the like would be expecting a logarithmic scale for their volume knobs.

I make guitar pedals sometimes, I've never seen a volume knob not be a logarithmic potentiometer.

Re: Redditors design worst volume sliders possible

#56

Post by RachelF »

Chaebixi wrote: post #7

My favorite one was the last one: ----------------------------------------------------------- > Login to Change Volume > You'll need to log in before you can modify the volume. Remember: Be nice or else. > Login ----------------------------------------------------------- > Register Today > New accounts can leave comments immediately, and gain full volume permissions after one week. > Register now --------------------…

These will give Microsoft ideas for the new UI upgrades in Windows 10.

Re: Redditors design worst volume sliders possible

#57

Post by derefr »

That third "make a noise as loud as you want the volume to be" one would actually be a good idea, if it was a continuous feedback loop: I'd love if there was something I could enable that would make my headphone volume "track" the loudness of the room, the way that phone display backlights "track" the brightness of the room. Instead of setting a target carrier wattage (regular volume) or a target SPL (SoundCheck volume), you'd be setting a target SNR, and then the OS would maintain it by lowering the master gain in quiet places and raising it in noisy places.

Or, to put that another way: I'd like to be able to hear my music, but I don't want the people around me on the bus to be forced to listen to my music. Electric vehicles (like my local bus system) only make noise when they're moving; they're dead silent when they stop. So right now, I actually have to turn my music up several notches when the bus is moving, and then turn it back down several notches whenever it stops. Why is the phone not doing this for me?

(Heck, while it's at it, why not recognize nearby human speech specifically, and pause and/or duck the playing sound temporarily to let me hear it?)

Re: Redditors design worst volume sliders possible

#58

Post by PhasmaFelis »

cyberferret wrote: post #3

These are hilarious. I use audio software a lot, and it is amazing how something which seems quite simple in concept, such as a circular volume button, can be so differently implemented via UX. Every time I see a knob style button on any of my audio plugins UI, I have to think: * Will the point at which I touch/click on the knob set the knob value to that position, or will it simply be the starting anchor at which I…

> Does this knob work by sliding up/down or in a circular fashion? Or accept both ways?

Or sliding left/right. I've seen that too.

Re: Redditors design worst volume sliders possible

#59

Post by PhasmaFelis »

mark242 wrote: post #18
cyberferret wrote: post #3

These are hilarious. I use audio software a lot, and it is amazing how something which seems quite simple in concept, such as a circular volume button, can be so differently implemented via UX. Every time I see a knob style button on any of my audio plugins UI, I have to think: * Will the point at which I touch/click on the knob set the knob value to that position, or will it simply be the starting anchor at which I…

Volume is a percentage, and a very analog control. The idea that you would have to have a round knob to twist on a computer screen is ridiculous, almost like some imaginary need for a specific shutter button to press to take a photo on a phone (just touch the screen!). It's a one-dimensional value, make it a one-dimensional control. Slider. Done.

In landscape orientation, stock Android "helpfully" keeps the shutter button on the right side of the screen at all times even if you rotate it. Because left-handed people never take photos. -_-

Re: Redditors design worst volume sliders possible

#60

Post by cyberferret »

derefr wrote: post #53
cyberferret wrote: post #3

These are hilarious. I use audio software a lot, and it is amazing how something which seems quite simple in concept, such as a circular volume button, can be so differently implemented via UX. Every time I see a knob style button on any of my audio plugins UI, I have to think: * Will the point at which I touch/click on the knob set the knob value to that position, or will it simply be the starting anchor at which I…

A thought: have you ever seen a knob that actually turns by doing a two-fingered rotation gesture on a trackpad while hovered over it? I think that's the only skeuomorphic knob I'd actually be happy with.

That is another UX quandary. A lot of the problems I mentioned in my OP would go away if everyone used the standard two finger twist gesture on the screen to 'turn' it up or down.

However, if I try and use thumb and forefinger as normal, I cannot get my thumb especially to stay in skin contact with the screen easily - the nail comes into play, losing the double touch on the screen.

Using forefinger and middle finger together works better, but makes twisting past a 180 degree turn very difficult.

By far, the better solution is the car audio control I posted elsewhere in this thread, which uses multiple finger PLUS slide gestures - but that UI can take up the whole screen just to manipulate a single parameter.

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