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We need physical audio kill switches

rubenerd.com

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Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#31

Post by formerly_proven »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #17
onion-soup wrote: post #11

Nothing will ever come close to convenience of analogue volume knobs. They give both immediate action and infinite granular control. Same goes for kitchen stoves. All the modern touch controls with step-based control is the absolute nightmare in terms of UI.

With one specific exception - stereo volume knobs often - virtually always - suffer from stereo imbalance, where the volume of the left and right channels are slightly different. Some high-end amplifiers offer a relay based volume system where the knob simply switches resistors in and out of the audio path using relays to adjust the volume, and although this does result in "steps" of volume, it does mean the stereo b…

That's a problem mostly caused by using passive log-taper circuits, instead of alternate active volume control circuits that use linear-taper pots, which have sufficiently good tolerance and ganging in low-cost dual units. But these circuits require 1-2 op amps per channel and those 20 cents are too much in three-figure hardware.

Ganged log-taper pots have something like +-3 or +-6 dB ganging mismatch even for relatively high-end (10-15 € ea) units.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#33

Post by bonestamp2 »

I wanted to love the touch bar, but the current implementation is a failure -- it needs to be pressure sensitive. A light brushing of a physical key doesn't register and a good implementation of the touch bar would behave the same way.

In the meantime, I would pay extra to the replace the touch bar with the physical buttons we used to have. I've gotten so tired of accidentally hitting the touch bar that I have disabled it as much as possible -- I have it configured so holding the fn button brings it back, making it much more difficult to accidentally trigger something. Of course, as the article mentions, this makes it even more difficult to trigger the sound controls when they're uncomfortably loud, but that's still a trade off I'm willing to make to avoid so many false positive interactions with the touch bar.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#34

Post by thotsBgone »

onion-soup wrote: post #11

Nothing will ever come close to convenience of analogue volume knobs. They give both immediate action and infinite granular control. Same goes for kitchen stoves. All the modern touch controls with step-based control is the absolute nightmare in terms of UI.

I'm a young person: I used an analogue washer/dryer for the first time after moving out of my parents' house, and I was impressed by how well designed they were compared to the digital piece of shit my parents had. Plus the digital washer had several software bugs which made it sometimes stop washing mid-cycle, but the analogue ones have never failed.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#35

Post by reaperducer »

scotty79 wrote: post #28
onion-soup wrote: post #11

Nothing will ever come close to convenience of analogue volume knobs. They give both immediate action and infinite granular control. Same goes for kitchen stoves. All the modern touch controls with step-based control is the absolute nightmare in terms of UI.

I kinda like step-based control of my stove. It makes things predictable. Although I'd probably prefer knob with numeric indicator to exactly what value it is set.

I kinda like step-based control of my stove

I hate it on my oven. It defaults to 200 degrees, and to change it to 450 takes almost a full minute as it plods along in five-degree increments.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#36

Post by lopmotr »

onion-soup wrote: post #11

Nothing will ever come close to convenience of analogue volume knobs. They give both immediate action and infinite granular control. Same goes for kitchen stoves. All the modern touch controls with step-based control is the absolute nightmare in terms of UI.

I was careful to buy a benchtop oven and microwave with mechanical knobs. They just work instantly and intuitively as well as being cheaper than all the stupid electronic button and display nonsense. I can even use the oven's timer to time other cooking things because it's clockwork and works without the oven being turned on.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#37

Post by reaperducer »

_trampeltier wrote: post #13
amiga-workbench wrote: post #7

My old IBM ThinkPads operate exactly as he described, the embedded controller immediately instructs the hardware amplifier to adjust its volume or power down. My slightly less old Lenovo X201t does everything in software, and while my computer is still groggy after waking from suspend it often takes 10-15 seconds for volume changes to take effect.

Old computer had a lot of things we don't have toady anymore.

Old computer had a lot of things we don't have toady anymore

On Macs, you could highlight a number in any document or screen, option-click, and have your Bluetooth-connected flip phone dial it. This was pre-iPhone.

I never understood why that went away.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#39

Post by NobodyNada »

theon144 wrote: post #12
Tarsul wrote: post #9

I agree with him. Also, why is there no microphone mute button (or shortcut) integrated in windows? Seems like a must-have nowadays.

Absolutely, especially since software like Zoom allows the call host to unmute the microphone on your (!) end. It's unsurprising and possible with any kind of software mute of course, but still significant enough for me to seek out a solution - I use https://sourceforge.net/projects/micmute/ but it's not without its hitches, unfortunately :/

> software like Zoom allows the call host to unmute the microphone on your (!) end.

Does it really allow that? In my experience it only shows a pop-up saying "The host would like you to unmute your microphone" and requiring me to confirm. Maybe there's some kind of setting for it?

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#40

Post by lopmotr »

reaperducer wrote: post #35
scotty79 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I kinda like step-based control of my stove. It makes things predictable. Although I'd probably prefer knob with numeric indicator to exactly what value it is set.

I kinda like step-based control of my stove I hate it on my oven. It defaults to 200 degrees, and to change it to 450 takes almost a full minute as it plods along in five-degree increments.

That's a different problem from the typical rotary encoder used on most modern knobs that can respond instantly but still has discrete steps.
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