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We need physical audio kill switches

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Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#221

Post by nebulous1 »

mrkwse wrote: post #139
JD557 wrote: post #90

Since the user is complaining about the way Mac OS handles the audio buttons, I'm surprised that he doesn't mention the problems with HDMI. I don't understand why the OS disables the audio controls of HDMI outputs. If I press the volume down button, I want the volume to go down. Instead, I get a "I can't let you do that" warning! This is particularly bad if I have my headphones connected to the display (I have both m…

macOS disables the audio control of HDMI outputs because that is what the HDMI specification expects/defines. If you think of all the devices that output via HDMI, Windows PCs are the outlier (afaik, not sure how Linux handles it) in allowing separate volume controls beyond those on the output device. Satellite set top boxes, media streaming devices (e.g. Apple TV - I realise NVidia Shield and some Chromecast apps do…

> Satellite set top boxes, media streaming devices (e.g. Apple TV - I realise NVidia Shield and some Chromecast apps do have some software volume control), games consoles, and Blu-Ray players will all output a fixed audio signal,

I genuinely think that statement might be false in more cases than it's true. Certainly in devices I've used personally, the majority have allowed you to control the output volume directly.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#222

Post by combatentropy »

systemvoltage wrote: post #160
combatentropy wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What happened to the scratch pad and press an index key in FMCs? Age old UI and it is so crisp and clear, there is absolutely zero ambguity. Write something in a scratch pad, click the button where you wanna insert the data. I am not a pilot but am always interested in seeing examples of great user interfaces. Can you post a link or more information about what this device is? (Bonus: the version you love and the ve…

They look like this: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RZawxJ6TLuY/maxresdefault.jpg The amber boxes are required fields and ---- are optional. The bottom line is a scratch pad. You first punch in the data there and push one of the index switches on the side to insert it in place. Yea its not beautiful to most people (I disagree) but it is very clear in the way it works. Here is the new one: https://www.aviationpros.com/tools-e…

Got it. Thanks!

> its not beautiful to most people

I think the same could be said about audio mixing boards, for example. I've found that interfaces for professionals often look ugly to the uninitiated.

I've said many times that you should give an interface two weeks, not two seconds. Interfaces that you love after two seconds, you may come to hate after using it every day. Interfaces that are intimidating on the first day, you may come to love after a few weeks, and even more and more through the years. For me, a great example is vi.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#223

Post by CyberDildonics »

combatentropy wrote: post #127
tetris11 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every microwave I have ever owned have been under $30, purely because I didn't want to go digital. Analogue egg-timer knob - good enough accuracy, and instantly pliable

I went the opposite way and bought a $240 Panasonic commercial microwave, because I also wanted it to last. It's just a little big.

I have never seen or even heard of a microwave breaking.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#224

Post by formerly_proven »

amelius wrote: post #100
formerly_proven wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It depends". Digital built-in microphones use DMIC, which aiui is a one-wire interface where the microphone just sends a delta-sigma bitstream. If you implement the switch through a multiplexer or logic gate this kills the signal 100 % essentially. Analog electrets can't be just shorted, because that causes a loud BANG when you switch due to the bias voltage, so you use a capacitor in series, which only shorts the A…

Can't you switch the bias voltage off?

Yes, but then we're back to loud popping sounds when you turn it back on.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#225

Post by adrianmonk »

vaccinator wrote: post #140
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.

digital is not all bad... if I could type 3 numbers to get a temperature on my stove, I would be happy... but they went a different route where you need to push a button 20 times to get the temperature that you want or you need to hold it for x seconds...

To add insult to injury, my oven has membrane buttons, and of course the temperature/time up button has gotten the most wear, so it doesn't work quite right.

If I want to set a timer for an hour, theoretically I hold it and it repeats and jumps in increments of 5, but it's too flaky sometimes. So I alternate between trying to get that to work and just pressing the button a zillion times.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#226

Post by joe_the_user »

Symbiote wrote: post #178
skohan wrote: post #126

I've been thinking the same about power switches lately. If I turn a flashlight, or an old radio on or off, I flip a switch and get the result I want. With my 65 EUR gamepad, or 300 EUR headphones, I hold a button and wait several seconds for the result. Why has UX regressed so much in these areas?

My rented apartment has switches that presumably use radio to turn on and off the lights. There is no further integration, or smart app etc. I can't see which light switch is on or off, so even after years living here I mix up some of the switches. Sometimes the radio pulse doesn't register, so I have to go back to the switch and press it again. After pressing the switch, there's a perceivable, variable delay for the…

The upside to wireless switches are how cheap they to install and remove.

I'm in a 40 year old apartment with a lot of switches that now affect nothing, because they broke and no one fixed the wires ('cause landlords are cheap). I wouldn't want to change this for a bunch of wireless switches but it's easy to imagine landlords of the future wanting nothing but glue on fixtures - routing wires costs significant money.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#227

Post by whywhywhywhy »

wvenable wrote: post #92
brandon272 wrote: post #29

I let my spouse, who likes the novelty of a touchscreen, talk me into a Whirlpool oven a couple years ago that is controlled by touchscreen. I had no idea it was possible to hate an oven so much. The only saving grace is that the stovetop elements are still controlled by knobs.

My work coffee maker has a touch screen and the interface is so laggy it's insane. The manufacturer controls every aspect of the hardware and software so it makes no sense -- either make the hardware more powerful or make the software simpler!

>The manufacturer controls every aspect of the hardware and software so it makes no sense

Makes perfect sense, the only way you'll get a responsive touchscreen is if one of the engineers behind it actually cares about it being responsive.

Otherwise the job goes down to the designer to try and pressure the engineers into making it responsive which there is a chance they might not even be skilled enough to understand how to make that happen. If they don't want to make it happen there is a hundred excuses as to why its not actually their fault.

To make an actual good, responsive product you need people at every level of the implementation who care deeply about their work.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#228

Post by CyberDildonics »

pengaru wrote: post #71
reaperducer wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Did you RTFM?

Every oven for the last 65 years has been easy to figure out by reading the labels on the controls. It wasn't until the javascript generation started designing them that you needed to read a manual to preheat it to a temperature and set a timer.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#229

Post by formerly_proven »

anticensor wrote: post #128
amelius wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't you switch the bias voltage off?

It would make the microphone half-off, still capturing the upper half of the soundwaves.

No, the output of electret capsules is generally wired as a common source amplifier at Ugs ~0 V with an N-JFET. Without bias, there will be neglibible output (~essentially only the capacitive coupling from the gate to the output; if you SPDT the bias voltage to ground, you're having a >100 MOhm source impedance (the capsule) fighting a couple kOhms (bias + input resistance) through perhaps 5 pF or so.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#230

Post by ngold »

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 have a big round audio knob that is insanely handy. I can move it around wherever I'm at. A mouse and audio knob makes watching or listening to something very nice.
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