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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: [KDE Usability] KMix UI orientation
From:       Thomas Pfeiffer <colomar () autistici ! org>
Date:       2012-05-22 16:17:24
Message-ID: 4FBBBC14.7010704 () autistici ! org
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On 22.05.2012 17:00, Trever Fischer wrote:
> On Tue, 2012-05-22 at 10:48 -0400, Xavier Sythe wrote:
>> Regarding OSX's volume slider:
>>
>> http://i50.tinypic.com/2w5ly75.png
>>
>> Vertical UI.  Clearly superior.
> And whats the rationale that is apparently to clearly visible for me to
> see?

I agree that "Because Apple does it that way" isn't a valid argument for 
usability per se. I'm still convinced, however, that for a single slider with no 
labels it is preferable (because of the easier "up/down" mapping.

What this screenshot made me think about, however, is a more fundamental question:
Do we really want to present fine-grained volume controls on a per-application 
level in a popup? Is that really something users want to change very often? 
Personally, I am pretty sure they don't. What users want to change quickly is 
the master volume, because the sound overall is either too quiet or too loud. 
And if my ears almost burst because the sound is too loud, I want to change it 
real quick, without being presented with lots of sliders to choose from.
You are more likely to fiddle around with the detailed controls when you take 
the time to setup everything perfectly.
So I strongly suggest we should discuss whether it actually makes sense to have 
more than one slider in the popup (vs. only showin them in the mixer window) and 
then discuss layout preferences.

Cheers,
Thomas

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