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From: brsmith@cs.umn.edu (Brian R. Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Audio feedback from GUI's
Keywords: sound windows widgets
Message-ID: <1991Jun12.171211.2716@cs.umn.edu>
Date: 12 Jun 91 17:12:11 GMT
Organization: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, CSci dept.
Lines: 48

I've been toying with the idea of adding audio feedback to a graphical
user interface.  Something subtle, to make it MORE intuitive.

(This stems from watching _Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation_.  I had
the stunned realization that the computer noises ARE intuitive, even
to techno-geeks who watch too much TV... :-))

Some of what I've been pondering.

  Windows that make a "pop" when they appear, and a "poof" when they
    vanish.

  Warning/Info dialogs with some kind of (short) attention signal.
    Dire emergencies could have a repeating signal - silenced by any
    interaction with the dialog.

  Foreground windows (only) could emit a "busy" buzz when they're tied
    up with computation.  And maybe a happy "beedoop" when they've
    finished.

  Scroll bars with a quiet "ratchet" click as they move.  Maybe a
    click per text line (assuming you're scrolling text), or a click
    per pixel.  The click could also (maybe) change in pitch, getting
    higher as you near the top, lower as you near the bottom.  If it
    were in stereo, I could see something for right-to-left, too...

  Radio buttons and check boxes with a solid "kerchunk" as they change
    state.  Not when you first click on them - when you release and
    they actually change their settings.  Maybe different noises for
    on and off.

  Terminal windows that emit a "blit" each time they print a character
    - like in the movies.  (joke :-)

Now, of course, this could get much too cute, pushing the poor user
into continuous projectile puking or a bruised forehead and a damaged
monitor.  So, these sounds should be:
  - Very short.  I'd guess at around a tenth of a second.
  - Probably synthetic.  (Sampled sounds would have background
      noise.)
  - Low key.  Subtle.
  - Disabled on demand.

Any thoughts on this, folks?  Are there any examples of this sort of
thing?
--
Brian
brsmith@cs.umn.edu