Re: Planned "Sound Settings" improvements

[David Henningsson <david henningsson canonical com>]

On 11/25/2011 12:23 PM, Christian Giordano wrote:
> Hi guys, I spent some time thinking on how to accomodate this new
> feature from PulseAudio. And, while restructuring it, to see if the UI
> could have been simplified even further (this is why the slightly
> controversial survey).
>
> To recap, the problems I have been trying to solve were:
>
>  1. Obsolete hardware choice (can now be detected by the port which uses it)

For me; this has been about simplicity. The first thing a user want to 
see is "Headphones" or "Speakers", rather than first sometimes selecting 
profile on the hardware tab, then find a card, then find a port. With 
the jack detection this is even more important as we sometimes have 
ports and profiles we want to hide (e g phantom HDMI ports never plugged 
in).

>  2. Not clear boost functionality (it can compromise the sound
>     experience, after all)

Note: by boost here we mean software amplification, i e PulseAudio going 
beyond what volume it can achieve by just moving sliders at the ALSA level.

>  3. Awkward interaction with menu bar when boosted

While Gnome shell and Unity use different indicators/applets, I believe 
the problem statement of when to allow the user to use software 
amplification in the applet/indicator is relevant for both scenarios.

>   * The hardware will be automatically assigned based on the selected
>     output port

This means that when selecting an audio device on the input or output 
tab, PulseAudio will be requested to switch port, and if necessary, profile.

> [1] The name of the type of connector should be simplified, there is no
> need from the user to know if it is analogue or not if it’s clear which
> port it is.

Hmm, reading this again I'm not sure what this means?

Somewhat related, I vaguely remember Allan suggesting (on IRC) to 
simplify the names even further. I'm not sure we can get that far with 
PulseAudio; and I'm uncertain whether it is a good idea as well.

> [2] The input volume has the same behavior as the output volume, the
> only difference is that the boost is always enabled. The reason is
> because it is much easier to over amplify the output both because
> the frequency it is used and because, thanks to keyboard shortcuts, its
> accessibility.

For the record, if it is easily seen in the sound indicator/applet when 
you're using software amplification, I personally don't mind having the 
boost always enabled on the output as well (and thus letting go of the 
extra setting of turning boost on/off). It will also make input and 
output more consistent, which is nice.

--
David Henningsson, Canonical Ltd.
http://launchpad.net/~diwic