[Rhythmbox-devel] Progress slider in R-Box via Ubuntu 14.04

[BC <absansouci fastmail fm>]

Friends:
The facelift of r-box in the latest LTS has created a problem.  Some end
users record lengthy 1-2hr Mp3 stream captures, and others may playback
30min or longer jazz and symphonic compositions.  Shortening the
progress "slider" bar by approx 50-60% compresses the effective
granularity and ability to precisely place the "stylus".  The playback
point.   The tool becomes so crude as to be an annoyance rather than a
feature.  Skipping ahead over adverts, or reversing to repeat a short
movement becomes difficult to do with any accuracy.  Especially if
perhaps seated a few feet away using an HDMI screen as monitor for an
entertainment room, while mousing with an RF device at a distance. 


My short term fix is to simply stop using r-box for the time being, and
switching back to VLC for my stream captures and podcast playback
sessions.  I can squeeze the VLC box down to a simple 1" slider bar and
stretch it across the screen to about 14" in length on a 40" LCD, for
precise control.  


The reason I had switched to r-box (set as an Ubuntu "Default"), was
because VLC was incapable of sorting the segment sequence of an
audiobook CD (Yes I still rent and collect them).  Astonishing but true,
VLC is confounded when attempting to read an audiobook CD and starts
playing on track 10 (ten).   Rythmbox can sort the correct segment, or
track list, and begins on track 1 (one).  Some CDs have about 20 tracks
and some up to 100.  In addition, before someone modified the length of
the slider bar, r-box HAD superior precision controls for skipping ahead
a few seconds over scratched spots on the substrate. 


http://newtech.about.com/od/apple/a/Skeumorphic-Design.htm
It seems we may have come to a plateau in skeumorphic interface graphics
design whereby supposed "improvements" are simply change for the sake of
"style" (never a good idea), busy-work, job insurance or perhaps just
for the hell of it.  One has to be careful that by changing control
dimensions or proportions, one doesn't reduce the vaunted
"functionality".


Just one man's opinion.  I rarely use these on screen displays for
conventional MP3 music playback. I use CD players thru Adcom amps or HK
AV amps.  I do not have any use for itoons etc.  Or I might listen to
Pandora.  Just the exact opposite of the vast majority of pop-culture
customers you may have been focused upon.  


As an aside, you might note the incipient death of the pocket Mp3
player.  Most of these cheap devices are so poorly designed that they
cannot handle anything by short tagged files, per poop music.  They
cannot fast forward within a file.  They cannot stop, power-off, and
resume at the same point.  They cannot reverse and resume within a file.
Most or many can only skip entire tracks (songs) and are useless for
audiobooks or recorded broadcasts, presentations, or lengthy, so-called
"podcasts".   The "new wave" of finger fones or mini-tablets simply
perpetuate this incompetence with the exception of perhaps the top 20%
of the devices on the market.  It seems the masses NEVER listen to
audiobooks, record their own auto-didactic educational programming or
talk shows, etc.  The code necessary to include such capabilities is
virtually free ($1 license fee?), and universally available.  The
looming Idiocracy. 


If someone reading this missive could contact the developers for
Rythmbox and inform them as to the above detailed "slider bar"
anomalies, I would be most appreciative.  Just for fun, contact the
VideoLan boys and ask what they had in mind for CD playback?
 
Wil Cooper
Indy - USA
-- 
  ABC
  absansouci fastmail fm

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