Re: [Usability] Re: Standardizing Find and Replace windows

[Dan Zlotnikov <dzlotnik perpugilliam csclub uwaterloo ca>]

> What will symbolyse this "bell" -- another question.  The man with two small
> flags, for example, if you use Flag Semaphore as output device ;-)

Used to. He was allergic to my cat though. Do you have *any* idea what a
sneezing semaphore signalman looks like? And what the output is?

> As consequence, no "audio idea" exists at all -- exists the "bell idea".
> Repeat -- "bell" is not necessarily _audio_ signal and, of cource, not
> necessarily "one cannel" signal.  For exapmle we can have bell that can
> work over 3 channels: system beep over speaker in the computer's system
> block, customizable sound over audio card and some customizable video
> effect (visual bell).  The idea is not limited to the these three --
> just these these are mainly common...

There are some inherent problems with audio signals being used.
1) They are not restricted to the immediate work environment. As such,
they can be disruptive in an office setting, or any other where noise is
to be avoided.

2) The source isn't immediately obvious. Rarely does the tower occupy the
corner of someone's desk. The disrepancy between the source of the signal
and the point on which attention should be focused as a response to that
signal may be significant.

3) If I understood your suggestion correctly, you propose utilizing
different tone levels for varying signals. The problem is, most humans are
unable to identify a standalone audio signal. Perfect pitch and all that
being pretty rare...

4) The audio signal is a distraction from the regular work flow, since it
is not immediately associated with any one task. It is non-specific.

As for customizable audio/video signals... Isn't that dumping our job on
the user? I'm not saying the user shouldn't have the freedom to change
that setting, but we have to set it to *something* first.

Dan