2 Aug
2015
2 Aug
'15
4:11 p.m.
On Sunday 02 August 2015 08:33:39 Paul Davis wrote:
You're busy describing the relationship people
should have with
technology.
One key aspects of your description is a feeling that I share with
you, more or less: computers are tools and people need to know how to
use the tools that are a part of their lives.
Nobody is expecting a "a more intelligent elite to take all decisions
for them" (well, perhaps not nobody, but not anyone i've met). Their
perspective, though, is quite different. That perspective is that the
*task* at hand is the important thing, and that the tool(s) should not
intrude on the task unless absolutely necessary. From this
perspective, a tool that requires them to understand and remember
information about the *tool* is a worse tool than one which has no
such requirement. From this perspective, tools that can be endlessly
tinkered with are for hobbyists and oddballs, because the tools are
never the goal, only the task, and if the tools requiring tinkering
with in order to accomplish the task, that means that the toolmaker
hasn't finished their work.
I don't like this view, and I don't think it is very productive or
healthy for society. But it isn't a new view, it isn't limited to
computers or software, and it is VERY entrenched in modern industrial
societies.
This response and the previous one simply betray your status as a
highly technical, highly experienced tinkering nerd (all said in a
positive, respectful way). The issues with the presentation of JACK
configuration options have nothing to do with things being "complex"
(ala "rocket science", which also isn't really that complex :) but to
do with psychological aspects of human/computer interaction.
After you've talked (on IRC) to a dozen or more people who failed to
identify the need to choose a device, and tried to ask them why they
didn't see this need ... it is already too late. They already can no
longer identify or remember why the choice was inobvious to them. This
comes up at least once a week on #ardour, and every time I'm around
for it, I've tried to gently quiz the user in a way that avoids me
telling them the issue, to see if I can get an understanding of what
their mental model was that managed to avoid "need to choose device".
So far, I've been unable to do so. The closest I can get is that some
users may have a model in which all audio going in and out of a
computer, regardless of the number of devices, is part of a single,
monolithic system, and that they will be able to make their choice
about inputs and outputs once their are inside an application where
this is necessary. I still don't think this fully captures the mental
model that exists before someone realizes "oh yeah, I need to choose
the device". But in some ways, it is a solid model for a particular
class of users. Why should they have to tell JACK ahead of time what
device to use? Why doesn't it show ALL the inputs and outputs on their
computer, and just let them choose which ones to use? This is not a
silly view of the universe.
As for the "GUI inviting them to change it", that GUI included a
selector labelled "Interface", and other labelled "Capture Device"
and
another labelled "Playback Device". If you wanted to change the device
that JACK used (having identified the requirement to do so), which of
these things do you think you might choose, as a less sophisticated
user?
Much of what has been said here, both by Fons and by Paul, is 100%
correct, and would seem to the non techie user as a need to relabel the
device in the gui selection menu's.
I've no clue how universal it could be made to work, but forget the chips
designation by model/device type unless theres more than one detected by
the system, and come right out and say its the blue jack that is the mic
input, the orange jack is the line output. etc etc. I've no doubt played
mix & match with the color of the jack since I don't have that
memorized.
But you get the point.
The average musician doesn't care what chip is on the board as long as it
works, but he will find the understanding a whole lot easier to grasp if
the color of the jack for that function is identified in the gui he is
looking at. The mic input buttons background color s/b the color of
that jack! Ditto the +20db gain switch, headphones out etc etc.
I have been under the impression that this coloring of the jacks is some
sort of a standard observed by most card makers and motherboard makers
where the board has onboard sound facilities, so this does not sound
like an insurmountable problem for the gui's coders?
One of my itches that I am not equipt to scratch I guess since I'm
currantly into CNC machine tools. But we have people right here on this
list who ARE equipt to do this.
All this of course falls flat on its face if the musician is color blind,
something it seems to me they suffer from at a higher rate than the
population in general.
But its a start on making this stuff comprehensible to someone who has
taken the time and mastered some of Jimi Hendrix's stuff.
Shoot me down, if you can...
Cheers, Gene Heskett
--
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>
And even
when they click it, they find that JACK is running on
their builtin hardware when they wanted it to use some USB device
they have. Then they can't figure out how to change it.
With a GUI in front of them inviting them to change it.
the number of people who do not even realize that
you need to tell
JACK which device to use is quite startling.
With two or more sound cards, someone or something has to make
a choice. That's not really rocket science.