Re: Background Sound

At 08:56 AM 19/06/00 -0400, you wrote:
>Without the "hidden=3Dtrue" you get an ugly little icon that people don't
>recognize.

What you actually get is another usability hindrance to the user.  For many=
=20
users it's already bad enough that they have to wait for huge sound files=20
to download, I myself leave any page with music that doesn't let me turn it=
=20
off.  I believe that any design practice that limits the usability of a web=
=20
site should be avoided and this is a common example of such a=20
practice.  You can always place the control in a place where it doesn't=20
interfere to much with the layout but if you do choose to add music to a=20
web page, at least give the user an option to opt out.  When I work on the=
=20
computer or simply surf the Web I almost always have some music playing.  I=
=20
don't want to hear some cheesy midi file or any other sound on top of=20
it.  There's some exceptions of course when I know that a site has some=20
multimedia (Flash , Shockwave or whatever) and that it's not just a static=
=20
page with some music added.

>control the music?  I've embedded music for the first time on a site at
>http://www.olivialane.com and my customer doesn't like the little gray box
>that controls the music functions.

As the Web design professional, it's your job to make your client aware of=
=20
the fact that he is putting up a Web site _for his customers_ and that, in=
=20
the end, it's completely irrelevant if he likes it or if you like it.  The=
=20
end users are the one who will be using it and the site should cater to=20
their needs first and foremost.  That means that some planning should be=20
done in advance to determine the target audience and what objectives your=20
client wants to meet with the site so it can be built to meet them.  Unless=
=20
he sells music or musical instruments or sounds or some other related=20
thing, I doubt that adding music to a Web site is really adding to the end=
=20
user's experience of it, in fact it may drive users away or at the very=20
least annoy them if they're already listening to music.  The very least you=
=20
can do for the end user is give them a way to turn it off...

My .02 cents

St=E9phane Bergeron

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