Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] read it and drool
From: Paul Barton-Davis (pbd_AT_Op.Net)
Date: Mon Dec 04 2000 - 06:02:16 EET
>It's a question of, is an onscreen dial supposed to be operated with a
>mouse?
>
>The answer is : ABSOLUTELY NOT!
nonsense. if you are referring to "onscreen dials controlled by rotary
motion of the mouse", then i might agree.
but a dial/knob is a visual feedback element, just like a slider. it
indicates value using radial position rather than linear position. the
GUI permits you to adjust the value indicated in a stupid way (rotary
motion of the mouse) or a sensible way (vertical and/or horizontal
motion). but the knob itself is/need not be primarily a control
metaphor, its a value display just like a slider. its much more
compact than a slider, and unlike a numeric display (but like a
slider) it gives the user some idea of where in the range of possible
values the current setting possibly is.
if you can get away from the notion of "turning the knob by moving in
a circle" and back to "adjust the value by moving the mouse, and look
- the knob shows us where we are", i think you will see this more
clearly.
--p
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