Making the Sounds of Vista 375
Bengt writes "The sounds of Vista took 18 months to get right for Microsoft. Artist Robert Fripp recorded hours of sound, and assisted Steven Ball in choosing between several different options. A clapping rhythm was rejected for 'sounding too human', and a techno beat was removed from considering because it was just the opposite." From the article: "If it seems like overkill to go to all that trouble for a few seconds of sound, consider this: Microsoft estimates that the clips such as the e-mail alert will be played trillions of times in years to come. That's a lot of opportunity to annoy, offend -- or, if the job is done right -- please or appease computer users the world over. One major concern was that the startup sound not grow grating after a time. You want a sound that people will love the first time they hear it, but it's a paradox to also say, 'Oh and by the way, we need people to love it the tenth, or the hundredth, or the thousandth time they hear it,' Ball said."
Yep, work on that startup sound (Score:5, Funny)
What was that? (Score:5, Funny)
Most obnoxious startup sound (Score:3, Funny)
Too human (Score:2, Funny)
AOL's three little beloved words ranks right up there with "I love you" ...
That guy's gotta be wishing he had a better agent negotiating royalties.
Re:18 months.... (Score:4, Funny)
Let's Ask Clippy (Score:5, Funny)
- Feed guitar notes into delay, reverb and replay tape-loop system?
- Hire Brian Eno to help you?
- Reform King Crimson yet again?
- Sell out to Microsoft?
Personally, I'm going to wait until the remixed, remasterd versions of the Vista sounds come out with additional material in a special boxed set available only from Discipline Global Mobile...Re:Yep, work on that startup sound (Score:5, Funny)
That's a bit like a car manufacturer worrying about the color of the seats while the breaks are still leaking.
Re:Yep, work on that startup sound (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Sounds? (Score:1, Funny)
> *and* a few sound artists?
Yes it is, especially if you ever used their stuff!
Re:What was that? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Sounds? (Score:3, Funny)
What is "this", which underscores Microsoft's focus on flashiness to you? That Robert Fripp spent 18 months on it? That they did an article about it?
Oh no! How could they've an article about it and so on, when Robert Fripp and that clueless reporter should be working on improving the security of Windows Vista!
Get a clue.
Good god (Score:5, Funny)
Let me guess... (Score:4, Funny)
Startup sounds I want (Score:5, Funny)
- Earth-shattering kaboom
- Beethoven's 9th (yes, all of it)
Re:About that Windows 95 sound... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:cellular automata based composition (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Most obnoxious startup sound (Score:2, Funny)
Re:About that Windows 95 sound... (Score:3, Funny)
On the other hand, Eno and Fripp aren't exactly strangers. So hey, at least I was in the right neighborhood.
Re:Car analogies (Score:2, Funny)
A: They haven't quite yet figured out how to make a computer leak oil.
Re:More bodies? (Score:3, Funny)
Erm... not an image I needed right before dinner...