One of the first things I do after installing Windows is to go to the Control Panel and disable all of the application and system sounds. I don’t want that “click” sound each time I click on a folder in Windows Explorer and I definitely don’t want the startup/shutdown “melody!”
Microsoft may not give me the option to disable the startup sound in Windows Vista though. Why would they do such a thing? Robert Scoble had the pleasure of talking with Steve Ball, program manager for the Windows Audio Video Excellence team, who gave a reason for this decision:
A short, brief, positive confirmation that your machine is now conscious and ready to react. You can turn on your Vista machine, go eat some cereal, while your machine is cold booting and then this gentle sound will come out telling you that you can log in.
The decision isn’t set in stone and they are considering letting advanced users adjust the setting in the registry. That would be fine with me but they need to have some way of muting the sound. If I am in a class or a meeting I do not want to distract everyone by the Windows startup sound. Sure I can mute my speakers but I can’t do that until after Windows has already started!
They definitely need to make it configurable in some way otherwise someone will come out with a patch to fix the issue. The last thing Microsoft should want is a patch in the wild that they have not approved. Not only that but the minute Microsoft starts removing customization options will be the time that some users look for another operating system.
Thanks for the tip Nathan!
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What a fantastically bad idea. Forcing users to put up with something that the vast majority find annoying is just ridiculous. Besides, I don’t think it accomplishes what Steve Ball thinks it does. It may be different for Vista, but on my XP machine the startup sound plays way before I can actually do anything.
this is the most stupid thing i have ever heard. even from microsoft. i am sorry for the wonderfull composer who probably made this wonderfull “good morning vista” or whatever this sound is, but forcing people to hear it is just plain stupid.
i do like computer sounds that you here on tv shows like star trek, but not in my windows.
Ryan, i think you should digg this story, cause if more people read it, maybe microsoft will change this.
I can think of another OS that forces users to hear its bootup sound…
This is ridiculous. How old/stupid/naive do they think most of us are? If we want a soft gentle confirmation we’ll leave the sound on, if we don’t want to disturb people with it, we’ll turn it off. Don’t tell us how we’re supposed to act with our PCs.
Just submitted it to digg.
Hope you dont mind Ryan
Thanks for letting me know. I put the Digg button on this article since it seems to be a hot topic.
who knew we love so much to discuss importent issues like startup sounds.
i just hope it is a sign that everything else is a-ok with vista
There have been many “jump the shark” moments proposed
for Microsoft (e.g. Licensing 6.0 in 2002, Vista’s
system requirements), but perhaps the mandatory startup sound
is the one that will stick in people’s minds as
when Microsoft really went over the edge…
It will definitely stick in people’s minds because they’ll be reminded every time they start Windows.
Yeah that the big hungry shark is eating your money!
Now someone over in the Go Firefox! forum commented about either renaming the sound files. Either so it wouldn’t play a sound (but I suppose that could lead to an even more annoying error message) or choosing their own sound to play on start-up. Sounds simple enough, but I have a feeling Microsoft is going to make it so you can’t mess with the sound files.
Typical “This is how we think the user should use our operating system” crap from Microsoft.