zlacker

>>chagha+(OP)
I love that people are thinking about how technology interacts with the user, since we're terrible enough at that still, but there's another aspect that this kind of thinking doesn't recognize, where we're arguably even worse- how technology interacts with non-users.

Unless we're shut up in our own private rooms (and often enough, even then) we're all constantly getting the "Status Shouts" of devices completely unrelated to us. Is a truck down the street from your window set in reverse? You'll know. Did someone down the hall leave their cellphone unattended on their desk? You'll find out if they get a call. Goodness forbid that you share a building with someone who doesn't change the batteries in their smoke alarms! All of these are okay design decisions when considering one device and one human user, but in an environment where there can dozens of humans and thousands of devices in a city block, they become drastically less apt.

>>maxand+a81
So what would you propose as an alternative? Trucks beep when they reverse because people were literally run over by trucks. Smoke detectors beep when backup batteries are low because people died in fires.

I can sympathize with people who hate those noises, but I think the only practical solutions are for them to wear earplugs or move somewhere with lower population density.