Voice (and Video)

[Bill Jensen]

New to list as well.  I share Peter's comments.  I could see where 
having the chat window be attached to the video window might be 
desirable.  For myself, I would likely find it best for a detached 
video/chat scenario.   Elaborating on the notion of having the most 
options for the user, would it be possible to have it so the chat window 
could simply be docked or undocked with the video window on the fly? 
This would seem to not only give the user the most flexibility but would 
also allow one to make the change without requiring an explicit 
modification of preferences.  For example, this might be done 
drag-and-drop or button-based styles.

Bill

On 2/2/11 3:43 PM, Peter Hajas wrote:
> New to the list, but I thought I'd share my views. I think part of the
> versatility of Adium is its theme-ability, users can customize it to
> look like what they're interested in.
>
> Should this be the same for the voice/video UI? We have Contact List
> styles, Message window styles, should we have a sort of "AV Styles"
> option or something similar?
>
> I also echo Chris's sentiments: it might not be ideal for certain
> displays (11" MacBook Air comes to mind)
>
> Just my $.02
>
> Peter
>
> On Feb 2, 2011, at 4:30 PM, Christopher Forsythe wrote:
>
>> That seems like it'd not fit on some screens easily.
>>
>> Chris
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 2, 2011 at 12:33 PM, Jacobo Tarragón Cros
>> <jacobo.tarragon at gmail.com <mailto:jacobo.tarragon at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     Hi there!
>>
>>     I made a mockup to show how I would like adium to address this new UI.
>>     In my opinion Adium should go for the obvious and familiar, and
>>     that means Quicktime controls. I don't see having the video frame
>>     inside the chat window as a bad idea, as chatting while
>>     videoconferencing is quite often.
>>
>>     I didn't put any time in the icons, but you get the idea:
>>     show/hide my own window --- microphone volumne --- microphone mute
>>     --- video mute --- detach to popup --- fullscreen.
>>     The X on the corner would end the call, but this might be achieved
>>     by the toolbar button also.
>>
>>     I think the video frame should resize along with the chat window,
>>     and the chat display would scroll if it's needed.
>>
>>     Hope this adds to the discussion,
>>
>>     cheers!
>>
>>
>>     2011/1/31 George Lambrou <georgelambrou721 at gmail.com
>>     <mailto:georgelambrou721 at gmail.com>>
>>
>>         On Jan 25, 11, at 8.25 pm, Evan Schoenberg, M.D. wrote:
>>
>>>         I think one thing we need to address is whether we intend for
>>>         voice/video to be a part of the text chat window or whether
>>>         it's always an independent thing. The black HUD appearance
>>>         George showed here could be really cool as a separate
>>>         floating window, but I don't know if it would fit in with a
>>>         standard messaging window (at least as it currently appears).
>>
>>         Alterations can always be made, and I think I'm going to go
>>         back and retouch the aesthetic a bit anyway, to better fit
>>         with the rest of OS X (the Lion issue again).
>>
>>>         Could you explain what you mean by the slider grip acting as
>>>         mute button?
>>
>>         If the user were to click and hold the slider grip, they could
>>         drag it around, change the volume as normal. If they just
>>         click on it, though, it acts as a button, muting that volume.
>>         Although, since the release of FaceTime for Mac, I'm wondering
>>         whether even having those sliders on the window is necessary
>>         at all; FaceTime does a brilliant job of video chat, without
>>         the need for them. Hiding them somewhere could work, too, but
>>         it might be something to consider to ditch them entirely.
>>
>>>         The decibel level within the slider itself is an inspired
>>>         dual-purposing of the control. Out of curiosity, have you
>>>         seen that done somewhere else, or is that a new UI paradigm?
>>
>>         The volume slider taskbar item in Windows 7. Sure, it's from
>>         Microsoft, but when I saw it, I thought it was a good idea,
>>         one that would be /really/ well suited to this purpose. That's
>>         okay, right?
>>
>>>>             * *_Floating Window Mode:_ *<snip>
>>>
>>>
>>>         I would expect close to end the call, I think... I'd handle
>>>         redocking via drag-and-drop, just as we can redock tabs that
>>>         have been pulled into other windows or new windows.
>>
>>         I was unsure about what the close button should do as well. My
>>         reasoning behind making it a redocking control was that as the
>>         floating bar would be part of a multi-window setup, closing
>>         the bar would be different from closing the application; Adium
>>         would still be running, and the user might just want to cut
>>         down on the number of windows they'd have open. If they were
>>         to close the floating window, the chat could still continue
>>         without cluttering up the user's desktop, similar to closing
>>         the iTunes window when you know you're just gonna leave it
>>         playing for an hour or two. And of course, redocking via drag
>>         and drop would be there too.
>>
>>>>         *<I have more>*
>>>
>>>         I'd love to see them, and here is definitely the most
>>>         appropriate place.
>>
>>         I just posted a new mockup in the Message Window Proposal
>>         thread for the team's review.
>>
>>         George Lambrou
>>
>>
>>
>

-- 
Bill Jensen, Network Engineer
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