[csmdev]

Sounds become annoying with time. But visual cues are often automated and ignored. This is why the current solution works best.

Because of the way we evolved, a sound automatically makes our brain alert. At first it's ok. But with time we learn that there is no actual danger. And the sound only becomes annoying. Making us alert for nothing.

Visual cues are treated differently. If something is deemed safe or accepted by the brain, you automatically start ignoring it and focus on something else. So an acknowledgement comes only when something is different. And even then, we simply notice it. It's not an actual alert like sound is.

So the idea is bad. It goes against the way our brains work.

[TeMPOraL]

Thanks for your input. I don't agree with it though ;).

The brain can push sounds to the background in the same way it does with visual cues, if there's no danger associated with them. For instance, you're not annoyed by the sounds your keyboard makes when you type (and I know many developers, who prefer loud, mechanical keyboards).

Also, try the following experiment: open a window during the day, plug in a microphone and just record with it for a minute. When you play it back, you'll hear many sounds your brain learned to ignore - cars passing by, hum of your computer, kids playing soccer on a field nearby, etc.

For those reasons I think there might be a set of sounds that would not become annoying with time.

[csmdev]

You're confusing white noise with independent audio cues.

Plus, I don't think anybody ignores keyboard typing sounds. They work just like car engine noises. Audio feedback for a physical action. The example you're searching for is keypad tones for smartphones. That's the concept behind your idea.

[TeMPOraL]

> The example you're searching for is keypad tones for smartphones. That's the concept behind your idea.

Yes, that's generally the concept behind my idea. You're right, thinking about it, there's a difference between this and white noise. Still, aren't keypad tones for smartphones an audio feedback for a physical action?