Boom Not A Good Choice for Grandma [Archive] - Squeezebox : Community : Forums

upstatemike

2008-10-05, 08:46

Mark Miksis

2008-10-05, 09:14

I purchased a Boom in the hopes that the presets and other hard buttons on the face would help simplify things enough so Grandma could have access to some playlists and radio stations without constantly having to ask for help.

Unfortunately the Boom UI is not very intuitive and in some ways is actually harder to use then a regular Squeezebox. Some of the issues that completey confused Grandma (and in most cases me) were:

Not easy to predict what the knob is going to do at any given point in time... volume? menus? No visual indication of current context.

I was one of the many beta testers who wanted the knob to do volume. In hindsight, I agree that it would be easier for new users if the default behavior was "knob never does volume" and advanced users have to change a pref to get the current hybrid behavior. There was also some discussion during beta about a visual mode indicator but it was never implemented.

Volume level indicator sometimes won't move when adjusting the volume. The sound level changes but the display does not. Grandma needs the visual cue to help her know how much she is adjusting the volume.

I've never seen this. If it can be reliably reproduced, please file a bug.

I set up some playlists for her and used the presets for radio stations. She was able to play a playlist fine. Then she pressed a preset and got her radio station fine. Then she hit pause to tell me something and when she hit play to resume she got the playist again, Not the radio station. This was so counterintuitive that it confused us both and everything just went downhill from there.

It should work exactly as you and grandma expected. I'm not sure if you found a bug or she did something wrong...

We finally gave up and I put the Boom away in a closet until the day when newer firmware or a wiki on how to configure the top menu to behave better becomes available.

I like the Boom hardware fine but the UI just doesn't make sense to me and is particularly baffling for an elderly person who is not tech-savvy. There really needs to be a way to create a simplified top menu with consistent behavior that makes sense to guests and casual users.

I've always thought that it would be useful to have "basic" and "advanced" menu options, but I'm not sure what the "basic" menu would look like. What would you suggest?

upstatemike

2008-10-05, 09:50

I've always thought that it would be useful to have "basic" and "advanced" menu options, but I'm not sure what the "basic" menu would look like. What would you suggest?

To me an ideal top menu for Grandma, or guests, would be the equivalent of a Favorites list at the top level. No sub-menus at all and no Now Playing at the top level.

Example:

Turn the player on and you have a list of Playlists, Songs, and Radio Stations. Go through the list and select one and it starts playing. Display then switches to display "Now Playing" information but the location in the top menu never moves so operating the up/down (or knob) controls puts you right back to the same point in the list where you were with absolutely no way to get the context shifted elsewhere.

You could have the option to put regular sub-menus such as "Artists" or "Albums" in if you want to but there should not be a requirement for any sub-menus at all. Regardless of whether there are sub-menus or not it is important for navigation to stay locked at the last point selected in the menu and never dynamically shift to a "Now Playing" or other reference point.

A good analogy is changing channels on a TV. Whatever channel you are watching (or watched last)is exactly where you will start from when selecting a new channel. This is something Grandma can easily understand.

ModelCitizen

2008-10-05, 11:50

If this bug/enhancement is implemented you could tailor the top-level menu just as you describe:

http://bugs.slimdevices.com/show_bug.cgi?id=9358

If you think it'll help you get the Boom out of the closet please vote for it.

I too was instrumental in requesting that the knob do volume... but also agree that the current implementation is not ideal... however, I find the fact that it does volume when the screensaver is on very useful indeed and could not imagine a large knob in the centre of an audio device such as the Boom that was incapable of doing volume.

MC

ModelCitizen

2008-10-05, 11:53

JJZolx

2008-10-05, 12:26

Not easy to predict what the knob is going to do at any given point in time... volume? menus? No visual indication of current context.

There was a lot of debate on how to do this during the beta phase, and what resulted was a kind of compromise. I've found that most of the time the approach works well, but you're right - it's not always predictable.

An option for the default knob behavior was the most often requested solution, but was rejected. I agree with Fletch - a knob behavior option, and a simplified default behavior would be preferable to the current approach.

dwilliams01

2008-10-05, 13:08

Turn the player on and you have a list of Playlists, Songs, and Radio Stations. Go through the list and select one and it starts playing. Display then switches to display "Now Playing" information but the location in the top menu never moves so operating the up/down (or knob) controls puts you right back to the same point in the list where you were with absolutely no way to get the context shifted elsewhere.

You could have the option to put regular sub-menus such as "Artists" or "Albums" in if you want to but there should not be a requirement for any sub-menus at all. Regardless of whether there are sub-menus or not it is important for navigation to stay locked at the last point selected in the menu and never dynamically shift to a "Now Playing" or other reference point.

A good analogy is changing channels on a TV. Whatever channel you are watching (or watched last)is exactly where you will start from when selecting a new channel. This is something Grandma can easily understand.

If your player screen saver is set to (in 7.3) "Now Playing" then it does remember where you were and if you use the remote arrow keys then it will be exactly where you were. In 7.2 I think that it was called something else (I seem to remember "Now playing with jump back" or something like that. In 7.3 there is an option to "Jump to now playing" which I take to mean go there and stay there. Very tricky to find - took me 5 minutes to find these again - I kept looking for a specific setting instead of a screensaver choice.

I think that you can eliminate most, if not all, of the confusing menu items from the boom. In the web UI go to settings, player, and start knocking them off.

I'd also suggest just using the remote and not touching the knob. As it is, this is much more straightforward. I never use the knob because it usually is in volume mode for this reason.

upstatemike

2008-10-05, 13:43

If your player screen saver is set to (in 7.3) "Now Playing" then it does remember where you were and if you use the remote arrow keys then it will be exactly where you were. In 7.2 I think that it was called something else (I seem to remember "Now playing with jump back" or something like that. In 7.3 there is an option to "Jump to now playing" which I take to mean go there and stay there. Very tricky to find - took me 5 minutes to find these again - I kept looking for a specific setting instead of a screensaver choice.

I think that you can eliminate most, if not all, of the confusing menu items from the boom. In the web UI go to settings, player, and start knocking them off.

I'd also suggest just using the remote and not touching the knob. As it is, this is much more straightforward. I never use the knob because it usually is in volume mode for this reason.

I have seen the "Jump Back" option but I cannot find detailed documentation on how it is supposed to behave. (Is it jumping back FROM Now Playing to where you were when you last hit play? Is it jumping back TO Now Playing from wherever you are?)In the absence of documentation I will have to work out for myself what it really does but that is down the list after I figure out how to get Static IPs into my Controller and Receiver (another UI issue).

I did eliminate all menus except Favorites but this does not work smoothly. After the screensaver times out you can't just flip up and down the list to pick something else but instead have to hit the left button then the right button to make the list live again. No way I can explain the reasoning for this to an elderly person. Maybe I am doing something wrong so if anybody can point me to the documentation that explains this I would appreciate it.

I think much of the confusion around the knob would be resolved if there was something on the display to indicate the current mode of the knob. It also seems like it should not be this hard... if you are listening to music it should do volume. If you want to go through the menus pressing the knob in should put it into menu mode until you select something at which point it immediately goes back to being a volume knob. Most menus should probably have a cancel or escape selection so you can go back to listening without selecting anything new. Maybe setting the Now playing screensaver to 0 would make make things more predictable?

If I avoid the knob and use the remote only then I have defeated the purpose of getting Grandma the Boom in the first place (the easy buttons on the face.) Might as well just try to customize an SB3 for her and ditch the Boom at that point.

JJZolx

2008-10-05, 13:55

Maybe setting the Now playing screensaver to 0 would make make things more predictable?

Setting it lower helps, but setting it too low makes navigating during playback impossible. It would be especially difficult for an older user or anyone that pauses while navigating.

upstatemike

2008-10-05, 14:01

And.... the Now Playing screen and screensaver is the real glaring weakness at the centre of the whole SlimCenter player ui.

Feel free to add comments here:

http://bugs.slimdevices.com/show_bug.cgi?id=9164

MC

I don't think I can comment there because I don't really understand the issues or why there is a Now Playing screensaver vs. a Now playing menu screen. Why isn't there a single Now Playing instance regardless of whether it is accessed via screensaver, menu selection, or button? If I can't understand it I certainly can't explain it to Grandma!

upstatemike

2008-10-05, 14:03

Setting lower helps, but setting it too low makes navigating during playback impossible. It would be especially difficult for an older user or anyone that pauses while navigating.

OK so if the delay is needed then can't making a selection override the delay and have it kick in immediately? You are done navigating at that point so what is the delay for?

JJZolx

2008-10-05, 14:07

I don't think I can comment there because I don't really understand the issues or why there is a Now Playing screensaver vs. a Now playing menu screen.

That's probably the biggest issue. It's very confusing.

ModelCitizen

2008-10-05, 14:09

Why isn't there a single Now Playing instance regardless of whether it is accessed via screensaver, menu selection, or button? If I can't understand it I certainly can't explain it to Grandma!
Seems like you understand the *problem* perfectly!

MC

JJZolx

2008-10-05, 14:11

OK so if the delay is needed then can't making a selection override the delay and have it kick in immediately? You are done navigating at that point so what is the delay for?

Because people build playlists. Even if you navigate somewhere and hit 'Play', you may want to go to something else and add it to the playlist.

ModelCitizen

2008-10-05, 14:27

I have seen the "Jump Back" option but I cannot find detailed documentation on how it is supposed to behave.
In 7.1 onwards the default "Now Playing" screensaver is the one that used to be called "Now Playing (jump back on wake)". When this screensaver is activated when you hit a key you should always be returned back to the place where you were before it kicked in. It'd be a big surprise if this was not the behaviour you wanted from your screensaver.

Did you realise that once the knob is in volume mode (i.e. the screensaver has kicked in) you can push it to get back into navigation mode?

As a long time SlimDevice user and beta-tester I sympathise wholeheartedly with your comments. The SlimCenter ui can feel counter-intuitive and sometimes seems willfully eccentric, and until the Now Playing stuff is sorted out it will be impossible to improve the ui to being even half way obvious.

I was extremely impressed with the Sonos ui when I first tried it. I knew how to use it instantly. The system was obvious and straight forward, very intelligently designed. Although The Sonos offering is a fair bit simpler I'm certain that the "top ui guys" that SlimDevices/Logitech have recently employed would benefit from a good look at it.

MC

MeSue

2008-10-05, 14:38

upstatemike

2008-10-05, 16:10

Because people build playlists. Even if you navigate somewhere and hit 'Play', you may want to go to something else and add it to the playlist.

So you hit play, then push the knob to re-enter menu mode, then add to your playlist, then press the knob again to exit menu mode and the knob goes back to being a volume knob.

I'm just trying to avoid a timeout period where the function of the knob is uncertain. Much prefer to have the knob function state driven directly by user input of some sort so there is never any ambiguity.

upstatemike

2008-10-05, 16:19

Would setting the screensaver while playing to "none" be of any use? Then it would leave you wherever you left off in the menus, but you would have to go to "Now Playing" manually. Unfortunately, there is a bug with the Now Playing shortcut on the Boom front panel, so that might not be ideal right now either.
http://bugs.slimdevices.com/show_bug.cgi?id=9561

I need to test that because I don't really know what a screensaver while playing of "none" would do to the display. Blank screen? Leave you looking at the menu? Show the "Now Playing Screen" instead of the "Now Playing Screensaver"? I'm pretty sure Grandma can't deal with a display that doesn't coincide with what is currently coming out of the speakers.

peterw

2008-10-05, 17:36

I think much of the confusion around the knob would be resolved if there was something on the display to indicate the current mode of the knob. It also seems like it should not be this hard...

SqueezeCenter allows 3rd party plugins to completely control the screen, that's one hurdle. How would you display the indicator if the screen was dark (e.g. Idle Brightness level "0")?

if you are listening to music it should do volume. If you want to go through the menus pressing the knob in should put it into menu mode until you select something at which point it immediately goes back to being a volume knob.

What does "select something" mean? Imagine a muti-level menu scheme -- Music Library is a good one. At what point have you "selected" something? How would this integrate with 3rd party plugins, would they have to tell SC7 when they thought the user had "selected" something?

Most menus should probably have a cancel or escape selection so you can go back to listening without selecting anything new.

"Most"? That's not a reassuring phrase. The problem here is a combination of inconsistence and difficulty discerning the mode. I'd rather hear talk about All and None than "most". :-)

Thanks for sharing your experience. I've also been thinking that Boom could be good for a family member who's now a grandmother, and UI issues are my biggest concerns (and the reason I hadn't given her a Classic already).

One common suggestion pre-launch was that the knob should only control volume if the volume slider was visible (as it is for a couple seconds after you tap the volume up or volume down buttons on the Boom or an IR remote; for ages, you've been able t use the up/down remote buttons to change the volume when the volume slider is visible). The argument goes like this: it's easy enough to tap the volume rocker once to get into "volume change" mode, and then you also get a nice visual indicator -- the knob does volume when you see the volume slider. How do you think your grandma would do with that model?

-Peter

peterw

2008-10-05, 17:39

I need to test that because I don't really know what a screensaver while playing of "none" would do to the display. Blank screen? Leave you looking at the menu? Show the "Now Playing Screen" instead of the "Now Playing Screensaver"? I'm pretty sure Grandma can't deal with a display that doesn't coincide with what is currently coming out of the speakers.

"None" leaves the display as-is. So you could have a problem if you had SC7 configured to play all tracks in an album starting with the currently visible track. You could navigate to Some Artist > Some Album > Track 1, press play, and the display would continue to read Track 1 even as the Boom moved on to Track 2, Track 3, etc. Similar if it only played the selected track but someone used a Controller or the web UI to add more tracks to the playlist.

upstatemike

2008-10-05, 19:42

What does "select something" mean? Imagine a muti-level menu scheme -- Music Library is a good one. At what point have you "selected" something? How would this integrate with 3rd party plugins, would they have to tell SC7 when they thought the user had "selected" something?
-Peter

A good question. When I think about selecting something I usually mean that I am starting or changing audio out of the player. Switching from one song to another would be a selection while adding something to the existing playlist would not. Certainly this would have to be defined in detail for application to the UI.

One common suggestion pre-launch was that the knob should only control volume if the volume slider was visible (as it is for a couple seconds after you tap the volume up or volume down buttons on the Boom or an IR remote; for ages, you've been able t use the up/down remote buttons to change the volume when the volume slider is visible). The argument goes like this: it's easy enough to tap the volume rocker once to get into "volume change" mode, and then you also get a nice visual indicator -- the knob does volume when you see the volume slider. How do you think your grandma would do with that model?

-Peter

Grandma would have a hard time with the concept of a volume button to turn on the volume knob. If your going to touch the volume rocker anyway then why not go ahead and just adjust the volume with it? Maybe disabling the volume function of the knob completely is the correct answer?

JJZolx

2008-10-05, 20:59

So you hit play, then push the knob to re-enter menu mode, then add to your playlist, then press the knob again to exit menu mode and the knob goes back to being a volume knob.

Actually, this is exactly the way I suggested doing it. Having distinct menu and volume modes, and using a knob press to switch out of volume mode and a volume button press to go back in. With the normal behavior being volume.

ModelCitizen

2008-10-06, 00:08

The argument goes like this: it's easy enough to tap the volume rocker once to get into "volume change" mode
I just don't agree with this at all. I find using the buttons fiddly and hard (maybe I don't cut my nails enough!), whereas the knob is extremely simple to find and use (even with my eyes shut, which they often are!).

For me having to hit a button before turning the knob to control volume would destroy the point of having the knob do volume.

Having distinct menu and volume modes, and using a knob press to switch out of volume mode and a volume button press to go back in. With the normal behavior being volume.

As far as I am concerned this is probably the best method.

MC

perstromgren

2008-10-06, 05:26

As far as I am concerned this is probably the best method.

If I may slip into the discussion, I would like to add that the best method is always based on observation of how an uninitiated person reacts to the unit. If the typical user cannot use it, it ain't good enough, in my world.

For comparison I can report that my mother can pick up my Quad 66 remote control and use it, without further explanations. It is not a fair comparison, I know, as the unit is a pre-amplifier, but it is a lot easier to use something with buttons that does not change. The remote control has one knob for volume and one for the balance for instance.

upstatemike

2008-10-06, 07:33

Having distinct menu and volume modes, and using a knob press to switch out of volume mode and a volume button press to go back in. With the normal behavior being volume.

I agree that having the normal behavior for the knob to be volume and a knob press switching out of volume mode makes sense. Where I am concerned is how to get back to volume mode.

To me it makes the most sense to have the transition based on when an action is taken that affects the audio coming out of the speakers. If you hit play, press a preset button, or push the knob to select a song or radio station from the menu, then the knob needs to immediately, consistently, and reliably switch back to volume mode. If somebody wants to continue fiddling in the menus once the music starts it is easy enough to press the knob again to go back into menu mode. There could still be a timeout to return to volume mode after wandering the menus ends without making a change to the currently playing program but when a change is made to what is coming out of the speakers then the knob should instantly snap back to volume mode.

I would also like to see the same behavior for the display. Timeouts and screensaver settings are fine when applied after somebody is fiddling with the menus and then stops for awhile but when actual sound from the speakers is started, changed, or resumed then the screen should immediately snap to displaying track/progress (or whatever the display setting is) overriding any defined delays and providing instant visual confirmation of the action. Again, the delay would only apply after wandering around to look at other menus without invoking any action that changes what is currently playing.

JJZolx

2008-10-06, 09:49

What it seems we're all saying is that the knob behavior needs to be configurable, which it currently is not.

If simplest is best for older and less savvy users, then the default would be "knob never does volume, use the rocker button". Then add a other behaviors that have been discussed. Next up the line in complexity would be "knob does volume only after rocker button has been pressed, reverts back after timeout". I forget which, but one of those two behaviors is where it started out.

The concept of "it just works" is fine one in theory, but in SqueezeWorld it often ends up missing the mark just enough that it ends up requiring too much thought on the part of the end user.

upstatemike

2008-10-10, 08:10

As a long time SlimDevice user and beta-tester I sympathise wholeheartedly with your comments. The SlimCenter ui can feel counter-intuitive and sometimes seems willfully eccentric, and until the Now Playing stuff is sorted out it will be impossible to improve the ui to being even half way obvious.

I was extremely impressed with the Sonos ui when I first tried it. I knew how to use it instantly. The system was obvious and straight forward, very intelligently designed. Although The Sonos offering is a fair bit simpler I'm certain that the "top ui guys" that SlimDevices/Logitech have recently employed would benefit from a good look at it.

MC

It doesn't look like there is any consnsus for how to provide a simplified top menu let alone a timetable on when that might happen. If the Sonos UI is more intuitive as you suggest, I wonder if I should consider getting Grandma a Sonos? I assume I could point it to the same music library that SqueezeCenter is using? Maybe this would also be a good strategy for any area where guests or casual users might use the system? I would be interested in hearing from anybody who is running both platforms together.

ModelCitizen

2008-10-10, 08:39

Maybe this would also be a good strategy for any area where guests or casual users might use the system? I would be interested in hearing from anybody who is running both platforms together.
Is your granny strong and rich? The Sonos is quite expensive and the controller is a heavy brute that requires both hands to use it. The system is a lot less functional than the Slim range... which would probably suit her.

MC

epoch1970

2008-10-26, 17:11

I had read this interesting thread before buying a Boom.
I too think the button should mostly do volume.
The button press gesture is fine, but using it to drill down menus, I found myself trying to pull the button to go up again. Since this is obviously not possible, then I think a press on the button should only serve switching between volume and navigation.
In navigation mode, rotate the button to scroll, press -> to select, or press <- to go up.

Having to press a small audio volume button to be able to use this big knob is awkward.

This is the single thing I'd change on this product. I positively love it.

ModelCitizen

2008-10-27, 01:33

In navigation mode, rotate the button to scroll, press -> to select, or press <- to go up.

I also think it would be best if you could select the knob mode (volume or navigation) by hitting the knob. However, implementation is not simple, as currently, hitting the knob whilst in navigation mode selects the current item and the right arrow causes the current item to play. What you propose would combine these two functions into the one right arrow button. The player menu system would need to be adjusted to accommodate this. And this would have ramifications for the SB3/Transporter/Remote functionality and existing users who are used to how the interface works.

There was an involved discussion about this during beta testing. The current solution (knob works as volume when Now Playing screensaver is active) was seen as the best compromise that could be achieved between the two strongly held points of view (i.e. knob *must* do volume and knob should perform a single function, navigation).

MC

epoch1970

2008-10-27, 09:46

There was an involved discussion about this during beta testing. The current solution (knob works as volume when Now Playing screensaver is active) was seen as the best compromise that could be achieved between the two strongly held points of view (i.e. knob *must* do volume and knob should perform a single function, navigation).
I am sure a lot of thinking was put into that device; I would have clearly stood in the camp of those saying the knob must do volume at all time (or be able to do volume only by manipulating it, after one stroke, two strokes, long stroke... whatever)

Thanks for reminding me the Now Playing screensaver mode. I will shorten the screensaver delay and see how it feels.

ModelCitizen

2008-10-27, 10:23

I will shorten the screensaver delay and see how it feels.
I have mine at 10 seconds.... which seems about right for me.

MC

epoch1970

2008-11-01, 18:34

Ok, I am using 10 secs, it's better, but sometimes it won't kick in fast enough.
I grab the button and vigorously shuffle the menus, and then I'm good for panic mode. Until I realize I can stay very still for 10 seconds, and then all will be ok...

I've seen plugins like "state first" (don't recall the exact name) which modify button/menu bindings. Could a plugin implement a modified behavior, like a long press on the center button to enter volume mode ?
If it is possible, is it a complex/long, or simple/small job ?

Sorry to be back at it ;-)

yobyot

2008-11-01, 19:16

...We finally gave up and I put the Boom away in a closet...

Well, I'd be happy to take it off your hands if you want to sell it cheap rather than let it sit in the closet. I love mine enough so that I'm seriously thinking of buying a second one for my kitchen.

yobyot

2008-11-01, 19:22

...There was an involved discussion about this during beta testing. The current solution (knob works as volume when Now Playing screensaver is active) was seen as the best compromise that could be achieved between the two strongly held points of view (i.e. knob *must* do volume and knob should perform a single function, navigation)

This is news to me...and everyone else around here who's constantly playing with my Boom. I've never used the knob for volume, and wouldn't have ever suspected it could be used for volume unless I'd read this post.

peterw

2008-11-01, 20:33

I've seen plugins like "state first" (don't recall the exact name) which modify button/menu bindings. Could a plugin implement a modified behavior, like a long press on the center button to enter volume mode ?
If it is possible, is it a complex/long, or simple/small job ?

You might be thinking of StatusFirst?

You can almost get what you want with two existing plugins. You should get exactly what you want by adding one line of code.

If you install ContextMenu and SaverSwitcher, you can configure ContextMenu to only offer the "Activate screensaver" option. Do that and you can enter screensaver mode by pressing the knob once long (to show the "Activate screensaver" option) and once quickly (to choose that).

If you edit Plugins/SaverSwitcher/Plugin.pm and look for the registerContextChoice call for plugin.SaverSwitcher.activate, add this line right after the line with "enabled => 0,":

autorun => 1,
and restart SqueezeCenter. Now you should be able to enter the screensaver mode simply by pressing the knob once for the 1-second "hold" duration (that will invoke ContextMenu, and since "Activate screensaver" should be the only choice, and set to autorun if there are no other valid options, ContextMenu should run the Activate screensaver function and drop you into the Now Playing screensaver you'd chosen).

-Peter

upstatemike

2008-11-02, 08:10

Well, I'd be happy to take it off your hands if you want to sell it cheap rather than let it sit in the closet. I love mine enough so that I'm seriously thinking of buying a second one for my kitchen.

I'm going to wait till 7.3 is released and then pull it out and see if things work any better for grandma.

epoch1970

2008-11-02, 10:22

You might be thinking of StatusFirst?

You can almost get what you want with two existing plugins. You should get exactly what you want by adding one line of code.

If you install ContextMenu and SaverSwitcher, you can configure ContextMenu to only offer the "Activate screensaver" option. Do that and you can enter screensaver mode by pressing the knob once long (to show the "Activate screensaver" option) and once quickly (to choose that).

If you edit Plugins/SaverSwitcher/Plugin.pm and look for the registerContextChoice call for plugin.SaverSwitcher.activate, add this line right after the line with "enabled => 0,":

autorun => 1,
and restart SqueezeCenter. Now you should be able to enter the screensaver mode simply by pressing the knob once for the 1-second "hold" duration (that will invoke ContextMenu, and since "Activate screensaver" should be the only choice, and set to autorun if there are no other valid options, ContextMenu should run the Activate screensaver function and drop you into the Now Playing screensaver you'd chosen).

-Peter

Oops! Sorry for messing with your plugins name.
Yes, that was StatusFirst, I thank you for your directions that I shall follow soon. If I like the result I'll post back.

Update: SWEEET!
Now I can be anywhere in the Boom's menus, a long press shows briefly what's playing and I can rotate for volume. After that a short press brings me back to where I was in the menus.
When nothing is playing the press comes out with "no context"; and after frantically playing with the button I think I finally had the plugin loose track, the menu was stuck to some entry. Repeated presses to the back button brought the control back to normal.

Perhaps if others find this interaction mode valuable, those 2 minor problems can be fixed ?
I encourage you to give it a try.

My settings (don't know if all is relevant):
- Screensaver when playing: "Now Playing"
- Screensaver delay time: 144 (d'oh ? normally it should read 10, I must have touched it yesterday. I will try again w/ 10 or 30)
- Plugin ContextMenu: "Option: Activate screensaver, Plugin: SaverSwitcher, enabled" (the rest is off)

pablolie

2008-11-02, 17:35

i think the menus can be tailored to make it quite easy to use - i have done that in my mother's (she's 70) room, and she is using the presets quite successfully - and basically the presets are all that she uses, she listens to internet radio all the time. i told her she needed the challenge anyway. :-)

but truly, i would try to cut down the menu items to only essential functions. i agree out of the box it is disorienting to anyone who isn't a gadget lover (and let's admit it, we are here because we *are* certifiable gadget lovers, they shuld sell a sticker with these products :-D.

peterw

2008-11-02, 17:44

Update: SWEEET!
Now I can be anywhere in the Boom's menus, a long press shows briefly what's playing and I can rotate for volume. After that a short press brings me back to where I was in the menus.
When nothing is playing the press comes out with "no context"; and after frantically playing with the button I think I finally had the plugin loose track, the menu was stuck to some entry. Repeated presses to the back button brought the control back to normal.

Perhaps if others find this interaction mode valuable, those 2 minor problems can be fixed ?

Glad to hear it basically works for you! I don't know about the losing track problem, but if you dislike the "No context options available" message, you might try the 7a15 version of ContextMenu that I just uploaded, as it adds an option to display/do nothing if you hold knob or right arrow and no options are available. Default behavior is what you saw, but if you change the new "Show message if no options" setting to Off, the worst that should happen is a momentary change in screen brightness, if your When Idle brightness differs from the normal Active brightness.

If you still have trouble, please let me know and I'll try to find time to reproduce, debug, and fix it.

-Peter

epoch1970

2008-11-02, 19:22

Yes, "no context" wasn't too grandma-oriented. Nothing will probably be much better.

I had the issue a second time, where my menu locks-in. This time, to get out it took a 15 secs or so. When it unlocked, I am under the impression I was very, very deep in the menus because I had to press back a lot; there has to be a loop somewhere. (or maybe it's the Boom behaving this way; I have sometimes the impression backtracking is longer than on an SB.)
I am still not "Jumping to Now Playing", but the timeout is down to 10 secs.

I will try to get a clean enough debug trace and be back then.

Thanks again, Peter.

peterw

2008-11-02, 20:21

I had the issue a second time, where my menu locks-in. This time, to get out it took a 15 secs or so. When it unlocked, I am under the impression I was very, very deep in the menus because I had to press back a lot; there has to be a loop somewhere. (or maybe it's the Boom behaving this way; I have sometimes the impression backtracking is longer than on an SB.)
I am still not "Jumping to Now Playing", but the timeout is down to 10 secs.

I've got a theory about the menu locking. SaverSwitcher couldn't tell if it was being invoked with autorun and always assumed it needed to pop out of the last menu level (the level that would show the "Activate screensaver" choice). I had to add code to ContextMenu and SaverSwitcher to address that, so it only pops out of the mode when *not* being invoked with autorun -- you might try the versions I just uploaded. And, yeah, you'll need to re-do the 'autorun => 1,' line. ;-)

-Peter

epoch1970

2008-11-04, 06:55

I've got a theory about the menu locking. SaverSwitcher couldn't tell if it was being invoked with autorun and always assumed it needed to pop out of the last menu level (the level that would show the "Activate screensaver" choice). I had to add code to ContextMenu and SaverSwitcher to address that, so it only pops out of the mode when *not* being invoked with autorun -- you might try the versions I just uploaded. And, yeah, you'll need to re-do the 'autorun => 1,' line. ;-)

-Peter
Your fixes seem to be right on the spot.
- I can't see any variation in display when pressing the button and there is no context. Pressing just does nothing. May be being able to set volume for the next thing that will be played would be more natural, but I'm splitting hairs here.
- I couldn't get the plugin to loose track, and now when I'm back from setting volume I am back right to the last menu item. While with the older revision I could loose track, and when working I was back at the menu above the last item.

Thats absolutely perfect. Very easy to use and securing, I think.
Make this standard for the Boom ?