Very good ideas, Jim, and great job again in the illustration, Andrew.
I wanted to respond to Paul first, then to Jim.
Paul Wrote:
> The power button and headphone jack look odd. I don't know why, I just
> think they do. Maybe put one or the other on the top left?
I agree they looked wrong. I think Jim & Andrew fixed this, but the
power button aspect is still a bit long. I would make it a bit more
square, then flip it vertically.
Paul Wrote:
> How would you differentiate that you wanted to go left/right rather than
> turn the volume up? Would a push cycle through the choices? I'd rather
> see left/right in the buttons instead of up down. Put the up/down on
> the knob.
Oops, we goofed there and I didn't notice! That is exactly what I was
describing earlier, I thought, but maybe I transposed it. The volume
knob is also an up/down control. That up/down toggle button needs to
be changed to a right/left control.
I envisioned the volume operation this way: Volume knob is always
"volume" unless you are working in the menu. You tell the device to
enter "menu mode" by pressing the Select button. All other modes of
operation can then be selected with the Volume knob (to select up/down)
and the right/left toggle button. You are right on target with the fast
scrolling. The weighted knob would be a digital rotary switch, with no
mechanical stops. You could use this to zip through hundreds of songs
quickly. I would implement velocity sensing as well: Turn the knob
slowly and the scrolls are much slower. Turn the knob faster and they
are faster. Thus the amount you turn the knob does _not_ relate
directly to how far you scroll. It depends on how fast you turn the
knob. Give it a quick partial turn and scroll a lot. Or turn it
slowly, many turns, and also scroll a lot. Make sense?
After selections in the menu are complete (use the Select button like
we use the Play button now), press-and-hold the select button to revert
back to "volume mode." Or, just wait for the timeout and the player
would go back to volume mode by itself.
Paul Wrote:
> If you exchange the buttons, rearrange them so that they are side by
> side rather than over/under. It would look better (IMHO)if all the
> buttons were on the same horizontal "plane."
I might agree, especially with a right/left toggle. But I'd have to
see it. However, the buttons in a horizonal orientation play better
into the horizontal aspect of the whole unit.
Jim Wrote:
> Slim Devices logo should have orange colored bars.
Where on Earth did you come up with that? And it looks good...
Jim Wrote:
> There should be a choice of bezel colors - black or silver, but the body
> can be painted black (textured) for both rather than being a brushed
> texture.
Are you referring to a textured powder coat? That would look nice,
too. I would have to compare other high-end equipment finishes.
Jim Wrote:
> I assume the wheel is for scrolling up and down through large lists. I
> think you also have to have a volume knob, especially for headphone
> listening. Same size as wheel. Both centered vertically on bezel.
Think I answered this one above. Does it make sense? ("Volume mode"
is the default mode.) So two knobs are not necessary, I don't think.
Jim Wrote:
> The 'dot' on the wheel should be a larger, concave depression (not
> colored) so that you can easily roll it with a figertip.Volume knob
> should have a small 'Volume' text label over top. It should have no
> 'dot', since the volume control will be digital.
I agree. The finger depression is a good idea. The dot is
superfluous. The volume knob would not move when the remote control
was being used.
Jim Wrote:
> Move left/right/plus buttons to the right of the wheel, so that thumb
> can roll wheel and left/right buttons could be operated by fingers. I'm
> assuming right-handed operation, as this would be easiest with the
> display to the left.
Our first disagreement. The little buttons look like they're gonna
fall off the edge of the unit. The volume knob was visually anchoring
them. I'm thinking of using the thumb for select and right/left and
the fingers (index finger?) for rotation of the knob.
Jim Wrote:
> I'm not a fan of the minamalist approach. You'd almost need a remote in
> your hand to make this panel convenient. I'd suggest a minimal set of
> essential buttons. In addition to the '+' (Add) button I think the
> light blue buttons from the remote, 'Play', 'Pause', 'Fwd', and 'Rwd'
> are necessary. It should be comparable to the controls on the typical
> CD player, plus the navigation controls.
I'm not a minimalist, either. I've seen lots of pics of "high-end"
equipment and much of it looks bare-bones though. I would have no
problem added a small set of essential buttons, but they have to be
laid out right.
We have not discussed the color of the back-lighting. Blue LEDs are
available all over the place, but they vary in color quite a bit, and
we don't want to clash with the color of the VF display. Would white
backlighting be a good compromise? We might have an issue with the
platinum finish, though.
--
Dave D
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