Thanks to Steve Ball, Principal Program Manager Lead on the Windows Sound Team, we have this Q&A designed to provide additional background on the sounds of Windows Vista. Q: Why did Microsoft invest time and energy developing new sounds for Windows Vista?A: Sounds are one of the primary senses.  In interacting with a computer we have a ...

I'm posting this on behalf of my colleague Steve Ball. Hi, my name is Steve Ball and I'm a Principal Program Manager Lead on the Windows Sound Team. I'd like to take a moment and give some background on sound schemes in Windows as well as the new sound schemes released as Ultimate Extras and their relationship with the default Windows Vista ...

The following is an article from another of my colleagues on the Windows Vista Sound team, Kristin Carr.  Kristin is a Program Manager and works with Steve Ball, who previously has shared his insights into how Windows Vista handles sound.  If you have questions for Kristin, please leave a comment below. Many people have a general ...

Below is part 2 of an audio series by Windows Vista Sound team Program Manager Richard Fricks, the first being Richard's piece on Using a microphone array to enhance sound capture.  This follow-on article details how to get more out of your PC by using a digital microphone. The digital microphone is a perfect fit for Windows Vista's ...

The following post comes from my colleague Steve Ball, Senior Program Manager for Sound in Windows Vista, and continues his team's on-going series on how Windows Vista treats various forms of audio. ----- Part I: Why does my Windows sound sometimes ''glitch?'' Windows is a rich and complex OS designed for multi-tasking users whose tasks ...

Below is a post from my colleague Richard Fricks, a Program Manager on the Windows Vista Audio team, discussing Windows Vista's treatment of microphone arrays when used to capture audio.  If this entry prompts questions, let me know via the Comments section below and I'll pass them along to Richard. Providing a solid audio capture experience ...

Our ''10 Things You May Not Know About Windows Vista'' series continues as we explore one of the least-known features in Windows Vista:  the Volume Mixer.  Although it might not be as well-touted as the Aero interface, you may find it's one of the more useful features available. I'm sure we've all had the experience of working on one ...

A few weeks ago I wrote about the new sounds of Windows Vista and I made the point that sound is an important component of your experience using a Windows PC.  As important as the new sounds are as an interface to the Windows UI, of equal importance is the system infrastructure that enables you to control and enjoy those sounds. I ...

When you try the RTM version of Windows Vista, you will notice that something changed between the last release candidate and the final product -- we added new sounds to the 45 places where Windows provides an audio cue to the user, including a new Windows Vista Start-up sound that was developed in collaboration with musician Robert Fripp. If you ...

We heard you loud and clear when it came to discussing our plans to include a default start-up sound that plays as you boot-up Windows Vista:  you said you wanted to have the opportunity to mute it if and when you felt it necessary.  Your collective voice truly made a difference in this matter, as we've incorporated a way for users to ...