A couple of important stumbling blocks for new users

[em3rald]

Hey! I searched the forum and didn't find exactly what I am looking for, so I decided to create a new post.

First off, this is a great app! My WoW guild is strongly considering migrating exclusively to Mumble from Ventrilo because the free Ventrilo server is so crippled, and because Mumble offers so many more features. I have fired up a server on my own domain, and have it simply set with a global server password (mostly for simplicity at this point). Most users are using the 1.2.2 stable version on Windows. I have played around with the developer snapshot on Linux (Ubuntu) for the client, and it's good.

Here are a couple of points that seem to stump some of the users (considering they are not particularly computer savvy, nor do they wanna put much effort into make something work):

1. After installing, the first time the program is run has a period of "nothing happening". No indication that the application has even launched. Eventually it does come up, but some users report that they erroneously attempted launching the application several times. Again, this is with 1.2.2 on (I believe) Vista and on Win7

2. Somehow the users either weren't prompted whether or not to use push-to-talk or voice detection, or they missed it during the install/setup. It defaulted with voice detection which is not ideal for most users migrating from Ventrilo, and when looking for the option to enable push-to-talk, the only method seems to be to use the Audio Wizard. Ideally, there would be a push-to-talk checkbox right on the main window of the application (or somewhere equally accessible). Perhaps even have it right-clickable to edit which key combination to use. To me (and my users), this is potentially a deal-breaker - even though it seems like an extremely simplistic issue, it's one of those things that get under new users' skin. If they simply missed it during the install/setup, it needs to be made more plainly obvious. Like a separate window that pops up and says, "Would you like to use push-to-talk or voice detection" ... and then carry on with the setup.

3. Some users are reporting that the push-to-talk chime sound is irritating and loud. I noticed that the developer snapshot has a slightly different sound, but it didn't seem to make the users any happier. May I propose a much lower-profile chime? A very soft bell-like sound, or a low-profile futuristic sound. Perhaps even a couple of sound choices for users to pick from. It's one of those aesthetic features that make users happier with their software. Kinda like the "bling" factor. I would be willing to upload some candadate sound files if you would like ... I will attach a Creative Commons or GPL license or something to them to ensure no issue with including them with the software. Send me a PM if you would like me to fire you a few sounds to review.

That's about it for right now. I will continue to offer feedback as my users begin using Mumble. We currently have it running concurrently with a free Ventrilo server, and users generally have a different push-to-talk key combination for each application. (NB. ALT-Grave seems to be highly popular with WoW users)

Mike

[kissaki]

1. indeed, that's the Qt libs loading.

It has vastly improved in the snapshots and thus should be a lot faster in 1.2.3

2. It's in the audio wizard which runs the first time you start Mumble. That’s the user-friendly guide with description and info about things.

Alternatively, it’s ofc. also in the settings, Audio Input, the Transmit drop-down allows you to select Push to Talk. You then also have to set a Key in the settings Shortcuts section.

The wizard has it in one step.

3. The settings Messages section indeed does not seem to have an option to change / customize the ppt-sound-notification. This should be added.

You could file a Feature Request.

Good luck with switching.

I did a 2 weeks test-phase with 100% Mumble with my clan, and we happily switched after.

That was first quarter of 2008, and we still enjoy it. :)

[em3rald]

Thanks for the reply :D

1. I figured it was probably something like that. Being that I am not a programmer in any respect, forgive my ignorance haha. But, could it be possible to put a small splash "loading" window/banner/graphic while the application is launching? It would serve absolutely no function other than to let the user know that it's launching. I realize that something like this probably doesn't seem critical to the project itself, but it's something we as users tend to expect. And the least technical savvy (and ultimately the largest consumer group) will be a lot happier to see something like this.

2. Yeah, I have directed the users who have encountered this issue to use the Audio Wizard again and to read carefully as they go. It seems that *somehow* users are still missing it. I can't really explain it, but it's happened with *several* of my users. This leads me to suspect that while it's just an aesthetic thing mostly, it is a legitimate problem. If the devs somehow put that option in a more "in-yer-face" presentation, I think the users will not encounter this problem. This is the kind of thing that (while completely stupid and arguably a user error) will lead to unsatisfied users, regardless of how unreasonable it is.

3. There is an option - under Input/Transmission you can manually change the file, but you have to have your own file to place there. If the "browse" option opened to the folder that contained the other audio files, that might placate enough of the users ... but I think the default sound should be "prettier", which would lead to a more overall professional presentation.

As far as filing Feature Requests, I will definitely do that. However, I figured I would be smarter to discuss these things with the community *before hand* just in case I was missing something. I am a fan of fully developing ideas before filing official feature requests. :D Thanks very much for your feedback kissaki! Hopefully I can turn my ideas into something useful to the developers :D