Quiet Computing

The first thing I do when I re-install Windows is turn off all the sounds. All the bleeps, bings, blips, burps and bleats. Maybe they're useful for the novice user, but when something is going wrong, I already know it's going wrong without a chorus. Pavlov conditioned his dogs to salivate to the sound of a bell and Windows can make my hammering hand distinctly twitchy just by beeping. It's the repeated association of the sound and the frustration of something not working.

Here's how - it takes less than 30 seconds to enjoy quiet computing.

Start->Control Panel (Classic View) -> Sounds and Audio Devices Properties -> Sounds -> No Sounds

It'll still play music and movies - just not all those Windows sounds.

Posted by Alexander at April 19, 2006 01:51 PM

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Comments

My Flyakite, an OSX theme for Windows XP, has soft Mac sounds, so they're kind nice.

Posted by: Chris Charlton at April 19, 2006 03:20 PM

Thanks Chris, but I think it is the association, rather than the sound itself that is doing the damage!

Posted by: Alexander McCabe at April 20, 2006 11:53 PM