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Per-Application Volume in Vista

I’ve been using Vista now for a week and I don’t think I’m going back.

  • 3D-Flip is amazing.  I can page through quarter-scale screenshots of the 20 or so app windows I have open to find the right one.  The fact that they are live, active windows, not just screenshots is gravy.  Please turn this into a screensaver.
  • Pin to Start Menu lets you right click on an app and add immediately add it to app list  that comes up when you hit the start button.  I used to have to drag shortcuts around to do that in XP.  They should add Pin to Send To Menu.
  • Glass is really cool.  Titlebars and window outlines are translucent(you choose the color, shade and alpha level).  It’s not useful, but it gives you apps a feeling of … um … realness.

My new favorite, though, is per-application volume.  I had no idea about this feature until Scoble mentioned it today.   WOWOWOWOWOW!  I guess NOW I don’t have to turn off email and IM notifications and system sounds if I want to turn up the music.  Nice touch.

Anyway, that’s why I read his blog and ask him questions.  He knows which features of which products are special.  Maybe that makes him an evangelist and maybe it just makes him awesome.

Posted in Microsoft.

By John Tokash
January 12, 2006

7 Responses

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  1. Anando said
    on January 13, 2006

    “Pin to Start Menu lets you right click on an app and add immediately add it to app list that comes up when you hit the start button. I used to have to drag shortcuts around to do that in XP. They should add Pin to Send To Menu.”

    You can do the same in Windows XP too. Right click on a shortcut or a app, and you will see “Pin to start menu” in the context menu.

  2. Keith Patrick said
    on January 13, 2006

    XP has Pin to Start Menu, but only on the Start Menu & the QuickLaunch bar.

  3. Bob Merr said
    on January 13, 2006

    If you thought vista was cool….just think what it could’ve been. Sadly I’m unimpressed. http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=154411

  4. Andriy Gerasika said
    on January 18, 2006

    John,
    If you still have Windows XP on one of your boxes, I recommend you try IndieVolume - per-application volume control for Windows XP/2000/NT/Me. In addition to all Windows Vista volume control features, IndieVolume also implements per-application playback device control, per-application balance control, and per-application DirectX effects that Windows Vista does not have.

    Please review IndieVolume at http://www.indievolume.com

  5. jtokash said
    on February 16, 2006

    Anando, thanks for the info about pin to start menu being an XP feature. I never realized that and now I’m using it all the time on my XP boxes. It’s funny that I thought it was a Vista feature. I guess I’m more in explore mode when I’m using a new OS.

  6. warner Fox said
    on July 3, 2007

    I am lost!! Looking for Volume Control Mixer with options to turn on “wave in”
    and stereo.
    Sorry to bother
    Regards, Warner Fox

Continuing the Discussion

  1. Scobleizer - Microsoft Geek Blogger » Tokash amazed by per-app audio (and FeedLounge) linked to this post on January 13, 2006

    [...] The evening started out skeptical enough. John Tokash, director of software development at Homestead Technologies, wrote me with a list of troubles he’s having with Windows Vista. He also wrote me some of the things he liked and asked “what else is there?” I gave him a short list, one of which included per-application audio settings. He went nuts! [...]

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