Programming Sound with Pure Data

Sound Is a Public Experience

Have you opened a web page or an app, and then had sound blast out of your speakers? Especially at the worst time, when you’re in a quiet office environment and everyone’s busy working, and in the worst way, when the sound was obviously and embarrassingly not work related?

This experience teaches a very important lesson about sound: by default, sound is a public experience. Although it’s possible the user has headphones on, or maybe doesn’t have a system that plays sound, it can never be assumed that sound won’t be a public experience. In contrast, the visual part of a digital experience is generally private. Users are generally aware and protective of who can see what’s on their screen, and it feels like eavesdropping ...