Start music in Vista: For the last four seconds in 18 months

In a foreign newspaperArticle, Tells the story of the 4-second history of Vista startup music, an incredible story. The following news is translated from San Jose Mercury News.

Some musicians spend 18 months on an album. At Microsoft, 18 months is just the time it took to complete a 4-Second voice in a zone.

Of course, this is not a general 4-second music clip. This voice, "click it and click it", gradually fades out. It is what millions of computer users hear every day when starting Microsoft's upcoming Vista operating system.

To get a proper tone, clean, concise, and memorable, Microsoft's software developer Steve Ball invited musician Robert Fripp to join the production process.

Steve Ball, manager of the Microsoft Program Group, explains how Microsoft spent 18 months choosing its new OS, Vista, to start music in four seconds.

The addition of FRIPP is not accidental. His partner, Brian Eno, is responsible for recording various windows 95 voices. Coincidentally, ball, this Microsoft wave (Windows Audio Visual excellence) TeamProgramHe was a student and business partner of FRIPP.

Ball, a self-proclaimed "New Man" engineer and composer, thinks this job will need to be a job of 10 musicians. Some of them have more or less influence on the final four seconds.

Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, WA, discussed several other candidate types of music three weeks ago, before deciding to start music, and dismissed many other candidate voices. Many people like a little bit of music with a rhythm of applause, which is regarded as too commercial. Ball said that applause is too "human", especially when it is going to work with Vista with a brand new image.

The final starting music is selected because it reads "Win-dows vis-ta !" . For themes of the four color versions, there will be four different startup music, each lasting 4 seconds.

Microsoft spent a year and a half polishing over 45 Vista voices, including some "ding" when you receive an email, receive an error message, and cancel a computer ". In general, these sounds are almost muted, much better than the annoying and varied refreshing sounds that Windows XP users are familiar.

If it seems like overkill to go to all that trouble for a few seconds of sound (how to flip ?), Consider this situation: Microsoft estimates that those voices, such as the notifications sent from an email, will be played several trillion times. It really provides a lot of opportunities for disturbing and even angry people-or, if appropriate, it can make users around the world happy and comfortable to hear.

One of the main concerns is that the music was not so exciting.

"You want a voice that people like when they hear it, but it's hard to make sure they like it for the tenth, 100th, or even 1,000th times ." Ball said.

This is one of the reasons why he is willing to spend 18 Months Choosing a clip.

"We have time to live with music ." Ball said.

Speaking of all the time he spent on his voice selection, ball said: people almost don't pay attention to you. Maybe this is the way to success.

"We want you to know that they exist. If they disappear, you will miss them, but we make them hard to notice, just like a small part of the environment or a small part of your wallpaper, "he said." We 'd rather make it a background than want them to be too obvious."