gnome-applet-volume-control is a huge usability regression

[Colin Law]

On 19 August 2012 11:02, Gene Heskett <gheskett at wdtv.com> wrote:
> Greetings all;
>
> Ubuntu-10.04.4 LTS
>
> Some so-called update in the last 2 weeks has moved the system volume
> control from my keyboard, to a teeny little icon in the notifier applet.
>
> Generally when I need to get to it because the fscking commercial in front
> of a news story is 40 db louder than the previous watched stories audio
> track was, trying not to wake the missus sleeping 4 rooms away, but because
> the mouse pointer has been blanked, you can't find the SOB without issuing
> a click someplace to unblank it just so you can move the pointer to this
> microscopic icon in the upper right corner of the screen, then roll the
> wheel to adjust the volume.  That works, but the extra click needed to
> unblank the mouse (why does it not unblank just by moving it?) is
> occasionally miss interpreted causing unwanted side effects, and it takes
> several seconds of waving the ^%$ mouse around to find it in the screen
> clutter and do it.
>
> My keyboard has volume up/down/mute functions buttons which DID work very
> well and instantly, and could be used in a second or less for this until
> some "genius" thought it could be better done with an icon.  Quotes
> intended to be satire of course because left to my natural instincts,
> genius isn't the proper descriptive word.

I think you may be jumping to the false assumption that the disabling
of the keyboard function keys has been done on purpose.  I think it
more likely to be accidental.  Rather than ranting about supposed
intentional changes apparently intended to annoy you personally I
think a better approach would be to ask for help in analysing why the
function keys do not work.  In order to help with this the first
information required is full details of the make and model of the
machine.  I presume you have already searched launchpad in case it has
already been reported.

Have you touched the BIOS settings recently?

Have you tried a re-boot?

Colin