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browser silencer

 No more workplace embarrassment.
  (+8)(+8)
(+8) 		  [vote for,
against]

"This web page (or a plugin it uses) would like to play sound. Allow/Silence/Stop Loading."

I don't think I have to explain why, except to say that it allows the computer to make its usual beeps and boops, and that it halts any animation while you answer the question.

I'll be happy to hear that it's Baked (though it's very important that it work for plugins like Flash, ideally on all my favorite platforms).

—egnor, Jun 21 2001

SMS http://www.sms.ac
SMS message [preetizinta, Feb 12 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

[link]






       Ah! A fine idea. Should be rather bakeable, I would think.
—PotatoStew, Jun 21 2001
   

       You would think... except that plugins communicate directly with the OS sound API, so that may be difficult to selectively intercept.
—egnor, Jun 21 2001
   

       I just turn off my speakers.
—mrkillboy, Jun 21 2001
   

       Good idea. I had particular problems with angel's link on UnaBubbas battery hens post...
—goff, Jun 21 2001
   

       Pardon my ignorance, but if you switch off the sound card, does the computer not 'make its usual beeps and boops' through its own nasty little piezo speaker instead, which doesn't respond to sound-cardy-type sounds?
—angel, Jun 21 2001
   

       Rods Tiger: No sound card is golden?
—Aristotle, Jun 21 2001
   

       Perhaps Google could set up a "silencer" option, similar to their "translate" option?   

       If they can translate the text of a page into English, I can't see why they couldn't comment out any superfluous multimedia using similar pre-processing.
—MrWrong, Jun 21 2001
   

       Hitting the Mute button: The damage is already done when that annoying music or sound effect starts blasting out. This is particularly irksome in an office setting.   

       Disconencting the speakers: Some computer-generated sound is perfectly fine; I don't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater. In fact, as [waugsqueke] notes, I might even be using the sound card to play an MP3 of my choice.   

       Uncheck "Play Sounds": That doesn't work for Flash plugins ... does it? These days, Flash-using Web sites have replaced MIDI as the primary "oh my god, I wish I'd never clicked *that* link" audio blaster. (I also don't use MSIE, but that's not really relevant.)   

       [goff]: Yes, that was my inspiration, too.
—egnor, Jun 21 2001
   

       Hmm, gets my vote. I don't like running on [X]Mute as I forget to turn sound back on for days. Maybe I enjoy the silence too much? Web browsers warn you about switching from SSL to non-SSL pages and a number of other things; like you can turn cookie warnings on/off and even reject cookies outright. Doing this for sound can only make sense. I've had some silly idiot's site blare the workplace awake. One, don't wake people from their after-lunch snooze, and most of all, don't wake up the BOSS! People who force sound on you without warning should be lynched (without warning).
—jetckalz, Jun 22 2001
   

       Hear, hear (or rather, don't hear). The browser I work on would love to bake this, but as egnor points out, most sound these days comes through a third-party plugin (eg, Flash) and it's a bit harder to intercept the sounds there.
—wiml, Jun 22 2001
   

       For IE 5.5, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security > Custom Level, and set "Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins" to either disable or prompt (at your whim). This will catch any Flash before it is played.   

       For Netscape, you can always delete the plug-in if you *never* want to see Flash. Otherwise, I think you're stuck with it.
—MrWrong, Jun 22 2001
   

       Just turn off your hearing aid.
—thumbwax, Jun 22 2001
   

       MrWrong: The trouble is that you still have no way of knowing whether the plugins will produce sound. Many (poorly designed, IMHO) sites are hard to use if you've disabled Flash, and most Flash isn't that noisy.   

       (For the specific case of Flash, it wouldn't be hard to scan the file for audio tags before giving it to the plugin to play, but in the general case of other plugins, you want to be able to trap the sound-output calls they're making.)
—wiml, Jun 22 2001
   

       I usually turn off my speakers but have been caught a few times off guard with horrible midi elevator music that people post on their webpages. I give it a +
—joshkouri, Mar 12 2003
   

       The pratical way: earphones. You know, the earmuffs with speakers in them.   

       The halfbakery way: look up.   

       What I would do: have a circut-breaker type thing, extended perionds, or loud sound clicks it off. (on the supply cable.)
—my-nep, Jan 14 2004
   
      
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