I appreciate the thought you've put into the login sound, and especially that you bring an expert's insight into the sort of sonic atmospheres that can evoke the feelings we desire. Ubuntu's core values [1] state that "Ubuntu embodies freedom, and is collaborative, precise and reliable": to whatever extent that we can work that into the login sounds, we should.
It's especially important for the first login sound to be precise and reliable. The sound should signify that, for the first time in the boot or wake-up process, the system is live and ready for input on keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, and whatever else the future of input holds. If the user is not paying visual attention to the computer as it boots up, this may be their only clue. If the user is blind, this is certainly their only clue. I like the current sound in this regard: the three quick drum taps let me know that my computer is ready in a brief, attention-grabbing and recognizable manner. The second sound serves two purposes: the first is that the password, gesture, fingerprint, and/or other means of authentication used to access the device has succeeded. To serve that purpose we should begin with a strong, immediate, and satisfying sound. Its second purpose is to alert the user that the user-management software, be it lightdm or whatever else, requires no further input and is now out of your way. Our current sound serves the first purpose well, leading with a percussive "tum" sound. However, it completely fails at the second purpose, following its satisfying percussive sound with a jaunty and needlessly long rhythm that ends in a symbol crash. I've always disabled the second sound and I believe it may even be disabled by default now. But a less obnoxious sound would serve the login experience well. I'm looking forward to see what you come up with! Thanks so much for taking the initiative on this issue: I think that the sonic cues we give our users are one of the best tools in our belt make a great first impression on new users and give habitual users the sensation of preciseness and reliability that we desire. Ryan [1] http://design.canonical.com/brand/1.%20Ubuntu%20brand%20introduction.pdf
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