Re: UI for enabling webcam use from untrusted content

On Tue, 8 Dec 2009, Robin Berjon wrote:
>
> A quick few notes, I've been thinking along similar lines.
> 
> First: distinguishing audio and video is sort of a geek approach to 
> things.

Oh I didn't mean to imply that we would actually show video and audio 
options separately. I just meant those as two different devices. If it 
helps, consider instead a built-in iSight vs an external camera, or a 
webcam and a joystick controller, or an infrared port, or a CNC lathe, or 
digital train controller, or a serial port, or a USB fishtank, or anything 
else we might want to expose one day.


> Another related note: how many "devices" (by which I mean things that 
> the user perceives as possibly grouped) are we likely to ever want to 
> enable simultaneously?

The question is how should we handle it when a Web page asks for more than 
we expected any page would ever ask.


> The approach I've been mulling over is an enhanced infobar of sorts. If 
> the author requests Video (in the AV sense) you get a regular infobar 
> and have to drag (or perhaps just click the icon) of the AV abstract 
> device. There can be a little ▾ next to the icon providing further 
> options to select a specific input amongst many, or disable parts of it 
> if it's a conceptual device grouping many. If discarded, the bar goes 
> away. If accepted, it sticks in a form that shows that same icon with an 
> active Rec symbol and the appropriate affordance to turn it off 
> (including turning it off temporarily, i.e. muting). If a further device 
> is requested while one is active, and it is also a device that needs to 
> be continuously shown, then the infobar+ appears below the "devicebar", 
> but activating a device closes it and the device's icon moves up to the 
> devicebar (possibly with an animation).
> 
> It's a little convoluted to explain, but I think it would be reasonably 
> straightforward to understand visually as the devicebar would appear 
> only upon device activation, would stay only so long as there are active 
> devices, and extra devices clearly get added to it. Assuming it's 
> possible to grant permanent access to a page/origin, the devicebar would 
> reappear. The more I think of it the more that's actually something I'd 
> like to already have for Location.

I'd be interested in hearing browser vendors' opinions on this.


On Tue, 8 Dec 2009, Tran, Dzung D wrote:
>
> I don't think the user thinks in that way when it come to video chat. 
> Just take the example of Google Video Chat. The user knows that he is 
> going to video chat with his friend. He just click on his friend name 
> and the video window shows up with his friend and they start a 
> conversation.
> 
> IMHO, All this with enable/disable microphone and webcam devices is a 
> user experience problem.

I agree, but what UI would you propose to let the user distinguish Google 
Video Chat from Hostile Evil Corp?

-- 
Ian Hickson               U+1047E                )\._.,--....,'``.    fL
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