Working in harmony – solution found!
Posted by Alex Taylor on May 16th, 2012
Programmers are usually very busy and cannot be distracted from work for any reason. To develop a good application they need to concentrate deeply on their work. But is it that easy? The chaos of busy office is very well known: noise of the processors, clicking keyboards, discussions among the colleagues… Getting on to the right track is just so hard sometimes. So what a developer can do in this case?
Our fellow developers were looking hard for a solution. Some of them were trying to listen to a favorite music playlists, some – favorite radio station. But a radio or a playlist gets you bored with the time passing and doesn’t always correspond with your taste. Trying to watch the clips or movies didn’t work either, cause you can’t be in two places at once, even if it’s all in the monitor.
The kitchen became the place for discussions on “how to concentrate on work and ignore the office noises”.
At last came up a decision to listen to the environmental sounds. This idea was well received and approved. After all, the nature sounds make us feel more comfortable than computers’ noise.
A while ago similar software was developed for Windows OS and was installed by almost all programmers at their machines. The similar Mac software also existed. But most of such solutions had a nuance, which I personally consider a disadvantage.
The thing is, in order to dip into a virtual environment you have to adjust it first: select the sounds you need, set the appropriate order for them, etc. Manual adjustment takes really lots of time.
Our programmers were busy trying to find the ideal solution that wouldn’t require so much time to set it appropriately and will really enwrap them in an atmosphere they need for more efficient working process. At last they simply decided to develop their own software that will satisfy all these requirements and will be easy to use and as close to the real environment as possible.
This is how Elsewhere was born. Elsewhere doesn’t require much effort, it has a tiny interface, only the necessary settings, and lots of pleasure!
Going back to the development process – that wasn’t easy at all! The sounds are so usual, we don’t even notice them in everyday life, but when you actually start making the selection for the application you realize that some sounds combined with the others can be irritating, or just don’t sound as you want them to.
While developing each sound atmosphere for Elsewhere (currently Beach, Wood, and City) we had lots of discussions and debates. Some sounds triggered so different associations in each of us. But that was definitely worth it, because what came out of it is definitely what we sought for.
So… the advantages of Elsewhere.
First of all Elsewhere emits sounds absolutely randomly, no repeats or routine playlists. Even its developers don’t know what sounds they will hear the next moment.
Also we tried to create as realistic atmosphere as possible by organizing day and night sounds naturally. For example you won’t hear the birds’ twitter at midnight, but the owl’s hoot of course. The atmosphere around you changes gradually depending on the time of day.
This app turned out to be not just a small solution for our programmers, but an extremely convenient utility for anyone craving for peace and concentration.
Detailed information about Elsewhere app: http://mac.eltima.com/ambient-sounds.html
