TheJediCharles
Registered
Hi fellow Mac users! 
Here's my first post/question. I basically already have a solution in mind, I only need some specifics on how to make it work and work the first time. Let me explain.
We have a petty nuisance problem around the Mac-user workplace of an employee who plays her internet radio in a domineering fashion. She's not very open to the concepts of community. Some see the value in some peace and quiet and others just want to hear something besides the same old freakin' looped classic rock all day. The only real solution lies in modifying her G4 computer, of which she only uses the internal speaker. We do this in the name of peaceful coexistence, not vandalism.
Now, I doubt there's a software solution which will fit the necessary criteria. She is not exactly computer-savvy, but she has some menial basic knowledge and if provoked, she'll likely go the distance to find the issue, so this will need to be as invisible to her as possible. I already have a tactic how to achieve our goal, I only need help in the logistics. First, here is our goal...
We need the volume diminished, say by about half. It cannot be totally eliminated, as she'll obviously become eager to fix it and in so doing find out what's been done. It must be as undetectable as possible, so as she cannot easily locate what's different. In short, if we can merely reduce the music coming from her computer, we'll be happy, and so long as she's at least getting something from her internal speaker, she's likely to not bother looking intently for what's wrong. Viola, issue resolved. Now, I don't believe there's a software solution which can achieve that. It would be nice to just open the box and unplug the speaker, but we get the feeling that not even getting a start-up chime would see her too-easily finding out what's wrong. So, "just quieter" is our goal. She'd likely just scratch her head, mumble, and give up almost immediately, and we'd all sigh in relief.
Anyway, here's my idea. If I could go to a computer hardware supply place, pick up a bit of internal speaker wire and a female and male connector and an appropriate or variable resistor, we could rig a mod, open her box and in a snap, bypass, and presto/chango, less sound. Now, to avoid a lot of failed attempts to get the right results, the main question I have is this; what kind of resistor should I get which would partially diminish the signal of a G4 speaker to about half? I don't know much about such things, I don't even know the ohms, etc. of that particular speaker or have the tools to figure it out.
To anyone who has such knowledge at their command, do you have a suggestion on what kind of partial interrupter we could use, or an inexpensive one that we could tweak?
Thanks so much!
Here's my first post/question. I basically already have a solution in mind, I only need some specifics on how to make it work and work the first time. Let me explain.We have a petty nuisance problem around the Mac-user workplace of an employee who plays her internet radio in a domineering fashion. She's not very open to the concepts of community. Some see the value in some peace and quiet and others just want to hear something besides the same old freakin' looped classic rock all day. The only real solution lies in modifying her G4 computer, of which she only uses the internal speaker. We do this in the name of peaceful coexistence, not vandalism.
Now, I doubt there's a software solution which will fit the necessary criteria. She is not exactly computer-savvy, but she has some menial basic knowledge and if provoked, she'll likely go the distance to find the issue, so this will need to be as invisible to her as possible. I already have a tactic how to achieve our goal, I only need help in the logistics. First, here is our goal...
We need the volume diminished, say by about half. It cannot be totally eliminated, as she'll obviously become eager to fix it and in so doing find out what's been done. It must be as undetectable as possible, so as she cannot easily locate what's different. In short, if we can merely reduce the music coming from her computer, we'll be happy, and so long as she's at least getting something from her internal speaker, she's likely to not bother looking intently for what's wrong. Viola, issue resolved. Now, I don't believe there's a software solution which can achieve that. It would be nice to just open the box and unplug the speaker, but we get the feeling that not even getting a start-up chime would see her too-easily finding out what's wrong. So, "just quieter" is our goal. She'd likely just scratch her head, mumble, and give up almost immediately, and we'd all sigh in relief.
Anyway, here's my idea. If I could go to a computer hardware supply place, pick up a bit of internal speaker wire and a female and male connector and an appropriate or variable resistor, we could rig a mod, open her box and in a snap, bypass, and presto/chango, less sound. Now, to avoid a lot of failed attempts to get the right results, the main question I have is this; what kind of resistor should I get which would partially diminish the signal of a G4 speaker to about half? I don't know much about such things, I don't even know the ohms, etc. of that particular speaker or have the tools to figure it out.
To anyone who has such knowledge at their command, do you have a suggestion on what kind of partial interrupter we could use, or an inexpensive one that we could tweak?
Thanks so much!
