WinHEC 2002: "Longhorn" Audio "Profiles"

[Maza]

In a WinHEC 2002 PowerPoint presentation titled "Windows Audio Platform Enhancements," Microsoft discussed many of the intended improvements for audio functionality in "Longhorn" with an emphasis on new features. One of these new features was named "Audio 'Profiles'" and it was designed to allow a "Longhorn" PC to offer functionality similar to a cell phone in that it allowed users to switch between various audio profiles that were suitable to his or her application context or physical environment:







The comparison between a "Longhorn" PC and a cell phone calls to mind the Windows HotStart (formerly Windows Direct) feature first discussed during WinHEC 2004 that was intended to allow users to instantly start an application from multiple PC power states with the single press of a button (left). During WinHEC 2005 Microsoft explicitly referred to the feature as offering functionality comparable to that a of a cell phone (right):



Unfortunately "Audio 'Profiles'" were not included in Windows Vista, though the aforementioned Windows HotStart was included. Additionally, other features from "Windows Audio Platform Enhancements" such as per-application volume control were included as major features in Windows Vista.

[SistemaRayoXP]

It's pretty curious. Do you think this would be only designed for Laptops or that this was for Desktop too? This is like the sound schemes but plus Power and other settings, it'd have been some useful in laptops in the back 2006