Being exclusive is one thing, being able to direct
audio to either, even when something is plugged in, is another thing, as Brian
points out.
Things arent as simple as unplugging the
headphones IRL. First, as Paul says, the User may forget to unplug them. Second,
the headphones jack doubles as digital optical out connector on MB, MBP, and
iMac. While you want your media audio (Pro Apps, iTunes, DVD, Front Row etc)
directed to your home theatre or monitoring system using optical link, you dont
want the system beeps, iChat calling and conversations etc go the same way
because a) your home theater or monitoring system is not always on, and b) you
dont want to be exposed to a system beep etc. at 90 or more dB. AC/DC at 100 dB
is all right (if that is your kind of music) but TADA at the same level is not,
if you get my drift.
Inability to treat built-in speakers (used for
system sounds) and built-in out connector (using analog or digital cable for
media audio) as two separate, let be mutually exclusive, interfaces is very
inconvenient. In non-mobile installations, in particular when using iMac where
the connector is on the back and therefore not easily accessible, it is simply
not practical.
If the actual hardware design permits such
treatment (and there are indications that it does) then IMHO there is no good
reason not to make it accessible both to the users and the
developers.
On February 23, 2008 4:15 AM, Jeff Moore
wrote:
The speakers and the headphones are mutually exclusive. Whether this is
because of hard wiring or flipping bits in a register somewhere really doesn't
matter. This is just another one of the facts about the hardware you have to
deal with. There's no secret back door to make it work different.
If you don't want the sound coming out of the headphones, just unplug
them.
On Feb 22, 2008, at 7:03 PM, Brian Willoughby wrote:
I think that what is being asked for here is the ability to turn off
the headphones even though something is plugged in. It is understood
that both speakers and headphones cannot be driven at the same time.
The question is whether the switch is mechanical, making it impossible
to turn on the speakers if a headphone jack is inserted, or if the switch is
electronic, meaning that it can be overridden in software to direct the
audio to one or the other under user control. Seems like if the boot
chime can be directed to the speaker even when a headphone jack is in place,
then it should be possible to direct other audio to the speakers in the same
situation.