Personal webmelody: Customized sonification of web servers

Abstract

This paper presents Personal WebMelody, a sonified web server that informs its administrator of both normal and abnormal operation through background music. It allows customization and full integration of system-generated music representing web server activity with external music sources (audio CD, MP3, etc) selected by the administrator. Our sonification technique works by associating MIDI or WAV sound tracks with web server events. In an attempt to enable the webmaster to listen to such system-generated music for a long period without becoming fatigued, we introduce the opportunity of mixing an external music source with systemgenerated music. In this way, the administrator can hear the status of the web server while listening to his or her preferred music. We present an empirical study that shows how our web server sonification can convey useful information efficiently.