AuO : audio recorder and editor on the web

Abstract

In grade school, students learn that human beings possess five main senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Of these, we currently can experience only the first two through a computer, and by extension, the Internet. Although web technologies have supported visual feedback since the earliest of times, only recently have browser provided web developers with audio technologies capable of recording, editing, and playing audio without resorting to external-to-browser plug-ins, such as ActionScript and Java. This presents a ripe opportunity for web applications to leverage the power of the web and deliver immersive auditory experience that appeal to users' ears. This thesis presents AuO, an online audio recording and editing application. Inspired by the needs of StarLogo Nova, AuO uses only HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to allow web developers to provide their users with the ability to record audio from their browsers, load audio from the Internet or users' machines, make edits to the audio, play back the audio as a preview, and save the audio to either the Internet or users' local filesystems. Designed with both web developers and users in mind, and implemented with the aim of delivering speedy and smooth experiences, AuO's development process, from conception to future work, documents the creation of the first integrable native-to-browser web audio recorder and editor.