The user should receive immediate and tangible feedback during interaction with an application. Appropriate feedback includes acknowledging a request, pointing out an error, or tracking the progress of an operation. Although auditory feedback can be useful for attracting a user's attention, it should be used sparingly in a pen-based application for the following reasons:

• Many users find beeps annoying.

• Pen-based computers will be used more and more frequently in conference rooms and other group areas where beeping from a machine will not be welcome.

• Auditory messages disappear without a trace. If the user is momentarily away or distracted, the auditory signal has failed to do its job.

• If the user can turn the warning sound off, sound is not a reliable source of feedback.

• An audible notification is not useful for users who are deaf or hard of hearing.

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