I occassionally listen to the 99% Invisible podcast.is It covers a number of interesting topics, mostly focused on civil engineering, but one of the earliest ones focused on something different: the sounds that create the feel of computer programs.
Designing the interface of a computer program so that it creates an intuitive, physical connection with users is very difficult. Unlike old stereo equipment, a computer program cannot give real tactile feedback when a dial has been turned all the way or when a switch has been turned on or off. A display can do a very slick job of trying to appear real, or skeuomorphic, but it is still a picture under glass. Most cell phones and video games can give some shaking to create crude feedback, which can tell you that something happened, but it can't tell you much about what that something specifically was. The only remaining way for a computer to give intuitive feedback is the sounds that a program makes. Think about the Windows Critical Stop sound or the early mac equivalent uh-oh sound; if you have a strong emotional reaction to something your computer does its probably to these sorts of sounds. So it's not surprising that smart interface designers will spend a significant amount of time honing the sound effects in their programs.
Something I thought was especially interesting, when listening to the the podcast, was that the sort of sounds that users gravitated to most were the ones that were the recorded sounds of something mechanical happening, such as a vise grip being released, rather than something synthesized. Even when using a device that would only make a big mechanical sound if it was being destroyed, people still enjoyed the unsynthesized sounds of real things happening.
Of course, things do have a way of coming full circle.
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