Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Free Alarm Clock 2.7 has been released

  • New: View mode "Single Line".
  • New: Shortcuts for lists: Ctrl+N, Ctrl+Enter, Ctrl+Del, Ctrl+E.
  • New: Ability to stop snooze.
  • New: Translations of the UI into Bulgarian, Serbian and Japanese languages.
  • Improved: In order to open main window from tray you need to click on icon. The second click on the tray icon hides the main window.
  • Fixed: Issue with waking up PC from a sleep mode when the first alarm doesn't have WakeUp option.
  • Fixed: Issue with daylight saving adjustment.
  • Fixed: Issue with playing sound when output device changes.
  • Fixed: Alarm balloon is visible while playing sound.
  • Fixed: Issue with storing setting.
  • Some other bug fixes and improvements.

47 comments:

  1. Thank you for making this amazing app!

    Do you think it is possible to add keyboard shortcuts for snooze and stop?

    Thank you for all your hard work once again!

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  2. This app is very good !
    But could be amazing if it also has more timing options:
    -to repeat every x hours (e.g. every 2 hours)
    -x days (e.g. every 2 days)
    -particular day of month (e.g. 1st day of every month, 1st Monday of every month)
    -all of above options could also have a start and end date
    -at exact day
    Thank you in advance

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    Replies
    1. great suggestion, i wanted this badly .. thanks

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    2. +
      - alram just once (for the temporary schedule)
      - do not depend on your PC's time setting (for the time-editted PC)
      - shut down the alram if you solve a puzzle (I kill the alram in my dream sometime with just pressing Enter key...)
      thank you for saving my ass plenty of time

      Delete
  3. Its impossible to find a good alarm for Elderly people.This is by far the best alarm program out there and with a few more features it would be extremely useful for the elderly/sick also.
    I'm looking for something for my mom to help with meds. There is three features that I think if you add them you could significantly help some people.
    1)Ability to set alarms to repeat every x amount of hours and etc...
    2)Allow the ability to enlarge the text size on the alarm popup {If it could scale like the Clock Display Window that would be awesome}
    3)On the clock display window allow the background color to change based on day and night.

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  4. I should add I'd buy the Hot Alarm Clock if it had these features.

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  5. I love this Alarm Clock app and have a suggestion, I have a timer also on my desktop... combining them both would be great and could be done using a snooze button to repeat every "x" number of minutes or hours. then I would have an alarm that would alarm at the start of the shift then every "15" "30" "45" minutes until end of shift. This would also work for taking pills during the day every "120" minutes

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  6. Great product - best features I've seen.
    Only wish that you could set a URL to pop up AND play an alarm sound at the same time. Currently I do this by setting an alarm at 4:00 to pop up the URL, then an alarm at 4:01 to play the music.
    Just something to add to the wish list... :-)

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  7. The best computer alarm clock ..Thanks

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  8. Analog clocks are the style of clock that has the old fashion clock hands on a traditional dial. They have second hands, which can show exactly how much of a minute has passed.

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  9. Feature request: Set the alarm clock to sound the alarm through the computer speakers even when the default audio output device of window is a headset.

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    Replies
    1. TOTALLY AGREE to force speakers instead of earphones!!! Nothing worse than going to sleep with earbuds, which will of course fall out, and then I'd NEVER hear the alarm and miss.. (?? work??)

      ALSO,
      1. Make ONE of the panes a different color, that says REAL BIG -- ""NOW"" with the current time. Seeing the alarm set time is great, but it would be easier to see a legible clock, since I'm ALSO watching the clock to see how long till the alarm goes OFF.
      ---> EVEN BETTER, SHOW in THAT ALARM, how much time is left until it rings. (ALSO, if alarm has rung, snoozed, SHOW how long till the snooze alarm will go off.)

      2. When I click on an existing alarm, the default should be to EDIT the time, NOT create a clone. Leave those to the "NEW" and "CLONE" buttons. If I'm using alarms often, I'm editing the existing alarm 95% of the time, NOT creating a new one.

      3. A PRESET countdown timer would be great -- When not ringing, a one click "START" button allows me to edit the countdown time without opening it. Without editing, a button to start or REstart whatever was preset as a countdown. And, add a PAUSE to stop the countdown. (double click still opens edit)

      4. STROBE!! Think about it --- I'm deaf from listening to music, iPhone's earbuds on, in the other room blasting music, in the kitchen and the timer goes off. I won't hear it. BUT, try ignoring an annoying strobe while sleeping!!!

      5. AM or PM TOO EASY to mess up -- either show military time, or some NIGHT or DAY indicator for AM or PM. -- Shades of fading gray on PM would work.

      Delete
    2. TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE ISSUE WITH THE SOUND ADJUSTING WINDOWS' MASTER VOLUME: While I share your feelings on the matter, it unfortunately can't adjust it's own volume without adjusting the Master volume as well. If you have any sort of audio playing and you click on the volume icon (Win7/Vista [Win8?]) you will see under the slider a link called "Mixer". If you click that you are provided further program specific volume options (only relevant to programs using audio at that time). Now, if you adjust Master to say 50%, all the others drop as well. If you try to raise any of the other sliders then it raises the Master also.

      Basically the only way around that I can think of would be to code it to poll the Audio Stack in Windows to see what programs are in the Mixer and/or have their own individually set volume level, and store their settings. Once the alarm sounds it will adjust them accordingly to keep their volume level from being higher than you would like, then once the alarm has been disabled, it will restore every volume setting.
      Otherwise the easiest would be to just mute every process other than Master and Free Alarm Clock, but that would mean if you're listening to music or playing a video then they will be interrupted. I guess if you _really_ want to make it hard on the poor guy you could suggest to also have Free Alarm Clock issue the ACPI multimedia command for "Pause" when the alarm goes off and "Play" when it has been shut off :P
      I'm content just so long as it returns the Master volume to it's previous state. lol



      Anywho...
      I concur with many suggestions above.
      Specifically:

      -Ability to set dates, for any date of the year would be ideal (popup calendar or even just a type-in number box/drop down), but simply being able to set it for something like "The following " or "This day next week" would still be really helpful. This would also include the suggestions about repeat every so-many days, and only be set for a certain length of time (like if you have to check on a neighbor's pet while they're out of town for a few days) :)

      -Option to configure when to automatically shut the alarm off, or simply hardcoded to do so after one or two hours (30mins might be too soon as, for example, someone could have just came home 40mins past the alarm and thus would not have gotten the reminder).
      -OR at least have it cease playing the alarm audio and leave the reminder on the screen.

      -Option to set the popup to blink/flash/strobe full screen. So if you are not using it as a wakeup alarm and just a reminder while using the computer, you won't have to worry about disturbing anyone else, OR missing your alarm!

      -Android (*sigh* ok, and iOS) app just like this. Free version is just a simple alarm but then the paid version ($1USD, $1.50USD or so) can sync with your computer's alarm, with the ability to push alarms to either (or any) of the synced devices. So if you are away from your computer, you could remotely set an alarm on it (provided it isn't turn off, or has Wake-On-LAN enabled)


      That's long enough I think. As everyone has said, thanks for such a great program!!!

      Delete
  10. All above comments for improvements are great. Also it has been said that a GRADUAL volume increase from low to high on alarm clocks helps you wake peacefully. This to me would be awesome!!! Thanks!
    T

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  11. Very good soft !
    I suggest a shutdown/hibernate option

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  12. Great app---I love it. How Can I upgrade without reprogramming my times---Ive got a bunch.

    ty
    Kaiser

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  13. This is a real good alarm clock apps I have used so far. Great job guys ! Unbeatable performance with a free program ! Cheers.

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  14. Why Free Alarm Clock shows The Persian language such as "???" ?

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  15. Thanks a lot. I just started using your alarm clock app.

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  16. How to set volume so it's not 100% by default?

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  17. Awesome alarm, only thing I would add is the ability to end an alarm after a certain time so that if I leave early or say, go camping and forget to turn it off poor kitty doesn't have to hear it all day. A way to skip the next alarm without disabling it would be good too.

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  18. Muchas gracias por la alarma, funciona de maravilla :)

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  19. Fixed: Issue with playing sound when output device changes.

    I'm still having some issues with this. It plays on my monitor just fine, even after switching, but it won't play on my headset after I switch.

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  20. Any plans of having a smart-upgrade available for those times you add improvements? Thanks for a useable alarm and for working to improve it.

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  21. Why is the alarm sound volume fader bound to the Windows system master fader? Every time I create an alarm and put it's volume down (because I don't want to fall from my chair when the alarm tone rings) my whole system volume is down at the same level. This is really annoying and should be changed soon. Make the alarm volume independent from the system settings and everything will be fine.

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  22. The alarm sound volume at 100% is a disaster. Please disconnect from the Windows volume. Also the specification should be permanently set to a smaller value.

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    Replies
    1. I was out for a day and had my computer in sleep mode. So the alarm went off and frightened people for a whole day until I returned.
      It would be nice to set the alarm for a minute or 30 minutes. It should stop on it's own.
      Is that feature hidden any place?

      Delete
  23. Great product. I would suggest extending snooze times to 15, 20, 25, 30 minutes and more. That would allow me to set up an alarm to serve as a recurrent reminder. These days, people are looking for timers that remind them to stand up and walk around every 20-30 minutes. I don't (yet) see a way that can be done with this product.

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  24. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  25. Love the program! Could you please add an option for an monthly alarm based on the day of the month?

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  26. Could you make it so it plays a random song from a folder?

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  27. i like super mario

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  28. This is an excellent "Freeware" program and it fills basic needs very well. It is the best I have found and it wakes me up daily, Thanks again. ;-)

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  29. Compliments from Italy ,molto utile .. grazie :)

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  30. Thanks for this great program it's just what I need.
    Whilst all its features are perfect for my needs I would personally appreciate a addition that could flag up a reminder at start up, if any alarms have been missed whilst the computer was turned off. Perfect for reminding me that the hot water tank needs switching on when I get in late.

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  31. I hate this program daily. thanks

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  32. GRACIAS!!! Pocas, muy pocas veces se consigue software, tan claro, limpio, útil y extraordinariamente sencillo.

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  33. Hi

    could you add a 'stop after 2 minutes' option

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  34. 12 hours format ONLY ?!?!
    Why is there no 24 hours format?
    Not everybody lives in US, and i can get very confusing for us. E.g. what exactly is 12:05 PM, is it 5 minutes past noon or past midnight?
    Such a good program with such an obvious missing feature...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Free Alarm Clock uses system settings.
      If you don't live in US then you see 24h format.

      Delete
  35. Is it possible to play multiple audio files for one alarm without using an external program to play a playlist - even if it's by using programming language.

    Here's an example of what I want to play:
    Sound(File,Directory,URL):
    Alarm1.mp3, Announcement5.mp3

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  36. No doubt that this is one of those extremely rare gems that are totally free on the internet. I was here from the beginning with WAIS, FTP, ARCHIE,EMAIL, & UUENCODING for binary attachments. Since the commercialization of the internet, things like this are like rare diamonds. Look at all the phone apps, they never stop running even when you exit and blast you with ads all the time. Thank you, thank you!

    One question please?
    v2.7 New: Ability to stop snooze.

    Exactly how does one do that? I set this thing LOUD to really get me out of bed, I have to move 15' out of bed in order to stop or snooze this alarm. On many occasions, I decided to just get up and not do the snooze. But 7 minutes later, the PC is blasting way loud in the other room and I have to run to shut it off! Others might still be sleeping. I have v2.7.1 and nowhere on this program do I see an option to stop the ongoing snooze. Under options there is a snooze minutes setting, but nothing to cancel it.

    Okay, it freeware but does anyone actually know how to stop an existing snooze on the clock once snooze has been clicked?

    I am on disability so money is really tight but a small donation would be fine with me as soon as I can find a few dollars to spare. I always give at least $5 to really good freeware or open source software that I find very useful and am so grateful to the author for donating his time. Snooze, cancel, anyone?

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    Replies
    1. Open the alarm and press button OK.
      Or Turn Off/Turn On the alarm.

      Delete
  37. Hi
    Reporting, that the German translation "schlummern" for
    "snooze" didn't fit to the alert-box, I asked for help via
    email. The answer came quickly by a link to Beta 2.76. for
    Win 7/ 64. I was surprised ! And it works !
    In the meantime I changed "schlummern" to "Zzzz!" in the
    language-file.

    Thank you very much

    ReplyDelete
  38. HI, this app is really great and helpful. i have a suggestion for next version. CAN YOU PLEASE ADD HOURLY, DAILY, WEEKLY REPEAT WHICH ALLOW US TO REPEAT AN ALARM EVERY 1 HOUR OR EVERY 1 DAY OR EVERY X NUMBER OF DAYS.

    thanks

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  39. Thanks for the single line view!!! It's amazing, thanks a lot ! Good job!!!

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