• Registered: 2008-02-27
  • Posts: 5

Topic: Help confused about this alarm clock

Interested in getting this as an alarm clock which was what this was developed for originally but with all the people saying there are problems if the network goes down it makes me nervous.

I dont think the clocks should be widgets, they clock widgets should be build in the chumby or we should be able to load them on the usb stick so that if the network is disconnected our alarms would not be in jeopardy.

How could you sell an "alarm clock" device that may or may not work ??? We as consumers have to depend on our alarm clock to wake us up to get to our jobs. Get that functionality off the internet and onto the actual device. There should also be battery backup in case of power failure JUST like a REAL alarm clock. For people that are supposed to be innovative how can you make a device that cant work in the real world and do what an alarm clock is supposed to do.

Also we need to sleep at night so the screen should totally disable if you want it all dark and if you touch the screen it should wake up and show the time.

Cmon people it cant be that hard we all own alarm clocks.

There were tons of input from users as Ihave read the threads since last November but it seems like people who have bought this are complaining about the same things they were asking you to fix 4 months

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
  • Offline
  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,199

Re: Help confused about this alarm clock

Please don't post the same thing in several unrelated forums - one post in the Feedback section is sufficient to get our attention.

Thanks.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2007-12-26
  • Posts: 115

Re: Help confused about this alarm clock

I suspect that you do ot own a chumby. Correct?
Get one. try it out.
There are several clock widgets which "dim" the screen at night. there is also a "night mode".
there is a battery backup just in case of power failure.
The chumby is what it is. It sounds like you may be in need of a different device.
I really don;t have any idea.
For me the Alarm clock works fine.
I have always uses multiple alarms just in case of power outage. Now I need to worry about network outage.
In fact if you use a standard alarm. One with out actions other than sounding an alarm this will go off if network access is lost.
There really is less to worry about than people (especially those with out a chumby) seem to be concerned about.
Just get one try it out.
Have fun.
Yaesumofo

bobdavis4 wrote:

Interested in getting this as an alarm clock which was what this was developed for originally but with all the people saying there are problems if the network goes down it makes me nervous.

I don't think the clocks should be widgets, they clock widgets should be build in the chumby or we should be able to load them on the usb stick so that if the network is disconnected our alarms would not be in jeopardy.

How could you sell an "alarm clock" device that may or may not work ??? We as consumers have to depend on our alarm clock to wake us up to get to our jobs. Get that functionality off the Internet and onto the actual device. There should also be battery backup in case of power failure JUST like a REAL alarm clock. For people that are supposed to be innovative how can you make a device that cant work in the real world and do what an alarm clock is supposed to do.

Also we need to sleep at night so the screen should totally disable if you want it all dark and if you touch the screen it should wake up and show the time.

Cmon people it cant be that hard we all own alarm clocks.

There were tons of input from users as Ihave read the threads since last November but it seems like people who have bought this are complaining about the same things they were asking you to fix 4 months

A Chumby in hand is worth 20 in the Wherehouse.
  • Registered: 2008-02-27
  • Posts: 5

Re: Help confused about this alarm clock

I dont own a chumby yet and if im paying $179 for a reliable alarm clock it better work. You cant say it is what it is. It was designed as a bedside alarm clock replacement with extra functions.

I dont need a different device, I can go buy a $5 alarm clock anywhere but this seemed intriguing because it could do a lot more than just wake me up.

I have never used multiple alarms since most alarm clocks have a battery backup. So there is no way I want to pay $179 and still use my old alarm clock. If Chumby wasnt designed to sit on the nightstand it would be portable. And if it was portable it would have a lot more competition (ie: PSP, iphone etc.)

The point I was trying to make that you seem to have missed is I dont want to worry about a network outage period. I shouldnt have to worry that a network outage will affect my alarm clock from going off but it seems a lot of users have that problem.

There doesnt seem to be enough explanation around the alarm clock feature (Which is the most important function of the device) from the forums or the FAQs or anywhere else on the board. Can someone from Chumby.com address these issues below?

1. Does it have battery backup ?
2. If I choose a widget and there is a network outage will my alarm still go off ?
3. Can the screen be turned off at night not just dimmed ?
4. Will there be firmware updates to turn off the screen at night and then when you touch the screen the clock appears ? (I'd rather touch the screen than try to squeeze something in the dark)

5 Reply by joltdude (edited by joltdude 2008-02-28 08:17:38)

  • Registered: 2008-02-21
  • Posts: 526

Re: Help confused about this alarm clock

1. Does it have battery backup ?
Not officially... you can add a 9v battery to it and the chumby will run for a few minutes, but its not supported .. Ideally youll add a battery pack using this connector.

2. If I choose a widget and there is a network outage will my alarm still go off ?
It *SHOULD* go off, and there is work being done on this to remedy the scenereo where this isnt/wasnt the case

3. Can the screen be turned off at night not just dimmed ?
Out of the box, just dimmed, if you want to hack it, there is a way to turn the screen off fully

4. Will there be firmware updates to turn off the screen at night and then when you touch the screen the clock appears ? (I'd rather touch the screen than try to squeeze something in the dark)
I have to say could be, and I think its being worked on

No i am not an employee of Chumby Inc. but most of your questions could be answered by reading the forums and listening instead of going to every forum and ranting...

  • Registered: 2007-12-27
  • Posts: 17

Re: Help confused about this alarm clock

Hmm, I have had the Chumby for three months now and the alarm clock has never failed me.  I have it set to go off on different days of the week and it has been very dependable.  Even when the system goes down my alarm has never went down.  I did not check the box "set to internet time" because I figured if the server went down or my router went down then my alarm would would have to be reset.  I used my cellphone as my alarm clock before I got my Chumby, and, I guarantee my Chumby is a whole lot better in waking me up.

Bob
Columbus, Ohio

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
  • Offline
  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,199

Re: Help confused about this alarm clock

Well, in general, alarms have been waking people up.  Like most things, you'll mostly hear about the failure cases here in the forum - people don't complain about stuff that works.

Thats not an excuse, or a denial that problems indeed exist in the alarm subsystem, but given the substantial number of chumbys now deployed in the field compared to the number of folks posting here or contacting Customer Service that had problems with the alarms on Monday seems to indicate the the alarms are not quite as screwed up as they would appear.

We are actively reviewing how to improve them, and, personally, I'm not working on anything else at the moment.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2008-02-27
  • Posts: 5

Re: Help confused about this alarm clock

Thanks to everyone for their help and info. I am still on the fence on ordering this but appreciate everyones input.

Also I actually had a thought for the darkening screen issue. Maybe someone can make an all black widget that does nothing but display black color. That way you can at least get the screen dimming down to almost nothing.

  • Registered: 2008-01-08
  • Posts: 172

Re: Help confused about this alarm clock

Well, this would do what you want, just display a blank color of your choosing, but the issue people are having with the screen isn't color, it is screen brightness. The Chumbies built in night mode lowers the brightness of the display itself, and does so more than anything else (all of the other widgets I have used just have a more muted color pallet, without decreasing the actual brightness of the display). Personally, though, the Chumbies built in night mode is more than sufficient (I can barely tell it is on) for me.