• Registered: 2008-02-27
  • Posts: 5

Topic: Alarm issues

Interested in getting this as an alarm clock which was what this was developed ffor 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 thingsthey were asking you to fix 4 months ago.

Ill spend the 179 if you can get it to work like an actual alarm clock

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
  • Offline
  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: Alarm issues

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: 2008-03-03
  • Posts: 4

Re: Alarm issues

Is there a simple way to turn off the alarm without having to go through several screens?

Thanks.

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
  • Offline
  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: Alarm issues

Not currently.

The idea of a "turn off all alarms" button has been proposed to Product Management - not sure where they are with that.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2008-03-03
  • Posts: 4

Re: Alarm issues

Well, that is not a very efficient alarm clock in that case. How about an option to set it for seconds in addition to minutes?

Thanks.

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
  • Offline
  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: Alarm issues

Not sure what you mean - you want an alarm to go off at an exact second? Minute resolution is not sufficient?

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2008-03-03
  • Posts: 4

Re: Alarm issues

Ideally there would be a button to turn off the alarm on the screen that appears once the alarm is set. As this is not the case, a second best solution is to be able to set the alarm for as much or as little time as you would want it to be activated. 5 minutes minimum is way too long. Should be in increments of seconds (5 secs, 10 secs, etc.) Thanks.

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
  • Offline
  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: Alarm issues

So, if I'm understanding this, you want a button, on the screen all the time, to turn off alarms that haven't gone off yet, and the ability to set durations in increments of seconds.  Correct?

I've never seen an alarm clock that allows you to have it ring for only a few seconds - on the contrary, in the prototypes it was always 5 minutes and we universally got complaints that 5 minutes was ridiculously short, so we bumped the default to 30 minutes.  Of course, you can always hit the "off" button, or snooze the alarm when it fires off - these durations are only when you do not acknowledge the alarm.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2008-03-03
  • Posts: 4

Re: Alarm issues

Ideally, an alarm off button would appear on the face of the clock only when the alarm is set. I realize to calibrate in seconds is ridiculously short but I do not understand why the technology would not allow this as simply as setting it for 5 or 10 minutes. In effect, if you set it for a 10 second alarm and then five minutes later for a 10 second alarm, you are programming a snooze setting without having to even touch the clock. This would make it stand apart from other alarm clocks.

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
  • Offline
  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: Alarm issues

Well, there is no "the clock" on the chumby - there are several dozen widgets that happen to display the time in some (often bizarre) fashion, most of which are created by third parties over whom we have no control.  The vast majority of widgets aren't clocks at all.

If we allowed widgets access to the ability to control the alarms, then some joker would produce an otherwise innocuous widget that turned off alarms.

In any case, I'll forward your comments to Product Management for their consideration.

Duane's Website

  • From: St Ives, Cornwall, UK
  • Registered: 2008-01-18
  • Posts: 435

Re: Alarm issues

emma94, I'm not sure I follow what you're saying at all...

On mine, if I want to set a 'quick alarm' I get to that screen (squeeze for the control panel, press 'clock' then 'quick alarm') and I can set an alarm for any time of day to minute resolution, as well as an associated snooze value (in minutes) and one of several alarm noises. All within a few button presses. The alarm is activated by pressing 'alarm on'.

When the alarm goes off, you get your chosen noise plus a screen showing you the time (hours, minutes, seconds) and two buttons: 'alarm off' and 'snooze'. Snooze can also be achieved by squeezing or pushing the top of the Chumby itself.

It really couldn't be simpler!

Custom Alarms also offer a lot more features, such as the ability for the the Chumby to control itself at your chosen times. If you've not yet used a Chumby you really should try to get hold of one, or a demo, and see if it works to your liking.

Perhaps we need a Chumby user manual for prospective buyers?

matt

View widgets by gingerbeardman

gingerbeardman's Website

  • Registered: 2007-10-17
  • Posts: 150

Re: Alarm issues

Just my twopenn'orth on this - I agree that some better visual demonstration of how the alarm functionality works, perhaps in a similar way to the virtual Chumby, would be useful in these situations. This thread has 2 people in it who have come to this forum presumably because they're interested in buying a Chumby, but have reservations or are unclear about how something works. And all we can say to them is 'just get one, then you'll get it! The only way to really understand it is to use one!' From looking at the comments on various sites where the Chumby has been reviewed, there's something of a disconnect between the people who 'get' the it and the people who can't really see the point. Given that the internet radio and the clock are the two built-in functions that Chumby DO control (ie they're not widget-based), then shouldn't it be easier for these to have their own little guided tour?