MediaAlarm uses Windows Media Player to play many forms of media at the times and dates chosen by the user. It is a work in progress and is provided "as is" without charge. The creator claims no responsibility for any loss of data or functionality or any other adverse effect caused by the use of this program. Use of this program is solely at the user's own risk.
MediaAlarm is Copyright © 2011 to Joseph Bauer.
MediaAlarm is able to function without any loaded media. Default settings exist to pull standard media provided with the app. In the case of missing media or lack of settings, a pop-up window will be displayed.
Media can be chosen through "File>Open" for temporary use or through "Tools>Settings" to save the settings, which will automatically apply the chosen media to the respective alarms, overwriting anything else previously chosen. Settings can also be used to choose a default Snooze option and default times for each alarm. MediaAlarm can play any file type Windows Media Player can play.
WARNING: Not all formats are supported. Some formats, such as MP4, are supported through third-party extensions, while others are not. MediaAlarm has a list of file formats supported by default in the file selection menu, with an option to attempt to open any kind of file. Attempting to open an unsupported file type may result in unforeseen consequences. Do so at your own risk.
The alarm time can be set by selecting the hour, minute, second, or AM/PM field and either entering the value in text or by using the up and down arrows. The date can be set by clicking the calendar button and clicking a date. MediaAlarm allows you to set an alarm for a future date, allowing you to skip days the alarm isn't needed. When the desired time and date are set, simply click the box of whichever alarms you wish to set.
WARNING: MediaAlarm is written to automatically advance to the next day if the current time is after the alarm time's setting. If you want to choose a later time in the same day, first adjust the time, then adjust the date.
MediaAlarm comes with the option of automatically resetting the alarm for the next day, which is useful for those who leave their computers on and wish to use it as an actual alarm clock. In this case, the alarms will retain their state and the date of the next sounding will be advanced 24 hours. If the option is not selected, the alarms are automatically un-set when they go off.
MediaAlarm will automatically upgrade its file formats when you replace your files. You will receive a one-time message on launch notifying you of the new feature(s).
EggTimer is a companion function that's independent of the MediaAlarm alarms. EggTimer uses MediaAlarm's settings to assign a media file to a much more simple countdown. To use EggTimer, simply launch the EggTimer menu item, enter a time in digits, and press Start. EggTimer will count down your entry. To reset EggTimer early, just use the Reset button or close the EggTimer window and open a new one. All associated EggTimer instances will close when you close MediaAlarm.
EggTimer uses the same Windows Media Player functionality as MediaAlarm. It's simply set to a small size to keep it compact and unintrusive. You can expand it by dragging the corners if you wish to see video media. If you did this in error, you can always launch a new one. Each new instance launches with the default dimensions.
EggTimer can handle inputs of 60-99 seconds gracefully and will simply start counting down as normal time after the excess is expended. For example, an input of 2:90 is equivalent to 3:30. It will simply count down the 90 seconds to the 2:00 mark and then go to 1:59 as normal.
EggTimer can be spawned effectively infinitely, allowing of course for your hardware. Multiple instances work as you'd expect, each keeping their own time.
Q: HELP! I set the time and set the alarm, but nothing happened when the time rolled around!
A: Did you need to set the date? If the time on the alarm was at any point before the current time, the alarm's date is set for tomorrow.
The safest way to set the alarm is AM/PM>hour>minute>second>date.
Q: When the alarm goes off, all I get is a message saying the time!
A: You didn't have any media loaded. You can fix this by loading media on boot-up or setting a default media.
Q: When the alarm goes off, I get an error message saying the format was invalid or the file wasn't found!
A: MediaAlarm doesn't handle all formats. For a list of safe formats, consult the file select dialog box's list of media types.
All the ones listed there are safe.
The default selection to allow all files is to allow people with extensions to select extra file types they can use like MP4.
If the file was moved or renamed after being chosen, this error will come up, too.
Q: When I boot it up, it says it can't find "settings.dat" or "settings (default).dat" and is resorting to system defaults!
A: This means no user settings were created and the defaults were deleted. In that case, it goes to default settings of the system.
You can fix this issue by going into Tools>Settings and putting in values for all the fields, then hitting OK to save your settings.
Q: When I boot it up, it says the default settings have been damaged and can't be used!
A: Well, this happens when the settings in settings data files aren't all how the program expects them to be.
In most cases, this happens because not all info was filled out when user settings were chosen in the "settings.dat" file,
which in turn generally means that something happened to the "settings (default).dat" file.
You can fix this issue by going into Tools>Settings and putting in values for all the fields.
This will overwrite the bad file.
Q: I have some other bug! Help! How do I report this?
A: First off, make sure you have the latest version.
You can find it at www.bluestarcreations.net in the MediaAlarm tab.
Once you're sure you have the latest version, for bug reports and feedback, send emails to joseph[speck]bauer[spiral "a"]programmer[tiny circle]net
with a subject containing "MediaAlarm" and I will get back to you eventually.
Q: Will I get notified of a new version when it's out?
A: YES! All app updates are posted on the Blue Star Creations blog, which is auto-posted to my primary Mastodon account, @bluestarultor@tech.lgbt, and boosted by my
alt account (with very little else clogging it up), @bluestarultor@mastodon.social, or you can follow the hashtag #BlueStarCreationsUpdates or #MediaAlarm.
You can even follow it asan RSS feed at https://mastodon.social/tags/BlueStarCreationsUpdates.rss or
https://mastodon.social/tags/MediaAlarm.rss if you like!
Q: Will you ever come out with other time formats, like military time or a 24-hour clock?
A: That really depends on interest and how the program manages those formats.
24-hour is probably more possible than military, but I'm not ruling any other format out completely for now.
Q: When will all the grayed-out options be working?
A: When I get the time to do them or figure out how. Some things have a higher priority than others and I have other things to attend to.
Q: Can I redistribute this?
A: Yep! So long as you don't try to claim it as your own (hard to do with the About page there) and don't charge money for it, you can give people
copies of the full download or point them to my site.
All the original files must be included, including the icon, settings (default).dat, Shot.mid, the DLLs, this readme file, and everything else.
Q: Can I support this project?
A: Yes! Or rather donating pays me for the work I've put in so far, but will not make development go faster.
This is a free-time project, but it's one I've poured many hours into. If you like it, you can pay me for it by clicking the button on the
project's page to take you to PayPal.
Q: Do I need to register this?
A: Nope.
v0.0.1.0 - Initial public release.
v0.0.2.0 - Made some drastic changes all at once.
v0.0.2.1 - Fixed a potential issue with day rollover.
v0.0.2.2 - Fixed an issue where alarms would go off on off days.
v0.0.2.3 - Redid the tab order on the interface.
v0.0.2.4 - Added EggTimer; fixed past date handling.
v0.0.3.0 - Switched to ClickOnce installer; branding fixes.
v0.0.3.1 - Swapped Shot.mid for LoopDemo.Mid in the local Music folder.
v0.0.3.2 - Fixed Shot.mid not being included. Several bugfixes.
v0.0.3.2:
v0.0.3.1:
v0.0.3.0:
v0.0.2.4:
v0.0.2.3:
v0.0.2.2:
v0.0.2.1:
v0.0.2.0:
v0.0.1.0: