Thankfully, there are three Mac “wake up” apps you can use to break away from your REMs and into the real world.

Red Alarm Clock

This app is a nice free widget that runs on the dashboard of your Mac. I wouldn’t say it has much going for it graphics-wise (and it actually advertises its creator’s other anime-related app), but if simplistic functionality is what you are wanting, then Red Alarm Clock has got it going on.

The widget is a little harder to understand at first than its other more feature-oriented counterparts (as mentioned in MakeUseOf’s past article, Best Alternative Alarm Clocks), but perhaps the beauty of it all is its minimalist approach to waking you up.

Rather than using one song or the traditional alarm clock noise that sounds like a duck having its feathers forcefully removed, it takes a note from the old days of radio alarms by playing one of your iTunes playlists.

Lastly, Red Alarm Clock operates on a twenty-four hour system, ridding itself from AM and PM restraints. The twenty-four hour clock took a little getting used to for me, but I am aware of many instances in which I have accidentally set my alarm for PM instead of AM.

It would have been nice to see that on the app, but functionality is the name of the game, and it certainly has that. Plus, since it’s free, what do you have to lose?

Swackett

As a guy, deciding what to wear for the day is a nigh impossible task. Usually, the best option for me is to pick up whatever smells clean (even if it’s on the floor), but Swackett is one weather app that can change such habits.

Deriving its name from three words (“sweater,” “jacket,” and “coat”), Swackett offers you suggestions on what to wear based on its weather information. For the summer weather, it might suggest a tank-top or even sun block, but in the cooler months, hoodies and sweatshirts take precedence.

Besides its basic clothing advice, Swackett gives you a nice description of the current conditions and the forecast for today’s, tonight’s, and even tomorrow’s weather. All of this information comes in a nicely packaged, easy-to-read window that also features air quality alerts and other weather warnings. To be honest, this may be one of the most usable weather apps out there.

In addition to the app’s practical clothing advice, it offers Easter eggs for various holidays and special themes that will give you very unique clothing options. Granted, the only free themes available are the Standard, Modern, and 1950s editions, but there are other themes that can be purchased for a small price (such as the British Invasion edition).

As of right now, Swackett is test-driving a new web app for their amazing weather prediction service. This app is virtually the same as the original Mac desktop version, but it runs in your web browser. Furthermore, the web app works on PC browsers too. This isn’t as nice as being able to pull Swackett up as a stand-alone executable, but it’s the next best thing.

As a final note, the makers of Swackett have announced that iDevice apps are coming soon.

Mirror HD

Keep it simple with Mirror HD, a basic little app that takes the video feed from your iSight camera and turns your Mac into a pseudo-reflective surface. I personally think that this is a nice solution to my desire to shave and tweet at the same time. Unfortunately, prior to making screenshots for this article, I had already shaved and tweeted.

The app is fairly raw with no extra features or secret cool items, but I do think it’s good for quick little appearance checks before you head out the door. This also might be nice right before an actual job interview or perhaps prior to coffee with that one girl you met on OKCupid.

The only qualm with Mirror HD might be the fact that it advertises itself as a “full-screen” app. In all truth, it just opens up a fairly large window with no options to resize.

What you might be thinking right now is, “I can do the same exact thing with Photo Booth” and guess what? You can. But at least Mirror HD provides a bigger screen. Also, you won’t have to worry about accidentally taking an embarrassing picture of yourself whilst performing nostril inspections.

There really isn’t much to say about Mirror HD except that it does exactly what it says it does. You don’t have to worry about any ads clogging up your screen real estate or any “special” paid options either.

Conclusion

Granted, they won’t be the apps you can’t live without, but they can definitely help. Hopefully they will provide you that extra morning convenience you need before meeting the boys at IHOP for a round of pancakes.

What apps do you use to get ready in the morning? What are your opinions on these three?

Image Credit: beanworks

Online timers have many uses. It can not only be used to track time and keep to deadlines but also be used for play and tests. It can also be used to do everyday stuff like cook eggs and workouts.

Here are ten free online timers that may help you use time more wisely.

Tabata Timer

Tabata is a high-intensity cardio workout with alternating cycles of different exercises and short rest intervals. This free online Tabata Timer mirrors the iPhone app but is free unlike the app. Of course, unlike the iPhone app you cannot carry it around. But if you are exercising in front of your computer, the vocal prompts and the configurable exercise options should do the trick.

You can find two more Tabata clocks at Online Tabata Clock and SpeedBagForum.

Chess Clock

Each player gets the default of 20 minutes in a game but you can click on the clock to change the time. Hit Start and the game is on. Clicking Switch or hitting the spacebar shifts to the other players’ chess clock. You also get five time control options. If you aren’t sure of your Internet connection, the file can also be downloaded and used offline. Online-Stopwatch.com also has a cool collection of nearly dozen stopwatch and timer apps which can be run online or downloaded to the desktop.

CubeTimer

If you think that you can best the Rubik’s Cube in the quickest time possible, log all your solve times on this online timer app. Using the dropdown, you can keep time for different variations of the Rubik’s cube.The timer uses a cookie to store your solve times and computes your average time from the total. Added usability includes clearing the solve times individually, or all at once.

Egg Watchers

The concept is about having some idle fun while an egg gets cooked. The egg timer takes your choice of egg preparation and calculates the time to cook it and accordingly shows you a YouTube video. The video is random, so there’s a chance that you will get a blank black screen if the YouTube video has been removed due to any reason. But yes, you will need a computer in the kitchen to watch the egg timer counting up (see also Directory mention).

Kitchen Timer

If you are still there on the stove, the Kitchen Timer does double duty as a recipe search engine and as an egg timer. Search for your favorite recipe using the integrated Google Search and set your timer according to the recipe. You can also add multiple timers and run them simultaneously.

Steep.it

This timer does for tea what the above two do for eggs and other recipes. You can follow the times listed for different types of tea or just type in the time as shown in the address bar. The timer announces the countdown with a ring.

Focus Booster

If you haven’t heard about the Pomodoro Technique, it’s not a problem. It is a time management method that breaks down any task into chunks of 25-minutes with short rest intervals and is based on the idea that frequent breaks can improve focus. The online app works on the principal by counting down the 25 minutes (and also recording the sessions) and helping you boost your focus in the process. You can also download the free desktop app (see also Directory mention).

x.Minutes.at

Here’s another way to stop wasting time by idle web browsing. Use the field box to enter the URL of any site with the time you plan to spend there. The online timer lets you know when the time’s up. Minutes.at uses frames to display the countdown. I really wanted to use it on my Gmail account, but one has to open Gmail in a separate window as Gmail does not play nice with frames. Facebook doesn’t do too. But the timer still functions in the adjoin tab and pops up a alert when the clock runs down (see also Directory mention).

The Poker Clock

A fancy online poker clock helps you do away with a physical one. The online clock has a really loud bell when the countdown to a round ends. You can choose the blinds and set the time for the rounds before clicking on Start (see also Directory mention).

Do Nothing For 2 Minutes

Reading this post must have been a strain on the eyes. Click on the above link and seek a bit of relaxation. Just don’t touch the mouse or the keys.

At the end of 2 minutes, do let us know about any cool or unusual free online timers that got left out of this list. Also, let us know about any favorite timer or clock app that you regularly use for time management or productivity.

Image credit: Shutterstock

There’s plenty of evidence here at MUO that we’re Trek fans. I once wrote an article about getting Trek sounds for your computer. Guy covered a search tool called Wolfram that can give you more information about a subject than you’d ever imagine, just like the Star Trek computer. Then there was Saikat’s article about the 10 best Trek websites. Seriously, if you’re a Trek fan, MUO has you covered.

There’s another very cool Trek tool that was fairly popular back in the days of DOS (1990s) called LCARS 24. It’s fallen by the wayside as the world evolved all the way through Windows 7. However, with Windows 7 comes the invention of DOSBox, and with DOSBox, we can once again revive those old favorites. In this case I’m going to show you how you can use the LCARS 24 app with an old PC to create your own bedside computer just like the one on Star Trek.

Installing LCARS 24 In DOSBox

If you have an old computer with DOS on it, you really don’t have to worry about this step. However, if you want to use your Windows 7 laptop as your own personal Star Trek computer, then you can do so. Just go ahead and install DOSBox to your machine, if you haven’t already. Once you do that, download the LCARS 24 files to a new folder on your c: drive. Mount that directory in DOSBox using the “mount c c:\LCARS” command. Then, from within DOSBox, go to that directory and run Install.bat.

After an installation procedure that takes about two to five minutes, depending on the speed of your computer, the installation will complete. Then, you can run the app just by typing “LCARS24.EXE.”

The first thing you’ll notice is a large alarm clock screen with today’s date and time. The main screen of “computer” also includes a monthly calendar display and an alarm. Running on an old DOS machine, this will be one of the most advanced alarm clocks you’ll ever own!

You can start to see just how much information is available in this tool when you press F7 to view the world map. You’ll see a view of the entire world with the current time laid out in each time zone. Scroll across with the arrow keys to set the time zone you want the computer to use. You’ll notice as you scroll and navigate screens that all of the sounds and effects are pretty much authentic Trek – you’ll instantly recognize the classic computer voice.

From the main screen, press F8 to get to your phonebook where you can list all of your phone numbers for quick reference. When the list gets unmanageably long, there’s a “find” feature that’ll help you find your contacts.

If you select Files (F3), you’ll see the “storage” area where all of your saved files are. Upon installing the LCARS24, there’s a lot of pre-installed files.

You’ll find things like images and diagrams of Star Trek ships, images and details about space, space exploration, and a lot more. It’s perfect as a bedside clock because if you need something to read you’ve got volumes of information built in!

My favorite area of LCARS 24 is the “Program” page (F4 from the main page). Here you’ll find an assortment of some of the coolest apps, including games like Chess and Crosswords, and even the original Tetris!

Another program you’ll find that might be helpful if you’re monitoring your weight and health is the Body-Mass Index Calculator. Just enter your height and current weight, and it’ll show you where you fall within the BMI scale.

Yet another useful program built right into this “alarm clock” is the Math Service. On this page you can type in any complex math formula you like, and the program will solve it for you. Consider it like a text-based scientific calculator.

Maybe it’s just me, but the idea of setting up a small, older-model laptop on my bedside table with this Star Trek computer running constantly as a bedside alarm clock is the coolest idea.

As you can see above, you can run the app on your Windows 7 machine as a personal organizer and desktop clock if you want to, but it really shines when you install it on an old machine and just let it run. It’ll be one of the most advanced alarm clocks you’ll ever own. And if you’re a Trekkie, you’ll wake up every morning with a smile.

Give LCARS 24 a try and let us know what you think. Is it authentic and true to the Trek computer? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

This article shows you some more advanced ways to keep an almost accurate time on your Windows 7 computer. Note that these strategies also work in Windows XP and Windows Vista, they may just look a tiny little bit different.

In case you noticed that your computer has serious issues maintaining the correct time, i.e. beyond a few seconds tolerance, you should check out my article 3 Reasons Why Your Windows Computer Starts Losing Its Time & Date.

Synchronise Your Computer With Internet Time

In Windows 7 your computer is typically set to synchronise with an Internet time server once per week. Jeffry has recently written a detailed article explaining how to set up synchronization in Windows: How To Make All Your PC Times Match With An Atomic Clock Sync.

For this tool to work, make sure that the date on your machine is correct, otherwise your computer cannot synchronise its clock. If your system clock displays the right date and is connected to the Internet and still fails to synchronise with any of the offered servers, you may have to examine your firewall. It must not block the network time protocol (NTP).

Unfortunately, the default Windows 7 tool does not allow you to change the schedule. Neither can you add your own choice of servers.

Create A Custom Schedule To Synchronise Your Computer Time

Syncing its time once a week is fine for most computers. However, some internal clocks are less accurate than others and if accuracy matters, you might want to have the synchronization happen more often. This is possible if you’re ready to dive into System Control and create a scheduled task.

Go to > Start and type > Task Scheduler in the search field, then open the respective result. Within the Task Scheduler Library on the left hand side, click through to the > Microsoft > Windows > Time Synchronization branch and click > Create Task in the menu on the right hand side.

In the Create Task window > General tab, click the > Change User or Group… button and set it to run as > LOCAL SERVICE. Then check the box to > Run with highest privileges. Under > Configure for: select your operating system.

Switch to the > Triggers tab, click the > New… button, and enter your preferred settings. Before you > OK, make sure the box next to > Enabled is checked.

Now go to the > Actions tab. You have to set two actions for this task. The first makes sure the Windows Time Service is running and the second triggers the actual time sync.

Click the > New… button and enter the following details:

• Action: Start a program
• Program/script: %windir%\system32\sc.exe
• Add arguments: start w32time task_started

Click > OK and click the > New… button again to create the second action with these details:

• Action: Start a program
• Program/script: %windir%\system32\w32tm.exe
• Add arguments: /resync

When done > OK the second action.

Now open the > Conditions tab. Remove the checkmark that restricts to > Start the task only if the computer is on AC power. Instead, do check the box to > Start only if  ['any connection'] is available (paraphrased).

Finally, in the > Settings tab check > Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed.

You can test the task by intentionally messing up your computer time and then running the task manually. Just right-click on the task you created and select > Run from the menu.

Resource: PretentiousName.com

Maintain Accurate Time Using Software Tools

Due to its default setting of syncing only once per week, the Windows Time Service is not able to maintain a highly accurate time. The error is in the 1 to 2 seconds range and no guarantees are given. Microsoft states bluntly that they “do not guarantee and do not support the accuracy of the W32Time service between nodes on a network. The W32Time service is not a full-featured NTP solution that meets time-sensitive application needs.”

If you’re not satisfied with the default tool Windows provides and can’t be bothered with Control Panel options, you should look into software options.

Jeffry has introduced Atomic Clock Sync in his article How To Make All Your PC Times Match With An Atomic Clock Sync. It allows you to review your time and date settings, change the synchronization interval, and repair the Windows Time Service. The tool is available for Windows NT4 through Windows 7.

AtomTime

This is a nifty alternative to Atomic Clock Sync that comes packed with options. You can simply use the default settings to check and adjust your computer time. Or you can open the > Settings and check out the tool’s depth.

Let’s look at some options in the most interesting settings tabs…

• Execution: set update interval and make the tool run on startup.
• Display: display actual, local, or GMT time and display date in system tray.
• Time Servers: use default atomic clock servers or add a custom server.

Last but not least, check out the tool provided by NIST Internet Time Service (NIST Software on right hand side), which provides an accuracy in the millisecond range. Unfortunately, my tests on Windows 7 didn’t succeed.

Let us know in the comments how you synchronise your computer time.

Image Credit: robodread

There are several situations where the Windows clock starts showing the wrong time. If you’re obsessed with having the exact time on your computer no matter what, you may want to set up synchronization with a remote server. Before you do that however, please note that an inaccurate Windows clock should not be taken lightly.

If the computer clock loses time although you keep fixing it, there may be a serious cause. This article shows you what the underlying causes may be and how you can fix them.

1. CMOS Battery

This is the most likely scenario, especially if your computer is not brand new.

The CMOS battery sits on your computer’s motherboard and provides power to the Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) chip. The CMOS chip stores information about the system configuration, including the date and time. The CMOS battery makes sure the chip can store this data even while the computer is turned off and not hooked up to power. If the battery goes bad, the chip starts losing information and one of the symptoms is that your computer no longer maintains its time and date.

Replacing the CMOS battery is pretty easy. You just have to turn off your computer, ground yourself, open the case, find out which type of battery (step 3 in the linked guide) sits on your motherboard, go buy it, start over, and exchange the battery. Follow the links to the keywords for articles on the respective steps.

2. Time Zone

This is an easy to fix cause for when your computer clock loses time.

Your computer may simply be set to the wrong time zone and every time you fix the time, it resets itself to that time zone when you reboot. If the minutes are correct and only the hour is bad, that’s probably the issue you’re dealing with.

In Windows 7 you can easily fix the time zone. Right-click the system clock in your taskbar and select > Adjust date/time. Under the headline > Time Zone check whether the information is correct. If not, click the > Change time zone… button and set your time zone. Don’t forget to confirm your changes and you’re all set.

3. Malware

This is the least pleasant and most difficult to manage scenario.

Your computer may have been hijacked by a virus that messes with your computer time. To fix it, you need to gather a few tools. First, make sure your anti-virus program is up to date with the latest virus definitions. Then get a good malware scanner, for example Malwarebytes or Spybot Search & Destroy. For more tools and links to the respective download pages, check out our The Best Of: Windows Software page.

Once you have all these tools downloaded, updated and installed, start in Safe Mode and run them. It’s important to start in safe mode because the malware won’t launch and be active when you choose this boot mode. This means that it is less likely to escape detection and removal.

Conclusion

It’s important to pay attention to the most basic features of your computer. Simple things going wrong can be a sign of serious trouble ahead. For example if your CMOS battery dies, your computer will act like it has Alzheimers and you have to introduce it to its hardware components (via the BIOS) every time it boots. That’s just as annoying as a virus that plays tricks on you or a bad time zone setting that messes up everything from the clock to your email client’s time stamps. So be wise and act immediately.

Be sure to also check out Jeffry’s article on synchronizing your PC clock with an atomic clock.

Do you sync the time on your computer and what made you set that up?

Image credits: Gina Sanders, Peter J. Kovacs,

Even though no major disasters have occurred due to the Y2K – either because everybody has taken all of the necessary precautions or because actually there’s no bug at all – the story has taught us that the computer system clock is not something that you can take for granted.

How the Atomic Clock Sync Works

Everything in your computer depends on the time configuration, from the BIOS setup to the file tagging system, from software activation to email processing. Everything. That’s why setting the time is one of the first things that you have to do during the OS installation process.

As today is the era of Internet and networking where computers around the world are interconnected into one giant web, the concept of synchronized time has become even more important. Can you imagine the chaos if each and every computer had a time setting of their own? For example, you might have trouble finding important email that your client sent yesterday because it’s dated three years ago in your client’s computer.

Fortunately, the Internet makes it easy for every computer to synchronize its time setting with a centralized time server – the atomic clock time server – so that all the computer times all around the world can use standardized settings, even though they are scattered through different time zones.

If you are a Windows user, you can use these two free tools to automatically match your PC times using atomic clock sync.

Tools Of The Trade

Windows comes with its own tool to manage the date and time. You can access it easily by clicking on the clock display on the System Tray and then choosing the “Change date and time settings” link.

The “Date and Time” control panel window will open. The basic “Date and Time” tab allows you to change the date, time, and time zone of your location manually.

If you often travel and stay in different time zones, you can add more clocks according to those zones under the “Additional Clocks” tab.

These additional clocks will show up every time you hover your mouse pointer above the System Tray clock display.

But the real magic happens under the “Internet Time” tab. This is the place where you can set up the atomic clock sync with the server. By default, this process has been set up to automatically sync with Windows’ own atomic clock server at “time.windows.com”.

But in case you want to change the time server, have the need to disable the automatic time sync, or if there’s something wrong with your system that you need to re-synchronize your machine’s time, click the “Change setting” button for more customization options.

Another alternative tool that you can use to achieve the same thing is a small application called Atomic Clock Sync. This tool is provided by WorldTimeServer and built to do one thing: help users synchronize time on their system to the WorldTimeServer atomic server.

The automation process is located under “Synchronization Interval“. Here you can adjust the amount of time between automatic sync. By default the interval number is 604,800 seconds (one week).

One thing that makes this tool different to Windows’ own tool is the ability to repair the Windows Time Service. To do that, you need to follow the step by step instructions, by clicking the buttons one by one in correct order.

Once set, the two tools will stay in the background and help you maintain your system time with minimal effort.

Have you tinkered with your system’s time setting or do you just let it be? Do you use any specific tools to do that? Have you ever had any problems with the computer’s time setting? Please share your stories using the comments below.

Image credit: robinvanmourik