app needed to use universal as a night time clock

[phupton]

Hi all.

Dont flame me for this strange request.

My bed side clock is about to die so instead of getting a new one, I am thinking of using my universal as a replacement. My problem is that having the display on even with the backlight set to minimum is too bright for night time use.

With the backlight turned off the display is useless when pitch black so does anyone know of an application I can use that'll allow me to have the backlight on all night whilst charging on a very low setting so that it can be seen in the dark but not light up the whole room.

I assume the built in alarm function will wake me in the morning so dont need to replace that...

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[SiliconS]

Good luck trusting any Windows Mobile-powered device to wake you up reliably. I thought my Exec was better than my XDA2 but no. It still fails from time to time. :(

However, if your machine is to be left turned on all night (on charge) then there's a possibility it might be reliable. I'd run it alongside your alarm clock for a while though before trusting it.

I like the idea of the app you request. vijay555 managed to get the screen backlight to respond to settings above the normal control panel range with his VJLumos app - perhaps it can also be set lower using a similar method.

You'll still need a large enough clock display to be readable with blurry eyes at night though. :)

[SiliconS]

Incidentally, you can set your Exec to turn the backlight off after (say) 30 seconds of inactivity, but then use the backlight hardware key (next to the volume slider) to turn the screen backlight on again when you need to know the time in the dark.

Just a suggestion :)

[JRH]

ptravelalarm is an app that displays big clock digits, in landscape mode too. Perhaps worth checking out in conjunction with the backlight hack? oh, and it features loud alarms with volume override too.

Pocketclock is another app but is only 2003 compatible though i kow there is a beta wm5 version available. Not sure when it will be released fully, or if it will support landscape mode (which the beta didn't).

[jpiek]

Have a look at 'stoptime'....

And yes it's reliable ! I used it for months for taking my medication (and it's dosing was quite time-dependant !)

[JRH]

Have a look at 'stoptime'....

And yes it's reliable ! I used it for months for taking my medication (and it's dosing was quite time-dependant !)
are u using this app on a wm5 pda? I checked out the site and it seems to mention 2003 and earlier, plus no updates since 2004?

[jpiek]

No, on a WM2003 ...

[JRH]

No, on a WM2003 ...

According to the thread title it's for use on a Universal, therefore wm5 (unless he's seriously tweaked his roms ;) ). Shame, because it looked interesting...

[Jorgee]

Here's what I have as my Alarm.....

It is SPB Time v.1.1 which you can find here :

http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/time/?en

In the picture below, it is set as BLACK CLOCK and also displays the calendar aside from the time in Digital format.

There a lot of diffeent skins available for free and also you can choose between analog, digital or world clock....

[lbendlin]

My problem is that having the display on even with the backlight set to minimum is too bright for night time use.

seconded. The minimum backlight brightness setting is way too bright. Is there any way to influence this in the registry?

[phupton]

the big clock display looks great with that spb product. Just need a hack to sort out the bright display at night time now.

Its not something I can do but if anyone knows of someone that might be able to help then point me in their direction...

[must_dash]

I use the ptravel alarm on a daily basis, as commented above though, the dim setting is still bright enough to light the room. If that can be dimmed further then will be fantastic.

As for relibility, the only time it has failed when on mains was due to finger trouble...

[Riceburner]

I'd suggest something like that Big-Clock from SPB, if you run the Exec while it's plugged in the backlight will stay lit - all you need is a black background with dark coloured numerals so that the light output isn't that much (on lowest backlight obviously).

You'd ALSO need to turn off the flashing LEDS - I've discovered these are really very bright in a darkened room and very irritating.

[gooroo]

Chronos is also very good, only analogue clocks though, although it says it is skinable and I would like it in digital...

Anyone know how to skin Chronos???

http://www.activekitten.com/en/chronos/CEZoom2.png

http://www.activekitten.com/en/games/detail.php?ID=351


Regards Simon