alarm

Need an extra reminder for tasks or events? Desktop Alarm Clock from UT Bay is a free Windows utility that instructs your PC to sound an alert at a user-specified time, just like, well, an alarm clock.

The lightweight app needs no installation. Just run it after download and you're ready to go. Setting the alarm couldn't be easier. Pick the alarm sound from any audio file already in your computer or leave a note to yourself regarding the alarm. The small interface can be located anywhere you want it on your screen. You may even opt to … Read more

Calling itself one of the most modern and well-equipped hospitals in all of Europe, Scotland's 2-year-old and $480 million Forth Valley Royal Hospital is hoping that a new alarm system will help deter smokers who continue to ignore no-smoking signs outside the main entrance.

The alarm, which is followed by a presumably shaming loudspeaker message to stop breaking the rules, is sensitive enough to be triggered by a single smoker lighting up. A representative of the company that installed the machine said in a hospital statement that its purpose is twofold: to encourage better health and to keep the … Read more

Let's review some of the most obnoxious alarm clocks to ever grace our nightstands. Clocky is an alarm with wheels that runs away from you. Tocky rolls around. The Defusable Clock requires cutting the right wire to subdue the alarm.

The Ramos clock on Kickstarter is also into defusion, but you're going to have to crawl out of your warm bed, locate the wireless control panel, and punch in a series of numbers that changes every day. … Read more

Simple Alarm Clock is exactly what the name implies: an extremely easy-to-use program that lets you set different alarms for every day of the week. It's definitely not the most feature-filled alarm utility we've seen, but for simplicity, it can't be beat.

The program's interface is all business, with a list of the days of the week and check boxes and drop-down menus that let you make selections. Days can be enabled individually, which is handy if your work or school schedule varies and you need to get up at different times during the week. You … Read more

The clock that's built into Windows does a decent enough job of telling you what time it is, but it doesn't have any of the extra features that can make clocks exceptionally useful. Alarm Clock-7 is a desktop clock that promises to bring useful features to your desktop, including--of course--alarms. The only problem is that the alarm feature doesn't seem to work.

The program's interface is nothing to get excited about, but it was at least inoffensive, displaying a traditional-style digital clock on our desktop. The clock can be moved and resized, and users can change … Read more

Hark! Lark is adding new personal sleep coach software to its silent alarm clock and sleep tracker that you wear on your wrist.

Tracking how much your arm moves as you sleep, Lark sends data via Bluetooth to an iPhone app indicating how well you're sleeping. When it's time to wake up, the device gently nudges you awake with vibrations. This is especially helpful for people who wake at a different hour than their partner or roommates. Now, with today's software launch, you can not only track how you sleep but you can get personalized advice on … Read more

The new NPR Tocky alarm clocks have me terribly torn.

On the one hand, Tockys have earned a place in the Annoying Gadgets Hall of Fame for jumping off nightstands and rolling around noisily till sleepers shut them up.

On the other, this special NPR version of the Tocky wakes you to the preloaded voices of two of my secret public radio crushes NPR hosts Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell. Arising every morning to the stars of the hilarious "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" might just make all that clock chasing worthwhile. Not all of us can be lucky enough to win Carl Kasell's voice on our home answering machine, now, can we? … Read more

Teachers these days need all the help they can get. Totally Free Teacher Tools is a suite of five tools that can be useful to teachers and plenty of other people, too. Although none of the tools are must-haves, they're not bad to have around just in case.

Once Totally Free Teacher Tools is installed, users have the option to download each individual tool one at a time. This is useful if you don't want to clutter up your computer with unneeded programs, but a bit of a pain if you want to try everything out. We started … Read more

A significantly improved installation procedure and a new look are the notable improvements to ZoneAlarm Free Firewall 2012 (download).

ZoneAlarm borrows its new look from the full ZoneAlarm security suite, replacing the old horizontal buttons with three large icons and boxes. One takes you to settings for your computer's security, the middle focuses on Internet traffic, and the third addresses your identity and data.

ZoneAlarm Free has for some time offered 2GB of online storage and credit monitoring gratis.

The new ZoneAlarm installer also takes a page from its suite siblings, so that you only have to download a … Read more