alarm

Top 10 tempting iPod accessories

Despite the fact that I finally caved and purchased a second-gen iPod Touch, history will tell you that I'm no iPod fangirl. Still, one thing the iPod has going for it that no other MP3 player can match is a seemingly endless array of third-party add-ons.

There are hordes of cases; gaggles of speakers; and a shocking supply of docks, recorders, FM transmitters, and other feature-adding devices...not to mention all those apps for the Touch and the iPhone.

Over the past several years, there have been a number of iPod accessories that tempted me to bow to the … Read more

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Save $1045.55 on the ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 50U from PCNation >> Regular price is $2692.31 >> Sale price is $1646.76 >> Savings $1045.55 (38.83%) >> Click here for deal

Alarm systems at risk: UL establishes a higher security requirement for magnetic switches

The U.S. product safety testing organization Underwriters Laboratories has redefined the security requirements for magnetic switches used in many alarm systems because some of these devices can be easily defeated. If your facility employs reed switches or Balanced Magnetic Switches (the high-security version of these devices) you may wish to review the requirements of the new standard. UL 634 has established a second security level (2) to define more stringent requirements to protect against covert attack. Current BMS switches are covered under Level 1.

It appears that only one switch can currently meet the new Level 2 section of … Read more

Tornado-detecting dual-iPhone alarm clock

Taking a page from the boombox trend of the 1980s, iPod-docking alarm clocks are taking on an absurd amount of features in an effort to stand out from the herd. Case in point: the iLuv iMM183, a dual-dock alarm clock capable of charging two iPhones or iPods. This little bedside beauty comes with a remote control, FM radio, EQ control, aux input, and last but not least--an NOAA emergency alert system with localized weather warnings.

Aside from the emergency/weather alert display, you're basically looking at the same iLuv iMM173 we saw last year. Still, the list of … Read more

Hanging alarm clock does a spider act

If you never grew up with the childhood song "Eensy Weensy Spider," it's about the peekaboo adventures of a spider as it ascends, descends, and ascends yet again along the water spout.

Well, the $29.10 Hanging Alarm Clock seems to have spun a Web around the same nursery rhyme, only with more ominous overtures that recall the monster spider Shelob that almost made a meal of Frodo in Fellowship of the Ring.

The cunning orb is suspended from the ceiling on a 12-inch cable, which immediately starts to retract the clock upward once the alarm goes … Read more

Gizmine.com enables your Japanese gadget addiction

Thousands of delightfully inexplicable gadgets made only for the Japanese market are hard to come by outside the country. A new site from Japanese importer Dynamism is making it easier for us gaijin to get our hands on them.

Gizmine.com is the new specialty gadgets site from Dynamism. (Dynamism.com sticks mostly to laptops, phones, and watches--"luxury goods," in other words--sold only in Japan.) Gizmine allows the import company to expand into categories of products like alarm clocks, robots, and USB-powered toys.

The site is easy enough to navigate. You can sort by product category, theme (&… Read more

Featured Freeware: Laptop Alarm

This simple program will sound an alarm through your laptop's speakers when certain activities occur, helping to thwart laptop theft. Laptop Alarm's four-check-box interface takes seconds to set. An option pop-up is as easily set to control mouse sensitivity and set a program password.

Operating Laptop Alarm is a snap. Users merely run the executable and set the alarm to sound if the laptop loses power the system is shut down or logged off, if the USB mouse is unplugged, or if the mouse moved. Testers found the program accurate with no false alarms. There's no method … Read more

iPhone Clock Does Not Work, Fix

Some users have reported an issue in which the iPhone's clock function does not work properly, with a grey screen appearing when the user attempts to access the alarm or other functions. Additionally, the Clock application may unexpectedly quit, returning the user to the home screen.

There are two potential fixes for this issue:

Change International settings Navigate to Settings>General>Region format and change the region, then re--attempt use of the clock application.

Restore the iPhone Press the Restore button in iTunes while the iPhone is connected to your computer.

Tell your alarm to shut up with Moshi

Don't know about you, but personally, I have often fumbled around trying to snooze the alarm clock, and then ended up having to get up from bed because I pushed it off the table to a place I couldn't reach. Moments like that I wish I could just tell the alarm to shut the hell up.

Well, you can now do just that with what Moshi introduced on Monday. It's called Moshi IVR Clock and it could well be the first fully functional voice-responsive alarm clock.

You can use your voice to set the clock time and … Read more