Bugzilla – Bug 7946
Enhancement request for procedure to set alarm
Last modified: 2009-09-08 09:19:33 UTC
The present method of setting the alarm is inherited from the Squeezebox and Transporter. It is probably suitable for those products, but totally unsuitable for the Boom, which is marketed as an alarm clock. Alarms are often set when the user is drunk/tired so particular care should be taken with the interface. Current mechanism is: Home -> Settings -> Alarm Clock -> Set Alarm Time -> (set H1 via wheel) -> Click -> (set H2 via wheel) -> Click -> (set M1 via wheel) -> Click -> (set M2 via wheel) -> Click -> Set AM/PM via wheel -> (right arrow | home). I suggest the following enhancements: 1. Clicking the wheel after setting AM/PM should save the new time and exit (it is counter-intuitive to click through the rest of the settings and then switch to another button to complete the process) 2. Rather than setting the individual digits of the hour and minute individually, the the hour should spin from 01 to 12 with the wheel, and the minute should spin from 00 to 59 with the wheel, rather than four settings and four spins.
Can I piggy-back on this request? I think "Set Alarm" should also be able to go on the top-level menu.
Agreed with Sue that the Alarm menu should be promoted up to the main menu. The reason behind this is that the 7-day alarm is a significant feature of this product -- it's one of the top five listed on the packaging and other materials. While the existing alarm interface was suitable for previous products, the Boom is the first being marketed as an alarm clock and will go to a mass market.
Created attachment 3307 [details] hook for menu option simple call to add the alarm clock as an allowable menu option. May be worth gutting the alarm clock UI so that there is so "single" alarm mode, and it immediately goes into weekday mode with the every day option, followed by individual days. Another possible option is to borrow from the extended alarm plugin and choose the days as an option, allowing the creation of more or fewer alarms as needed. Days UI could also be a list of radio buttons so that you choose which days are enabled (this would require a new checkbox ui option to allow multiple selected items)
cc'ing max since he's been playing around with alarm code lately. patch above committed at change 19258, so the alarm can be added as a top level item if desired. Could be made a default for boom at some point, if desired.
I have recently modified the time input code to make it easier to enter times - this code is checked into the Boom branch. However this was largely focussed on using the number buttons, which of course don't exist with the boom. Spinning the wheel to move from 00-59 sounds good, but this should still play nicely with Squeezebox people that want to just enter 1159 on their remote. Shouldn't be too hard to do. I've been having a think about how the alarm setting ui and time screensaver could/should work for the better. I've done some mock ups which are currently at http://thespicers.net/alarm/. The major trade-off is the complexity of setting 7 day alarms compared with a standard alarm clock with up to 2 alarms that just go off daily.
Proposal: 1. Let's have the default boom setting include the Alarm menu in the Home. 2. When using the knob, both digits of each the hours and minutes should adjust as one 0-12/24 or 0-59 control. Individual digits actually slow you down in this case. In addition, the AM/PM should be part of the hour adjustment (when AM/PM is present). 3. Pushing past the AM/PM setting should use a showbriefly to confirm the change, and the user should be back on the "Alarm Time" choice. 4. "Set Alarm Time" should just be "Alarm Time" 5. "On (Go right to turn off)" should be: Alarm: On or Alarm: Off 6. Alarm volume scrolls the wrong way with the knob.
1. current menu default is: NOW_PLAYING BROWSE_MUSIC RADIO MUSIC_SERVICES FAVORITES PLUGINS SETTINGS SQUEEZENETWORK_CONNECT Where do you want ALARM to fit in?
Right before SETTINGS.
change 19302 should add to top level by default.
Nit picking, but wouldn't the alarm be better appearing before Extras in the menu? If I was going through the menus looking for the alarm clock, I'd get to Extras and think "ah, it's probably in there". I'd then go through all the options in Extras before exiting out and then finding Alarm. Could do with watching an uninitiated user trying to find the Alarm clock and seeing what they do.
R19619 allows you to select the time by scrolling through 0..23 and 0..59 (and appropriately for 12h). Selecting times using the transporter knob or by entering directly with number keys is currently broken.
Max: Are you planning on fixing the transporter and number key issue?
Yes and then moving on to the alarm clock itself. That commit was merely work in progress.
Transporter knob fixed in R19635 (although the knob currently doesn't stall on the right arrow). I'll do number keys next.
I've added support for entering times via the number keys in R19670. Two digit numbers are entered using a timer in much the same way as most TVs seem to work for entering multi-digit channels. If you press 2 and then wait for the timeout or press left, it will just set the appropriate hour/min to 2. However, if you press 2 and then press 3 within the timeout period, it will enter 23. If you enter a value that can't be followed by another digit (e.g. entering 2 for the hour in 12h mode), it moves on to the next character straight away. What's entered and how they're interpreted: 12h: 1234 -> 12:34 235 -> 2:35 26 -> 2:06 24h: 1234 -> 12:34 235 -> 23:05 (a further digit press within the timeout would make this 23:5n) 26 -> 02:06 Sounds complicated, but I think it all makes sense if you try it.
I'll have a look regarding CAT testing
Bug 8183 created to cover alarm feedback via datetime screensaver.
The INPUT.Time time changes should be mirrored in the sbc ui where appropriate.
Ben would these SBC GUI changes be on your list?
I need cli support on the new alarms before adding controller support, which I believe is on Max's list. After that's in place, I'll add the SBC support. Max and I have discussed this at some length in the Boom campfire room
Ben, in that case I was talking about the generic time input ui. I don't know if the receiver has such a thing but, if so, it would probably make sense to bring it in sync with how INPUT.Time now works. Are alarms the only thing on the controller that need times inputting? CLI support is definitely on my list for the short-term.
The new alarm time setting interface is much, much better. However, the scroll wheel works "backward" -- scrolling to the right decreases the numbers, rather than increasing them. I believe the universally accepted standard for wheels (volumes, thermostats, etc.) is that you turn to the right to increase the value. Additionally, if I go to Settings / Alarm Time and I'm presented with the time editing screen, and change the alarm time with the wheel, pressing the BACK button saves the new alarm time. A more intuitive action would be for the Back button to mean "exit without saving." Lastly, ON / OFF is the fourth item in the Alarm Clock menu. It should be first, followed by Alarm Time. I can see some missed appointments due to the user setting the alarm time and then forgetting to scroll down four clicks to turn the alarm on. It should be the first option shown so it's clear that the alarm is ON or OFF. This is with a PQP3 unit unboxed on 6/23 and connected to boom.squeezenetwork.com, so I believe I'm using the latest firmware.
Scrolling shouldn't be backwards. It used to be correct. This is probably covered already in another bug, which has maybe regressed. We decided to save on exiting left as otherwise the user has to move all the way to the right in order to enter the time (hours, minutes, am/pm) and then go all the way back again in order to exit. The new alarm code doesn't save an alarm if you enter and exit without changing the time. The alarm code is all about to change, adding a completely different settings ui and alarm backend. With the new code, setting the time for an alarm automatically enables it, so your problem case shouldn't arise. In the new code, alarm on/off is actually the last menu item, allowing it to be accessed quickly by scrolling upwards from item 1 - a useful shortcut for advanced users. While I'm here, I'll repeat my previous request that Alarm should appear before Extras in the home menu. I found when scrolling through the menus that the moment I saw Extras, I went into there looking for the alarm. Dean?
See bug 7593 for backwards scrolling issue. It's only when connected to SN, I believe.
I think this is all covered now (except I'd still like to see Alarm Clock appear before Extras in the menu).
This bug has been fixed in the 7.3.0 release version of SqueezeCenter! Please download the new version from http://www.slimdevices.com/su_downloads.html if you haven't already. If you are still experiencing this problem, feel free to reopen the bug with your new comments and we'll have another look.