Today, I’m releasing Alarm 3.5.9. This build is 99.9% the same as RC 2.

New features since 3.5.8 include:
-Volume control – control the volume of Alarm separately from the system volume.
-Focus Time – choose whether the alarm time takes the place of the current time when the alarm is set.

It is available from the update service for versions since 3.5 and will be made available for download from this site as soon as I complete this post.

In other news, Alarm 4 is coming along. The first alpha builds will be released by the beginning of August and the final version should be done around September. The codename of this version is Nighthawk, which will be the visible name of the application until it reaches Release Candidate status. So far, I’ve decided on adding around 3-4 additional features that I hadn’t planned to add. More on those at a later time.

In other, other news, the update service of previous Alarm versions will be removed based on the following schedule:
-Alarm 3.1.7-3.1.8 – Update support already ended.
-Alarm 3.5-3.5.7 – Update support will end on August 1, 2009.
-Alarm 3.5.8 RC 1 – Update support will end on July 15, 2009.
-Alarm 3.5.8-3.5.9 – Update support will end approximately October 1, 2009.

Nighthawk Update will begin to be rolled out for testing as of Nighthawk Alpha 1. It will be a much better system for updating the software. It will allow for partial updating without having to actually run the installer.

Anyways, that’s about it for now. Update that software everybody!

Today, I’m releasing Alarm 3.5.9 Release Candidate 2. This is only a minor update of the previous RC build, in fact, it only has the build tag 35932 instead of 35931, so it’s clearly only a minor change.

This new release candidate version contains the option to focus the alarm time while the alarm is set. This was suggested by someone on download.com and I decided to add it to 3.5.9 after I realized that it wouldn’t be difficult at all.

Download Alarm 3.5.9 RC 2 Here (MD5: e30695fda4388c6065f98905c31acb55)

Enjoy. Final build probably coming Thursday.

Today I am releasing a release candidate of Alarm 3.5.9. This version contains a change in the update system for Alarm 4 updating and a new feature which allows the user to set the volume for the application. Use it in conjunction with Test Volume to make sure your Alarm is at a reasonable level.

If no bugs are found, the release of Alarm 3.5.9 is planned for July 1. If you find any problems, please send me a message using the bug reporting address.

Download Alarm 3.5.9 RC1 (MD5: 440cf900ebf885951a25c099522624e1)

Also, as of September 1, 2009, versions prior to 3.5.8 will no longer be supported. This means that users who are still on 3.5.7 and lower will have to update before then or lose their ability to do so through the application. This is because I need to clean up my web space a bit and migrating to the server-side update script is better for everyone.

Well, thats all. Alarm 4 is on it’s way!

I’m now hard at work on Alarm 4.0. This version includes many new enhancements, the most noticeable of which is the new scheduling system.

The system allows for the user to set multiple alarms with various means of notification. These include the classic system beep from Alarm 2.0-2.9, the single song functionality from Alarm 3.0/3.1, the playlist functionality from Alarm 3.5, and a new type of alert done by using the Windows system sounds. These scheduled events will be able to be set to go off on specific days of the week too.

Also coming in Alarm 4 is an overhaul of the theming system. As of right now, it is planned that the UI will be capable of being completely skinned. This means that there will probably be a theme site up for the software where these new and improved skins can be downloaded.

The final thing that I want to talk about is the way that users will be interacting with the alarm. I am not sure as of yet, but I think that this may be the first version of Alarm without a main window. This means that all of the configuration, etc. will be done by using the tray icon. I am just having trouble coming up with a compelling enough reason to continue having the main window when all the alarm setting, etc. will be available in other dialogs. I might also just make it an option or something.

Well, that’s about it for Alarm 4. Look for it later this summer.

As for the next version of Alarm 3.5, I will be releasing version 3.5.9 within the next week or so. This version will contain a single new feature, volume management, which was originally intended for Alarm 4. It will also include an enhancement to the update service which will support updating to Alarm 4. This will also be the final version of Alarm 3.5 as development efforts will seriously be focused on Alarm 4.

Thanks for reading.

I will be releasing Alarm 3.5.8 later today. This update includes several new things including:

-Ability to Launch an Application when the alarm goes off.
-The Automatic Update Feature has now been updated to AUA v4 which is a completely re-written system which future versions will use.
-New “Alarm Off” button when the alarm is set, but not going off.
-”Turn Off” has been renamed to “Silence”
-Loads of refactoring done.
-Stupid little issue with automatically turning on certain settings. Ugh.
-Option to make the Alarm retain focus while it’s going off. This is a very good feature if you’re using a media center remote to hit snooze in the morning. The focus stops when the mouse moves over the main window.

Download it when you get a chance.

Today I’m releasing a preview version of Alarm 3.5.8.

This version includes tons of cleaning up and refactoring and a couple of new features. More on them during the official release.

You can get the Release Candidate on the Downloads page.

So I spent most of today working on Alarm 3.5.8, which is coming along nicely. Most of the time was spent refactoring leftover code from v3 or v3.1 as well as just plain terrible code that exists for v3.5 only. This should make it easier to transition to v4.0 but there is still a lot to do. Currently I’m working on making the alarm functionality be built into an object, which probably wont actually be part of 3.5 until 3.5.9 or 3.5.10. This will make it a lot easier to make multiple alarms available.

Also, in 3.5.8, there is a great new feature coming that one of my friends suggested. However, I do not want to spoil the surprise until the release date. I should be able to get that version out the door within about 2 weeks so look forward to that. I promise that 95% of you out there will like it.

To summarize upcoming releases:
3.5.8 – Probably April 20-27.
3.5.9 – Probably May 14-21.
3.5.10 – Probably June 7-14. (if necessary)
3.5.11 – Probably July 1-8. (if necessary)

Also, since 3.5.0 was released on June 21, 2008, Alarm 3.5, which is already the longest running version, will be the first major revision out for an entire year. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing though. I think it’s probably because I’ve focused more on refinement instead of adding features. I’m glad that I did, as this is the most stable version of Alarm ever. It’s only going to get better.

Ok, I’m not perfect. Alarm 3.5.7 was released today to fix a regression I introduced in 3.5.6. Whoops.

Today, I’m releasing Alarm 3.5.6. Download it from the website or from the auto-update service. This version contains 5 theme refreshes which should make them a bit easier to use. Also, it contains about 2-3 bug fixes for bugs which have been there for a while.

Also, I am actually finalizing the roadmap today as I know it hasn’t exactly been static. I am focusing attention not on Alarm 3.6/3.8 but instead on Alarm 4.0 and Alarm Mobile. I can’t keep delaying what people want most out of the program.

Alarm Mobile will be a nearly-complete port of Alarm 3.5 onto the Windows Mobile 6 platform. For this project, I will be enlisting the help of a friend who has this device and will hopefully be able to help create this application. I’m not sure exactly how much we will have to leave out of the program, but we’re certainly going to try to get all of it mobilized.

Alarm 4.0 will build on Alarm 3.5.6 by adding a new scheduling system. Look for alphas soon.

I just updated the roadmap to take into account new expectations on development time, etc. The biggest change is that Alarm 3.6 has become Alarm 3.8 and it will be released in April instead of March. This is because I’ve made some decisions on what I want to change for this version and the changes will take a big longer as well as be more apparent. I also removed Alarm for Mac and Alarm Mobile as those aren’t going to happen for a while, if they do. Alarm 4.1 has been removed from the roadmap as well since that would be way off in the future.

Also, if you haven’t realized it, I released Alarm 3.5.5 on February 27. Download it.