I'm (of course, less work for me too lol) very much inclined to agree, especially because we must keep in mind that the calendar module is just that: a widget, not a full blown calendar application. The latter would require a tremendous amount of time and effort to develop, which can be better applied elsewhere. I would also be doing nothing more than re-inventing the wheel - when there are already perfectly good wheels out there.

This said, tying the calendar module to the built-in clock alarms is a simple and logical thing to do. I also just added a 'Yearly' option to the alarms - so now you can use it to be reminded of birthdays too.



Not going as far as allowing the text on an icon to be re-positioned, but the iconic version of the calendar module is already pretty well customizable for an icon:

1. You have two styles, a slanted iCal style, and the Flip-Calendar style. You can use the iCal style when customizing an icon that needs the text at an angle, and the Flip-Calendar otherwise.

2. As with other modules, you can specify a different background for each of the two styles.

3. You can select to whether to print month, weekday or month + weekday on the icon. Where this information goes on the icon, however, is fixed, although different for each of the two styles.

4. You can customize the text colors used for *each* of the two styles.

5. Finally, you can colorize the background of the icon.

So now you'll have people asking you to add the options to either export the "events" to iCal or Google calendar or wherever, or to import them directly from said applications or accounts.

Already aware of that, of course... but, for now, it's basics only, and adding something like that in a future version will depend on how popular the calendar module gets plus other things (in the Mac, a very popular full blown calendar application - Fantastical - is being sold stand-alone for $50 USD).

Anyway, I don't even know how many people are actually using the clock alarms feature or find it useful. 'Houston in the blind...' *1


*1 Gravity (with Sandra Bullock) reference, in case you didn't get it.

By the way, here is a screenshot of the two in action (Calendar and Alarm Manager). You can see the cosmetic changes I made to the Alarm Manager's banner, I hope you will agree it looks better this way - and makes more sense too.

Anything that happens to alarms is automatically and immediately reflected in both the Alarm Manager and the Calendar desktop module. Notice how the alarm set to activate on November 4 is also marked on the calendar with the day in red. You can also see one of the new 'Yearly' alarms.

Jorge, this release is going to be amazing. Anxiously awaiting it! Any chance you could share a screenshot of the revised email checker module with the overlay/badge showing unread messages? Been curious to see this one, too!

I was convinced I had shown it already. Anyway, here you go.

Also attaching the Calendar Settings dialog for you guys to see how customizable it is (again, don't forget you can customize the background for each of the two styles with the 'Change Icon' feature).

Finally, also attaching an updated screenshot of the Alarm Manager. I think it might be better to display the digital clock icon instead of the analog clock icon as before, since besides the time it shows you the date the alarm next activates. It's also easier to 'read'. What do you guys think?

WOW!!! Looks so cool! Alarm Manager looks great, too. Will there be any customization options for the badge overlay on the email checker icon? For instance: position of the badge (top or bottom), shape, color, font, etc. Not saying these are needed - it looks great as is! I was just wondering!

Nah, that would be overkill. The badge overlay and the number within is pretty visible 'as is' at whatever icon size, anyway.

Understood and I agree - it would be overkill. I was just wondering. Thanks for the reply!

Jorge, this stuff all looks really awesome. Seeing the Portuguese on your calendars made me realize something. Your English writing is really coming along! Rarely do I read something from you lately that reminds me English is not your primary language.

Thanks, Paul.

Even though my Windows system is actually in English, the month and weekdays appear in Portuguese because that is what my Regional Settings are set to (Portuguese keyboard, dates, date and currency formats, etc...).

Since dates are formatted differently in different languages, I have to let the system (Windows) tell the application what format to use (no point re-inventing the wheel there). Since date formats are also tied to language, you end up getting months and weekdays in whatever language corresponds to your current Regional Settings.

###

Yesterday I had a user complain that he resented the Email Module calling him Steve (that's not his name). He claimed the module explicitly said 'Steve, you have new mail'. He, of course, expected to be called by his own name after registering the product, since that's what he typed into the registration form.

At first I had no idea what he was talking about. Are the voice recordings of such bad quality (well, they are, but...) that they can actually induce people to hear things that aren't there?

Then it dawned on me. On the Themes Page of the web site I offer an alternative English voice set called 'Audrey'. I don't remember anymore who made those recordings, but, surely enough (don't call me Shirley!) he must have been called Steve, because after listening to them Audrey does say 'Steve, you have new mail'. I hadn't noticed it until now.

Sincerely I thought this whole thing hilarious, and I was chuckling pretty bad as I wrote back to the user explaining what was happening.

Then I wondered... it actually *is* kind of nice when your computer calls you by your own name. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

So why not take something good out of all this? I used a free web voice synthesizer engine to make the new, high-quality, voice packs. It has different 'characters' with different voices, but if I tell users where the engine is at and what the characters were, they too can use it to make a recording of their own name matching the new Winstep voices.

I can then make the voice engine in Winstep look for a 'Name.wav' or 'Name.mp3' file before saying the time or the number of email messages. If the file is present, it will then say something like '<your name> you have new mail' and '<your name> the time is....'. It would take me less than 5 minutes to add this feature, and it won't change a thing if the file 'name.mp3/wav' is not present.

What do you guys think?

Pity Windows does not have a high-quality text-to-speech voice synthesizer built in, isn't it? It would mean that making your own recordings was unnecessary...

Well, turns out it actually does (kind of, Narrator for Ease of Access, but the quality isn't that hot and by default it only seems to support one voice). I have to look further into this.

Which one do you guys like best for the event markers? Left with only the text in red, or the right?

Right.

Right

'k