Problem Number 1
As users of Pocket PCs are aware, Windows Mobile suffers from a wide variety of maladies, among which are the poor alarms - they really are pretty bad as I think many users will agree.  While it is possible to select different sounds for different events, the volume of the sound is dependent on the device volume settings and the repeat options are just plain pathetic. 

There is desperate need for far more customisation for the alarms to cater for the vast number of different situations that a PDA will be found in.

Problem Number 2
The poor alarm options are not the only problems WM2003 suffers from, there are plenty of other faults, not least of which is the Notifications Bug which also ensures alarm clock manufacturers don’t go out of business as a result of Windows Mobile based PDA sales!

Put simply, the Notifications Bug is the result of Microsoft not ensuring that the midnight housekeeping of the notifications database completes successfully.  Since this database is responsible for all alarms, appointments and timed events on the device, any failure to complete the midnight processing of this database generally results in the device not waking up and sounding the first alarm/event of the day.  Unfortunately, if the first alarm/event fails then so do all the rest until the device is manually powered up and the processing completes, at which time all outstanding events fire and alarms sound in one burst!

The problem is more apparent on devices with large numbers of appointments and events since the more alarms there are to sound the longer the housekeeping takes and the greater the likelihood of it failing to complete.  How ironic that those of us who rely on its alarms the most are the ones most likely to be affected by this problem.

There have been a number of workarounds and solutions proposed, with varying degrees of success, but none seem to have been completely successful... until now!

The Solution
Super Alert PE is primarily an advanced alarm and event modifier for the PPC - repeats, custom sounds or actions for events, etc. - but with one big difference... it also makes the notifications work... reliably!

When installed, Super Alert adds the main application and a configuration wizard.  Ignoring the notifications fix feature for a moment, Super Alert permits the user to configure individual volumes, sounds and repeat sequences for:

• Clock Alarms
• Calendar Alarms
• Task Alarms
• PI Alarm Notes (if PI installed)
• Third Party Alarms
• New SMS
• Missed Calls
• Voice Mail

The application displays one tab for each of the above events.  The tabs are all fairly similar, with each having:

• Use Volume checkbox & Silent to Loud slider - if enabled the selected event will sound the alarm at the preset slider volume, overriding the device volume settings;  this permits an alarm to sound even the device has been muted.  If the option is disabled, the alarm sounds (or not) according to the device settings.
• Only Use System Settings radio button - using this option makes the device use its normal alarm behaviour for the repeat.
• Additionally Open radio button - if selected enables the following controls which permit the alarm sound to be tailored or files/applications to be launched:
• Choose and Test buttons - enables the user to select and test play a sound file to use for the specific alarm type.
• Sound play method - a drop down list which permits the user to choose how the sound is to be played:
  
  
  • Use the settings below - use the repeat sequence defined (by the four values below)
  • Use the settings below and escalate - use the defined repeat sequence and gradually increase the sound volume.
  • Use the settings below and diminish - use the defined repeat sequence and gradually decrease the sound volume.
• Repeat control values - four numeric values which permit the user to configure the repeat sequence, based on the following definition: after seconds play times then every seconds for repeats.  The user can adjust any or all of the values to produce their desired repeat pattern.

The menu bar has three options:

• Show Status - displays a dialog box which identifies what the next notification is, when it will occur and what alarm (if any) it will sound.
• Enable - minimises the application to the Today taskbar and activates it.
• Disable - unloads the application from memory and any of its notifications from the notifications database.

My investigations of the software revealed that it ensures the device is powered on in plenty of time for any alarm or event so that it can, if desired, load necessary sound or application files from storage cards.  I won’t go into detail about exactly how it appears to do this but one of the main benefits appears to be that it also ensures the device is fully active when the midnight notifications housekeeping occurs, permitting it to complete correctly.

When first run and enabled, the software displays a dialog stating that the device appears to be one which suffers from the notifications bug and that this has been corrected.  Again I have my own ideas about the method used but shall keep this to myself also.  The important point here is that it appear to do just what it says - since installing the product my alarms have worked flawlessly with only two exceptions which were the result of problems in other software.

Both PocketZenPhone and the Battery Monitor component of Sprite Backup (can) create notifications which are set to start software at one minute after midnight and which create new notifications upon completion.  On a device (such as mine) where the housekeeping has not yet finished this appears to be fatal - causing the database rebuild to be incomplete and the first notification to fail in a manner that not even Super Alert can fix.  Again this reveals a poor design on the part of Microsoft - either the housekeeping should be robust enough to accept changes during its run or it should somehow cache them until completion and then apply them. I have discussed this with Zendrui and he has already made a suitable fix to PZP, I shall be taking the problem up with the Sprite developers shortly.  Unfortunately any software which operates in this manner (creating a notification during the housekeeping) still has the potential to break even the Super Alert fix - developers take note!

So there you have it, software which enhances the alarms to a usable level, even acting as a task scheduler and, more importantly, makes the alarms reliable.  No software is perfect however, so what are the negatives of Super Alert? 

From a personal point of view I would like to see some functional changes, I have made the suggestions to the developers and they are considering these.  The main one is due to my existing use of Pocket Plus’s repeating alarms feature.  I’m totally happy with the P.P. feature and found that Super Alert interferes with it, so the writers are looking at ways to use the product in a “fix notifications only” mode.  Also, since it makes sure that the unit is powered up before any notification event, I’m having to accept seeing it power on (screen lights up) on a regular basis even if it is only for a non-alarm timed event (such as PZP and Sprite Memory Monitor produce), but that’s a small price to pay I feel;  the developers are also looking at a way of adding an exclusion list for the third party alarms.  I would also like the option to hide the tray icon since my tray is rather cluttered at the best of times.

My only really gripe wth the product would be the interface.  The main application screen really is quite confusing and it took me quite a lot of tweaking to arrive at a satisfactory set of values.  This problem appears to be acknowledged by the developers insofar as they have provided a wizard for configuring the application.  Unfortunately I found that the wizard was little better than the main interface - any wizard which requires to explain the function of simple buttons has rather missed the point in my opinion!  All this is a moot point however, since the software is of the set-and-forget genre - once the correct settings have been achieved it is going to be rare that the user will need to touch it again.

So, despite my reservations about the interface, the software does do what it promises and anything that makes my alarms reliable gets my vote...

Super Alert gets a super 9.95/10

 Entire article written using Calligrapher and TextMaker on my XdaII