- Say The Time Review -

Nothing I hate worse than missing an appointment because my PC clock is wrong.

Yeah, I know, you have your wristwatch or other clocks to consult but your PC clock is so convenient. It leads you on with it's image of technological precision only to deliver false goods in the form of the wrong time. If it weren't there, you'd consult a reliable source of the time but, since it is, you continue to use it even if you know you shouldn't.

Now you can get rid of this problem for good and turn your PC clock into the precise instrument it should be with Say The Time. Say The Time not only sets the PC clock to the accurate time but TELLS you with spoken words what the time is. Set how often you want it to announce the time or have it tell you when an important appointment is and make your time management problems vanish.

One thing to know is that you must have an internet connection for Say The Time to correct the time automatically.

Download the evaluation version of Say The Time and follow along with the examples below. Just double click on the file to install it.

Settings

Once Say The Time has started, right click on the PC clock in the task bar to open up this menu:



Select settings and this menu will open:



The menu will open with "Taskbar clock appearance" selected on the left bar which will allow you to set the following:


- Background

Each of the four background styles has numerous ways to change the background. With Gradient, for example, you select two colors and the style in order to a nearly endless variety of backgrounds. Changing the gradient colors



will change the display

from this to this

Experiment with the various options until you find the background of your liking.


- Font

The font can be changed in style size color as well as adding bold and italic attributes. Modify the font color to match your custom backgrounds.

Changing the font values


will change the display to this



- Time Format

The date and time can be displayed according to the selection or a custom display can be built. When selecting the double right arrows, the advanced date and time features will be displayed. Clicking on either the Date Element or Time Element buttons will bring up a help screen that explains the syntax such as how h differs from hh (removes leading zeros) or the meaning of tt.

Changing the settings to add the date will change the display to this



- Time Sync Selection

The Time Sync selection on the left bar opens this menu.



It allows you to set the source of the proper time and how often it will be updated. This should be varied based on the accuracy of your PC clock. An inaccurate clock, such as one I've seen that lost 15 minutes over an 8 hour period, should be refreshed fairly often.


- Announcements

This last selection on the left bar sets how the time will be heard.


You can select a male or female voice, how often the time and/or date is announced, and special features like adding sound effects to the announcements or turning the announcements off at certain time periods.



Reminders

One of the best features of Say The Time is the ability to schedule your own announcements. This turns your PC into a speaking alarm clock that will vocally announce that you have to do something as well as putting a pop up window on your screen.

Adding new reminders is easy; the following menu pops up by either selecting "New Reminders" in the main pop up menu, or by selecting "Reminders..." and clicking the "Add" button.



Simply fill in the information and an announcement will be made on a daily weekly or single basis depending on your choice. If you make a mistake in your selections, just select "Reminders..." from the main pop up menu, select the desired announcement, and click the edit button.


Sync Date and Time

Clicking the "Sync Date and Time" selection in the main pop up menu syncs the PC clock time with the time source selected in the settings section. The following announcement appears and tells you how much the time has been changed.



This is a good feature to use when you are unsure how accurate your PC clock is and you want to see how much the time varies between synchronizations.


Calendar

Selecting "Show Calendar" in the main pop up menu will display the calendar along with any upcoming reminders and the phase of the moon.



Clicking on the left or right arrows will move the month forward or backwards. Clicking on any of the reminders will bring you to the edit page for that reminder.



Conclusion and Registration

If you work at your PC, you know how easy it is to forget the time and have your scedule ruined. Say The Time keeps you in touch with the passing of time with regular time announcements and reminds you of appointments with cusom announcements you put in. If you're tired of getting those phone calls wondering why you're not at a meeting or if you don't want to forget when to pick someone up, Say The Time is a perfect solution.

Registration can easily be done through the program; just select the buy button on the pop up box that appears when the program starts. Follow the directions in the screen that appears and input the appropriate information to complete your registration. If you find time management a problem, you'll find the reasonable registration fee to be well worth it. With Say The Time, you may never be late again.

You can download the trial version by clicking on the button below. I hope you find the program useful and would like to hear your comments at




- Dave -