The World's Most Devious Alarm Clock

wired_parrot writes "If you have trouble waking up, try this: MIT media lab has created an alarm clock that, when you press the snooze bar, runs off into a corner, a different hiding place every day. Try hitting the snooze bar again now!"

Comments

The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[RaguMS]

"Just don't press the snooze button and keep your current alarm clock!"

"Why not just get up when the alarm goes off the first time? I always wake up and face the day with a smile."

"I disabled the snooze button on my clock so I always have to get up"

Re:The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[ikkonoishi]

I replaced my snooze button with a small perl script.

Re:The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[Wavicle]

Boot into single user mode, using a kernel >= 2.6.9, use vi and edit /etc/conf.d/alarm changing snooze from "1" to "0" for AlarmClock 1.1 and later. AlarmClock 1.0 works with kernel 2.4 but doesn't contain a snooze option, however the snooze has been back ported to AlarmClock 1.0 with the CloxSnooze patch, but then you must edit /usr/share/AlarmClock/config and add the option "snoozeParm = true" and "snooze = no" between the "UseGMT" and "LEDDisplay" options.

Everyone knows that.

Re:The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[AndroidCat]

"I see you're trying to wake up. Would you like me to fsck off, keep chattering, read you the news, read you the weather, read you a daily fortune cookie, or let you go back to sleep and snooze? Note that the snooze feature is only available to registered users. You can register right now for only $49.95 via Palpal or credit card and I will stop talking. Please groan or scream to accept this transfer from your account or I ... Thank you. Would you like to purchase the extended warranty...?"

(Did you think I was kidding? Bwahahaha!)

Re:The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[Heem]

1)In Korea, only old people use robotic alarm clocks

2)In Soviet Russia, You run away from alarm clock.
3) ??
4) Profit!

Re:The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[ikkonoishi]

In Soviet Russia programmers replace Perl scripts with you!

Re:The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[eremitic]

"So I messed around with it for a bit and now it boots Linux!"

Re:The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[Seumas]

In Soviet Russia, SNOOZE button hits YOU!

(was that already done? I hope not...)

Re:The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[Jose]

I was replaced by a small perl script, so I have no reason to get up anymore you insensitive clod!

Re:The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[MrAndrews]

I used to do that trick too until my wife realized she could just slam the lid on the PB shut and achieve the same basic effect.

However, I then found that the sudden dread that she might've smashed the crap out of my $5000 laptop made me get up right quick.

Re:The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[darkpixel2k]

The first time that bastard clock tried to hide, I'd find it and rip it's wheels off for waking me up.

During the whole de-wheeling process I would have a grin on my face...because I'm a morning person.


...then I'd crawl back in bed.

Re:The typical things Slashdot users will say:

[cooley]

That's better than "Daddy, Look where I went potty!"

You know . . .

[lavaface]

It wouldn't take me long before I broke that fucker's legs off (no, I didn't RTFA but I'd bust it's wheels if that be the case)

Re:You know . . .

[Lumpy]

Nahh...

I had a "baseball" alarm clock in the 80's. the only way to hit snooze was to throw it. next time the alarm went off you HAD to get out of bed to hit it, and that typically would wake you enough to stay up.

Unless you left your bedroom door open and you threw it out into the hall where it rolled downstairs and you finally woke 2 hours later after 1st period exams were finished....

Luckily my Boss doesn't read slashdot

[Jjeff1]

Or I'd have 9 of these things roaming my house.

My universal snooze button:

[earthforce_1]

http://www.winchesterguns.com/prodinfo/catalog/det ail.asp?cat_id=535&type_id=973&cat=001C

It would never make it

[strateego]

My room has so much crap in the corners anyway, the thing would never make it. I can't even get to the corners of my room.

Wait

[killa62]

I don't get it, why don't they just make it roam around before the alarm sounds...
That way, you don't get a chance to hit the snooze button.
Heh, or make it run around WHEN it's alarm is on..
That would be very annoying and would wake you up faster with moving sound

Heh, annoying alarm clocks..

[Eric(b0mb)Dennis]

The more annoying the alarm clock, the eaiser they tend to... mysteriously break...

I reckon this here alarm clock would mysteriously shatter into many pieces after one to many attempts to try and hit the snooze button again

Great...

[grasshoppa]

Who was it that said, "Those who fight and run away live to fight another day"?

Seems strangly apt here.

They'd be wise not to include a warranty

[Illserve]

I can guarantee I'd be bringing it in for repairs every day.

Me: "It uh... broke"
Clockly Repair Man: "it rather looks as if it was smashed with a hammer, repeatedly"
Me: "well it fell... into... a bag of hammers"

Thank you, MIT.

[jesdynf]

You've now created a robot that opposes the will of carbon-based lifeforms by design.

It's sole purpose, bringing suffering to humanity.

AND THEN YOU BOOBY-TRAPPED THE OFF SWITCH.

Buncha friggin' geniuses./P

Prior art.

[merdaccia]

I have the same problem with my girlfriend. If I make any attempt to touch her in the morning, she runs off and I can't find her the rest of the day.

Re:Prior art.

[uncqual]

Your probably touching the wrong button.

Re:Prior art.

[merdaccia]

How many buttons are there?! Damnit, now I have to RTFM.

Re:Prior art.

[natrius]

$ man woman
No manual entry for woman

I think you're screwed.

Re:I don't need it if ..

[Anonymous Coward]

yea she looks pretty hot, but remember, not matter how beautiful she is, someone somewhere is tired of putting up with her BS, so go for it.

Cheaper alternatives are available

[Helpadingoatemybaby]

This is a complicated solution. The easy method is to simply tie your alarm clock around the body of your sleeping cat.

Not only will you not hit the snooze button, but you get to hear the doppler effect each morning!

Re:Cheaper alternatives are available

[Illserve]

What kind of ninja are you that you can tie something to a sleeping cat?

My Alarm Clock

[HexaByte]

My alarm clock's snooze button only works if you get up and make her a bottle. By that time you're wide awake, but after you feed her SHE goes back to sleep!

MY room...

[nsaneinside]

...only has four corners.

Holy Crap!

[ABeowulfCluster]

Could you imagine a Beowulf Cluster of these?

Re:A simpler solution

[Tablizer]

Wouldn't it be easier to just set the snooze button to give you a slowly increasing electric shock?

"In this isle we have the Guantonimo Bay model..."

best alarm = glass of water before bed

[johnrpenner]

if you absolutely HAVE to get up - the most reliable
alarm clock is a glass of water before bed.
j.

Re:best alarm = glass of water before bed

[Clay Pigeon -TPF-VS-]

You might just dream you are swimming in a warm ocean. Or hot tubbing. Yeah, hot tubbing...

Re:best alarm = glass of water before bed

[greyhoundpoe]

I can have five glasses of water before bed, wake up, and not notice I have to piss until 3 PM the next day (assuming I wake up early, about 11 AM). Even then I'll wait until 4 PM or 5 PM until I do something about it, even though the bathroom is one door down the hall on the right.

Wow. In what bizarre alternate universe did you think we'd want to know that?

The unperfect alarm clock...

[Forbman]

...has got to be a curious 2-6 yr old child.

First they yell at you. "Daddy, it's time to wake up!"

Then, they start beating on you.

Finally, they pry your eyes open.

Just dandy fun at 6am on a Sat or Sun morning.

Re:I already have a good solution

[geekychic]

my solution is my roommate..

if i hit the snooze button too many times, she takes my covers and occasionally hits me with her pillow.

it's a good system.

I already have something like that...

[triffidsting]

I could swear my keychain already exhibits similar behaviour, clearly MIT stole the design from me.

Snooze button? Pah, get a 2 year old

[Zerbey]

"Daddy. Wake up. Wake up Daddy. Daddy. Wake up.... Wake up! DADDY. DADDY!!!! WAKE UP!!! DA-DEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!... WAKE UP DADDY!!!

Then, he starts hitting me. I've had my alarm clock disconnected for months. Waste of electricity.

Has a Snooze Button Though

[Greyfox]

You just haven't been hitting it hard enough...

Re:Another option

[Rangsk]

I'd just roll over and pull the sheets over my head. There's no way this would wake me up. I frequently sleep through the real sun shining right into my (closed) eyes. I also sleep perfectly well with the light on.

When I wake up, I generally have no idea who I am, where I am, what I'm supposed to be doing... I sometimes have the feeling that if I could just get out of bed, things would become more clear, but I can't remember how to do that. I've slept through about anything you can think of, including fire alarms and earthquakes.

As for naturally waking up with the sun rise, I think my wires are crossed. I generally start getting tired at sunrise, and wake up at sunset.

My internal clock also likes to play pranks on me. Like if I have something really, really important and I have to be there at 10:00, then I'll sleep through my many alarms and wake up naturally at 10:00 sharp. Except it takes me 30 minutes to actually get there. Gee, thanks internal clock.

I also can't use any method of tricking myself. I just can't do it. I'm much more witty at finding excuses to stay in bed than I am at tricking myself out of bed. On top of that, if I sleep naturally I frequently sleep for 16 hours straight. I don't even wake up to pee - I manage to hold it in somehow.

I've seriously run out of options, short of hiring someone to come into my room, drag me out of bed, and stick me into a tub of freezing water. Even then, I'd probably manage to fall asleep in the tub of water.

You missed one

[billybob]

What about this? kekekeke ^______^