
Start a timer via the url - bpierre
http://alrt.io/
======
rochoa
The timeLeft -= 1000 approach is not the best one because setTimeout doesn't
guarantee when the next tick is gonna happen.

Just open the JS console and type:

    
    
      for (var i = 0; i < 1e7; i++) {}
    

You will block the JS execution and your next tick will happen when the loop
finishes. Using new Date().getTime() should do the job.

Edited for formatting.

~~~
ajanuary
Scrolling in iOS also stops setTimeout being called.

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zerovox
I've been using <http://e.ggtimer.com/> for a while, seems a bit more
comprehensive.

~~~
marvwhere
thx to this comment, i created now a fluid-app for me with eggtimer.com! there
is always a time when u need one (and ur too lazy to ask siri to do it ;) )

but now i would love to have a option on fluid, that ask me for parameter when
it starts, so i can set the timeframe when i start the "app"

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chch
Note: if you put in a time in hours higher than <http://alrt.io/80063993375h>
(such as <http://alrt.io/80063993376h> ), your timer may go off a second
early, as it skips the first :59 on Mac OS X Safari/Chrome, going straight
from :00 to :58.

I don't imagine this bug would cause much misfortune, though.

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bajsejohannes
Simple and cool. How about making the URLs more human readable:

    
    
        alrt.io/2minutes50seconds
    

or

    
    
        alrt.io/2m50s
    

instead of

    
    
        alrt.io/2%20minutes%2050%20seconds
    

The %20 makes it really hard to parse.

~~~
bbrks
Not sure if it's updated since you wrote this, but you can do

    
    
        alrt.io/2m50s
    

Still %20s in long format URLs though

~~~
Mahn
<http://alrt.io/2minutes50seconds> <\- works just fine, or at least it does
now.

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paul9290
Cool to see others doing this too!

We've (Sleep.fm) allowed users to set our online alarm clock by typing or
clicking a URL(sets time & sound).

Examples...

<http://sleep.fm/7am> (sets alarm for 7am)

<http://sleep.fm/10pmRooster> (sets alarm for 10pm; sound is Rooster)

<http://sleep.fm/6amWeather> (sets alarm for 6am; sound is spoken weather
report)

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rythie
I think it needs to be able to flash the favicon, when you have several tabs
open, you can't see the title change.

~~~
achal
If you pin the tab, Firefox and Chrome should glow the favicon on title
change.

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of
Cool I've been using <http://steep.it/> but this is more flexible

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d23
Am I misunderstanding something? I tried starting it thusly:
<http://alrt.io/3%20hours%2022%20minutes>

Is the point not that it can handle a variety of input?

~~~
jstanley
If you change "minutes" to "minute", it seems to work.

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_phred
Now, on alert completion do this:

    
    
      window.location.href = 'nyan.cat';
    

Neat little app, nice to see a simple non-Flash version of
<http://e.ggtimer.com>

~~~
deadfall
This would be great. It could definitely use a fun alert or a way for a user
to make their own alert via some url.

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orangethirty
Cool. I wrote something like this to alert me when its time to pick up my
daughter from school. Though in my implementation it starts playing a very
annoying alarm (I always have headphones on). Congrats on shipping!

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wesbos
Great idea! Is the source anywhere? Would be cool too language processing for
something like <http://alrt.io/three%20hours>

~~~
juliangruber
yes, see <https://github.com/juliangruber/alrt.io>

Patches are always welcome!

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otibom
This is pretty neat. But I'm having a hard time understanding why should this
be a _web_ app ? When are we getting seamless installation of things like that
?

~~~
arb99
if on a public computer it would probably be a pain to find an alarm to go off
after a certain amount of time. i think it could be pretty handy. easier than
getting phone out and setting one there

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avelis
Reminds me of <http://www.timer-tab.com/> although I don't think timer-tab
support url instantiation.

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nono-atwork
would be nice to have window.focus() added to your notifyWindow() javascript
function, that way it gets my attention. :-)

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piqufoh
Well there's one hour and three seconds I'll never get back.

Neat idea - will be great for timing board games.

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atomical
Cool, always good to have a countdown timer for monotonous things like
stretching.

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orensol
Cool.

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juliangruber
the code for this site is open source:
<https://github.com/juliangruber/alrt.io>

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juliangruber
there is a progress indicator in the favicon now!

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momchenr
what about milliseconds? no love there? :)

