I need my computer to give me reminders.

[Perd Hapley]

Since my computer is usually on when I'm at home, I would like it to give me reminders to pay bills or put fire-crackers in my neighbor's mailbox, or what-have-you.  I have tried using Outlook, but it only works if Outlook is actually running.  I would like to find some software that would produce a pop-up and an audible alarm, even if it has to start itself up to do so.  I have also tried some calendar feature in Windows 7, but that just put a pop-up on my desktop, under the other applications I was running.   

Any ideas? 

[sanglant]

old pda, in a charging cradle next to monitor? getting a computer to auto start at random times will take an external trigger. perhaps set it to wake on lan, and have a server send the wake up call, then send the alert somehow?

[Sergeant Bob]

ReminderFox

[BridgeRunner]

iCal 

[Perd Hapley]

OK.  I guess ReminderFox would work if I set Firefox to come on at startup, and left it on until I shut down.  I don't really want to do that, but since I use Firefox more than any other app, it's not the worst solution, I guess.


Sanglant, thanks for the suggestions, but I don't have any old PDAs.  And I don't need the computer to start itself, I just need an application that will either start itself when a reminder is due, or will run very lightly in the background. 


Bridgewalker, thanks, but I don't have Mac money.   

[Ben]

ReminderFox

I think that's what I would have used before I got a smartphone, had I known about it. Nowadays I use Google Calendar for everything since even if the computer isn't on, the phone is.

[Perd Hapley]

I also don't have smart-phone money, so that doesn't work so well for me.  I wonder if there's a program that will send texts to my dumb-phone.   

[Ben]

I also don't have smart-phone money, so that doesn't work so well for me.  I wonder if there's a program that will send texts to my dumb-phone.   

As a matter of fact:
http://www.ruhanirabin.com/use-google-calendar-as-your-sms-text-reminder-service/

[Perd Hapley]

Thanks.  I might use that, when I need a reminder to come to my phone.  For general purpose, though, I'm going to try something called Stickies 7.0B, from Zhorn Software.  From across the pond, but hey, maybe those Brits can write software, too.   

[zxcvbob]

Should be able to leverage the Windows Task Scheduler.  (it's tucked away in Accessories->SystemTools and/or in AdministrativeTools in your start menu)  Not sure what kind of task would pop-up a message, but that should be pretty easy.

[Monkeyleg]

[Perd Hapley]

http://cache4.asset-cache.net/xc/sb10067816o-001.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=EDF6F2F4F969CEBD98C333AE973AA9401C8B733DE2CC9794CEB136FD583B0885D4B40B3E875A785D

Very funny.

[MechAg94]

I've had programs that liked to dump what was on my desktop and tell me something "important" about 10 minutes after start up.  Considering I was usually in the middle of a game by then that would often crash when thrown into the background, it was not amusing. 

Do people make inexpensive PDA's these days?

[GigaBuist]

I wonder if there's a program that will send texts to my dumb-phone.   

Google Calendar has done the impossible: Kept me at the right place at the right time for years.

[Hawkmoon]

Google Calendar has done the impossible: Kept me at the right place at the right time for years.

Speaking of which (sort of -- minor hijack alert), my most recent cell phone bill included a $10 charge for "Data" -- and I not only don't use text messaging, I have it blocked so marketers can't use my time to send me their unwanted advertising. So what else would be "Data" on a cell phone that gets used only as a cell phone (and as infrequently and briefly as possible)?

[GigaBuist]

So what else would be "Data" on a cell phone that gets used only as a cell phone (and as infrequently and briefly as possible)?

Did you perhaps download an application?  Verizon was hitting me with a $5/mo charge that I didn't understand for a while because I downloaded an email app just to try it out once.  Because I didn't delete it they kept billing me.

$10/mo is what Verizon charges for their VZ Navigator GPS app for what that's worth.  Could be something like that.

[Ben]

I just went through this on the VZ Navigator for my work phone. I used it once a few months ago and forgot to remove it, so it did monthly billing. On Verizon's online business site (I would assume personal is similar) VZ Navigator is included under the overall data charges, but it's also separated out under "get it now" downloads under the "data" heading in your statement.

I saw that I was also separately charged $1.99 for 1meg of data usage, and can't figure that one out myself. My work phone is a dumb phone. It has the VZ whatever Web for doing things like viewing news headlines or weather, but the only thing I ever do on it is maybe a few times a month look at the weather forecast. I can't believe that's 1mb of data.