ladyvolccsaidthis

I got this in a recent bundle purchase and didn't think I would have any use for it, but I started playing around with it anyway. I do some website design, and my friends and family are loving this app. It is so cool!
When you mouse over an area of a photo that you have designated, it will then perform the action you have set for it. For example, I was showing my friends the Victoria, BC Inner Harbour from a recent vacation. I had set up areas so that when they clicked on a specific hotel, park, garden, etc., I could have it open a page showing that area in more detail. Try it and see if you don't love it!

Fantastic app!! Pick up the MacHeist bundle (released to coincide with Macworld), and you'll get a brand new exclusive version of Awaken...guys, it freakin' rocks!!!! And I've never seen developer support like this. It's just the best! You won't regret it :)

I got it with MacHeist, the application looks nice, but the GUI is confusing and lacks some basic features (schedule computer switch on, switch off, etc...).

I had been using Aurora (http://osx.iusethis.com/app/aurora) since some time now, it's freeware, is straightforward to use and has better features. I think I'll stick to it for now, even if Awaken seems to be going in a good direction.

I'm definitely a fan. The app is great. You can't beat free updates for life. I use it every day to wakeup and sometimes during the day to remind me about things. Their user support is excellent. I've sent a few emails to them today and I received a response back from Jerry Brace (the developer of the software) within 2 minutes! I'm sure your results will vary with that on his busier days but you gotta love quick responses!

great app. all its shortcomings are not its own fault, but that of using your computer as your sole alarm clock in the first place. its damn pretty. nice to see when you're getting up in the am ;)

I don't take advantage of its spiffy remote perks but i'm sure they're nice.

@mortimer - maybe I'm not finding the same Aurora as you but, when I did a search for that I came up with Aurora with a 14 day limitation that's lifted if you pay 15 Euro (~$22) which appears to be what the iusethis link shows now as well.

Awaken's been a little buggy for me but I'm going to keep giving it a shot for now.

I've been using Awaken for 4 weeks now - I am loving it. It wakes me quite reliably in the mornings and 4.1 will be rock solid since it will play outside of iTunes. I use the egg timer often to remind me when I need to do things (like check the stove or go get kids).
It has a great GUI, and is fast to set up. It works quietly in the background till needed.The developer is responsive and open to suggestions and he fixes bugs quickly.

Wonderful little application. I have been using it for close to a year and maybe only two or three times something happened and the alarm didn't sound. I haven't been using it in conjunction with iTunes because, as Jerry says, sometimes iTunes does not play well together with other applications. But when Awaken can play my music directly (as promised in 4.1), I will certainly be getting up to music instead of alarm sounds.

Another feature that Jerry says he is working on and I hope he incorporates soon, is the ability to choose an audio output. This would be a fantastic feature for me. My main audio system uses the optical output on my computer. I always turn the main system off at night and switch the sound output to my USB speakers (which turn on with the computer) so that Awaken has speakers to play on. If I could set Awaken to use the USB speakers, I would not have to remember to make the audio switch at night time.

Doesn't really work for me. It just suddenly wakes up my Macbook in the middle of the night, and me at the same time...

i really enjoy the sleep function, i like to fall asleep listening to podcasts, and i like having awaken turn my computer off for me.

it really feels like a Mac App. I love it.

Awaken is a really nice app, but creating a new one-time alarm takes too long. There are some options that are not default, but should be:

1. The playlist should be the same one I selected the last time. This seems to work for the sleep timer, why not for regular alarms?

2. Occurrence: why is "weekly" the default? After the initial setup, how often do you add weekly alarms?

3. What is the most important feature of any alarm? The time it goes off. I can set my old-school table alarm easily for the next day. Ideally, I should be able to enter the time I want to be woken up, and leave the rest as is. Awaken would then ring at the next occurrence of that time, so I wouldn't even need to worry about setting the right date.
Idea: Make the time field the first one, larger than the others. Also, title is a very secondary feature if it's not a weekly timer you're creating. It doesn't need to be the first field.

Just my 2 cents worth, but I think changing these defaults could make Awaken much quicker to use. I'd love to hear your opinions.

@parasight - Thank you very much for your feedback. All three items are great ideas and will be addressed in future updates to Awaken. We are currently busy working on Awaken 4.1 - which may incorporate some of your suggestions. Email our support team at support@embraceware.com anytime with feedback/questions/suggestions. I got your reply on my twitter as well :)

@parasight - You can see that your feedback has been a big part in our latest 4.1 demo video: http://www.flickr.com/photos/embraceware/2530152094/

hey, Jerry.
I just had an idea which might cause you some pain, but:
what about integrating iCal in a way that you can create a holiday-calendar in iCal and a holiday wakeup-timer so you don´t have to set your wake time manually in order not to be kicked out of bed early on that one day off a year?
Let´s say you normally get up at 6am and on holidays you want not to be disturbed before 9. And of course, Awaken would have to realize that it has to select the holiday timer instead of the regular timer the day before.

You CAN set it manually, I know, but why not give some real lazy buds some more lazy quality of life?

@medienhexer - thanks for the iCal idea. I've added it to our feature request list which gets reviewed each time we decide on features for the next release. Contact us at support@embraceware.com at anytime with your features/questions. Our team will respond to you quickly.

I've used Alarm Clock 2 for a year (it was reliable), Aurora for almost a year (it was easier to use), and now Awaken for 10 minutes, and I'm convinced this one is the best! Awaken combines the features I wanted, but were divided among the other 2 alarm programs, into one easy to use and attractive interface.

I've read other comments and I agree that there is room for refining, but at least the dev is here listening, commenting and demonstrating that this is a community driven application.

The bottom line:
Time is money, so your first investment should be in a good alarm clock. And I'm confident that I've made an informed decision that this is the one worth buying.

@oldsystem - thanks for your comments/feedback. We're busy working on Awaken 4.1 which is a huge update with many features and fixes. Like all updates to Awaken it'll be free once it is available. If you have any comments/questions/problems - please email us at support@embraceware.com. Our team is always glad to help.

Awaken 4.1 was in the development and due to all of the new features coming its going to be released as Awaken 5. As with all updates to Awaken it'll be a free update. You can watch the development progress on our Awaken 5 Flickr photoset: http://www.flickr.com/photos/embraceware/sets/72157606129825486/ and Twitter: http://twitter.com/jerrybrace