In Alarm-Clock notificatons, the text box is missing for a passive popup

[John Winterton]

Description: Ubuntu 11.10
Release: 11.10
alarm-clock:
  Installed: 1.2.5-1.2
  Candidate: 1.2.5-1.2
  Version table:
 *** 1.2.5-1.2 0
        500 http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric/universe amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

When setting a counter or a new alarm, the passive popup notification widget is missing the text box to enter the message. This was fine on 11.04. It is more than slightly annoying that something like this was dropped when at most the package needed to be recompiled.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10
Package: alarm-clock 1.2.5-1.2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.0.0-16.28-generic 3.0.17
Uname: Linux 3.0.0-16-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
ApportVersion: 1.23-0ubuntu4
Architecture: amd64
Date: Sun Feb 26 17:17:24 2012
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Release amd64 (20111012)
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_CA:en
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=en_CA.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: alarm-clock
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to oneiric on 2012-02-17 (9 days ago)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Gael Lafond (gaellafond)]

Easy fix:
1. Left-click the alarm-clock-applet from the menu > "Show alarms"
2. Edit the alarm
3. Select "Start Application" and add something like the following in the Command. NOTE: zenity was already installed on my computer, I think it is installed by default
zenity --info --title="Alarm" --text="Message shown in the window"

[John Winterton (jwinterton)]

Wrong! On 12.04 LTS even with the app. in the Launcher (Ubuntu desktop) the text box for the passive popup message is not available. The widget seems to be missing.

Clearly, this responder did not understand my original post. Neither does it appear in the "add counter" function.

This app is *broken* and either needs to be replaced or fixed.

The Ubuntu desktop has no "menu".

[John Winterton (jwinterton)]

Oh, and the app. behaviour has changed. It no longer appears in the panel so that it can be updated.

[Gael Lafond (gaellafond)]

@John - I was just trying to help...

If you want to use it without recompiling it, do the trick I propose. It's up to you. I'm not the developer of this app, I'm not going to fix it. I agree that it's broken, I even click the "Also affect me" link to confirm it as been a bug. There is a lot more bugs than this one with this app. For example, every morning, after booting the computer, I have to go through all the alarms, disable them and re-enable them to reset the counter. For some reason, all the counters are always random after a reboot. The app is quite hard to use with all it's bugs, but with a few quite ugly workarounds, it can be used...

Personally, I don't like the way that Gnome is going. I think they are trying to re-invent the wheel with their new Unity desktop. I tried really hard to appreciate it but I cant. I'm loosing so much time looking for my apps and files, I need a Desktop and an proper app menu with sub-menus. I installed the gnome-session-fallback package to be able to use the classic gnome desktop. It seems that a lot of apps, like alarm-clock, are acting oddly with that "new" classic interface...

Btw, to have the clock in the panel, you need to install the package "alarm-clock-applet". It will appear in the panel, in the "Indicator Applet", as soon as you start the alarm-clock application. If you don't have an "Indicator Applet" in your panel, you can add one by right-clicking the panel, while pressing Alt and the Meta key (the Windows key), and choose "Add to Panel...".

[John Winterton (jwinterton)]

Thanks for your effort. However, with the Unity desktop (pile of untested junk, lacking good Q.A.) this is my main bone of contention since I am dependent on this app for keep me from overstaying in some other activity. I use it to time my medications, so for me this is serious.

I am not having the problem you outlined. My timers are fine, but I am afraid to touch it. I'll try adding the appliet, but I thought that was a different app.

This software base is getting to be so large, it is becoming apparent that Q.A. on the kernel and the "main" desktop is about all they can accomplish in six months between releases. The interval probably needs to be changed to 12 months and they should stop slavishly sending out all the "Beta" versions.

Solid is better than on time. This release is supposed to be "long term support" but I am afraid they don't understand what they are saying.

Thanks for the key sequence. It was much nicer when you could control the panel with simply a right click. What has gotten into these people anyway? They have decided to "cast perls before swine"? I've been in the computer business long enough that my experience (not repeated in any year) is probably equal to the sum of theirs. This kind of "little" annoyance just makes me sad.

This app need to be reset to the capability it had in 11.04 but upgraded to work properly (the same) on unity.

[John Winterton (jwinterton)]

Gael,
    We've been talking at cross purposes. There are two alarm-clock apps. You seem to be talking about the Alarm-Clock-Applet and I am using Alarm-Clock.

    I just added the applet to my system using Synaptic and it was immediately added to my start up programs list. On a log out/in sequence, it does indeed appear in the panel, but is unconnected to the alarm list for Alarm-Clock. I just get a blank dialogue when I as the applet for the current alarms.

    To access my alarms I have to start another instance of Alarm Clock, and then it is necessary to kill the earlier one or both of them go off with my alarm tunes if I do not.

    Since you have problems (worse) with the applet, I am going to uninstall it. Frankly, the functionality of the two items should be combined as they were in 11.04. Someone who should not have has fixed it when it wasn't broken.