Cesium (tm)
Clock & Timing Software for the Palm Computing platform.

For the latest information on Cesium, please visit the Cesium
web site at http://homepage.interaccess.com/~aball/
Contact the author at cesium@interaccess.com

What is Cesium?

Cesium is a suite of timing applications for the Palm Computing platform
including the 3Com Pilot, PalmPilot, Palm III, and the IBM WorkPad.
Cesium was written because I needed a precision stopwatch with a large
digit display.  I program for fun.  I try not to take it too seriously.
Please remember that when engaging in correspondence about this software.
You may re-post the unregistered version of Cesium on the net without
restriction as long as you include this .html file with it.

Under no circumstances is Cesium to be included on any mass distribution
media, including CD-ROM volumes or shareware collections without the
express, written permission of the author.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Requirements

Cesium runs on all Palm Computing devices, including the Pilot 1000 &
5000, PalmPilot Personal and Pro and Palm III devices and the IBM WorkPad.
Cesium is tested on a PalmPilot Pro.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  New Features in 1.7.6
  ---------------------
	- Faster, more intuitive alarm setting controls in the Clock alarm
	 (at your request);
	- All time formats supported, including 24-hour formats, in alarm
	setting controls (at your request);
	- Alarm alert now supports all time formats (at your request);
	- Timer can now be adjusted while stopped - no reset required (at
	your request);
	- new INFINITE REPEAT on alarms.  Look for the "inf." setting in
	the alarm preferences.  If this doesn't get you out of bed,
	nothing will. ;-)  As always, tapping on the screen or pressing 
	the up/down hardware buttons will stop the alarm.


	New Features

   * Snooze feature with audible confirmation & a unique dialogue which
     displays the alarm time;
   * More really annoying alarm sounds;
   * Sound test button in the Preferences display;
   * New settings to repeat the number of rings;
   * Auto snooze feature that continues to alert you after the alarm has
     sounded;
   * Daylight Savings time is now handled transparently to the user - no
     longer requires resetting the clock.  Once you set your home time
     zone, everything else is relative.  All DST settings in Preferences
     have been removed.  For handling DST changes, I recommend DSTHack
     instead;
   * "DST" indicator to all times when Daylight Savings is active;
   * DST override on both home and world time DST settings;
   * Day of year / Days Remaining display in Clock view;
   * Week of year display in Clock view;
   * Moon phase display in Clock view;
   * Sounds On/Off icon in Clock & Timer displays;
   * Backlight Flash On/Off icon in Clock & Timer displays;
   * AutoOff On/Off icon in all displays;
   * New Timer setting technique: tapping the top half of the digits
     increments the number, tapping the bottom half decrements the number
     (thanks to David Hartson);
   * Corrected world time zone settings (thanks to Murray Ball);
   * fixed bug in Timer that allowed Repeat alarms of less than 30 seconds;
   * fixed bug that prevented alarm times between 12:00pm and 12:59pm;
   * fixed null pointer issue that occasionally caused resets on Palm III
     devices using lap times;
   * Generally improved coding, reduced stack size, extensive Gremlins
     testing.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Cesium Features

Cesium Clock features:

   * Current day, date, time;
   * World time zone;
   * Alarm with 10 alarm sounds and silent alarms (which will flash your
     backlight!);
   * Snooze that lets you determine not only how many times to snooze, but
     how long to snooze;
   * Auto Snooze feature that keeps alerting you at your choice of
     intervals when an alarm goes off.
   * Time of the next alarm;
   * Uses Cesium custom alarm sounds or Palm device native alarms;
   * Day and Week of year, including days remaining;
   * Phase of the Moon;
   * Cesium supports all native Palm device time and date display formats
     including military (24 hour);
   * Cesium will detect the start and end of Daylight Savings Time;
   * Battery voltage is shown in the upper right hand of the display.  When
     your battery voltage drops below 2.10 volts, the display is reversed,
     warning you.

Cesium Stopwatch features:

   * Elapsed time with 1/100th second resolution;
   * 5 Split times;
   * 5 Lap times.
   * Current day, date & time;
   * AutoOff icon forces Palm device to stay on for precision timing;
   * Uses screen or hardware buttons for start/stop & lap.



Cesium Timer features:

   * 99 hour count-down timer that keeps running even when your Palm device
     is off!;
   * times are quickly and easily set by tapping on the timer digits.  Tap
     the top part of the digit to increase the digits, tap on the bottom
     part of the digit to decrease the digits;
   * "Repeat" mode where the timer counts down, sounds an alarm and starts
     to count down again.  (Note that this only works on times of more than
     30 seconds);
   * the current date and time;
   * the current World time and date;
   * Uses screen or hardware buttons for start/stop.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Operating Instructions

I figure that if I've done my job, you shouldn't need any instructions.  If
I've taken a wrong turn, or if something is difficult to figure out, please
drop me a note.  In short, the whole thing should be easy to use.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Special Stuff

What are these things? [Stopwatch Gadget image][Timer Gadget image][Image]
[Image][Image]

Okay...some exceptions to the "no instructions" rule.  These are gadgets
that tell you things about Cesium.

     [Image]  indicates that the Stopwatch is running and it shows up
     in the Timer and Clock views.
     [Image]  indicates that the Timer is running and it shows up in
     the Clock and Stopwatch views.
     [Image] toggles the Palm device Auto-Off feature (forces the
     device to stay on).
     [Image]   toggles alarm sound on and off.
     [Image]  toggles backlight flashing on and off.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Daylight Savings Time

When you use Cesium for the first time, you need to set your home time
zone, like this:

   * start Cesium.
   * tap Menu.
   * tap Preferences.
   * tap the list box to the right of Home TZ:.
   * select the city closest to your location.

Once you have set your home time zone, Cesium will automatically adjust
world time settings accordingly.

Attention Chronos/ClockWorks Users:
It is no longer necessary to set your DST start and end times.  This
feature caused considerable confusion among users.

How will my Palm device keep track of local DST?
I recommend using DSTHack with HackMaster.  Both of these are available at
PilotGear H.Q..

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Registration

Cesium is shareware.

The registration fee is a modest ($7.00 in US funds) and considerably less
expensive that other comparable products.

Now that it is shareware, you may try Cesium for 30 days. Then you are
honour bound to register it. I know that honour is an old-fashioned
concept, but it's one I believe in quite sincerely. Call me gullible, but I
still believe that a person's word is his or her bond. Consequently, I've
not disabled any features in the unregistered version of Cesium; there is
simply a short delay before Cesium starts up. Please help me keep my faith
in the essential honesty of people by registering Cesium.

                            You can register Cesium over the web via
                            secure server at PilotGear H.Q., by phoning
them at (817) 461-3480 or by fax at (817) 461-3482.   PilotGear now offers
real time delivery of software when purchased over their website.  You can
go directly to the PilotGear order form by clicking here.

When you register, you will receive a registered copy of the software which
removes the five second delay on startup. Payment of the registration fee
indicates your acceptance of the terms of the support and warranty terms
listed below.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Registration Benefits

When you register, I grant you a license to install Cesium on your Palm
Computing device. The license agreement works the way the old Borland
software license works: treat Cesium like you'd treat a book. You may use
it in one place at one time. If you are somehow using your registered copy
of Cesium in more than one place at one time, you are violating this
license and, more importantly, you are breaking your word to me.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Installation

You should delete any version of Chronos or ClockWorks or any previous
version of Cesium before installing this release.  Then use the standard
Palm installer to install Cesium to your Palm Computing device.

Be sure to set your home time zone using the procedure described above..

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Support

Cesium is written by one person. Me. Not Microsoft, not Corel. Me. I will
support registered users to the best of my ability. If you are not
comfortable with that idea, please use one of the other fine
timer/stopwatch programs available for the Palm Computing platform.

If you send me e-mail about a bug, I'll try to fix it. Understand, however,
that this C thing is new to me and I'm learning as I go, so prepare to wait
a long time for a fix. I make improvements when I feel like it, usually
when my overwhelming sense of ennui is at a low ebb.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Software Updates

Are updates free?  How do I get them?

Updates to Cesium are, for the moment, free to registered users.  Updates
are e-mailed to you by the party you registered with.

I registered with PilotGear H.Q...

The fine folks at PilotGear H.Q will send you an update directly.  If your
e-mail address has changed from the time you first registered, the update
will end up in the bit-bucket of some mail router somewhere.  If you think
you should have received an update, drop a note to PilotGear H.Q..

I registered directly with you...

I used to accept registrations.  I don't anymore.  If you registered with
me, you'll get an update from me.  Unless your e-mail address has changed,
in which case the update will sail off into the ozone.  In any case, if you
got missed, drop me a note.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bugs & Technical Stuff

Auto Off Disabled.

Cesium Stopwatch cannot continue timing if your Palm Computing device
shuts off in order to maintain 1/100th of a second accuracy. This is a
limitation of the device's operating system and my brain. If you want to
time a long event, check the Auto Off Disabled box on the Preferences box
or find a utility like FPSUtil and set your Palm Computing device so that
it doesn't turn off. Please note that this can be very hard on your
batteries. Cesium will happily continue timing if you switch to another
application, as long as your Palm Computing device doesn't turn off while
using that app.

Known Bugs and Deficiencies

A Special Note To Users of EcoHack and Clockmaster...

Overclocking your Palm Computing device with Clockmaster may cause
unpredictable results with Cesium.  If you must overclock your Pilot,
please be sure to exempt Cesium from overclocking.  The author of EcoHack
assures me that Cesium and EcoHack will co-exist, as long as you exempt
Cesium from overclocking.

Other Issues...

   * The stopwatch stops timing if the unit is shut off.  This is not a
     bug...it's actually the way the Palm device was designed to work.
     Cesium Timer, however, will continue to count down whether the device
     is on or off.  To keep Cesium on while timing long events, tap the
     "Auto-off" icon in the lower right of the screen.  Your Palm device
     will remain on indefinitely.
   * There have been anecdotal reports of discrepancies between the time an
     alarm was set and the time that the alarm actually went off.  It would
     appear that this is a bug in the Palm OS and not something that I am
     able to fix.  The OS 2.0.5 and 3.0.2 updates from 3Com should fix this
     problem.  Besides, you should install these fixes anyway.  Your Palm
     Computing device will thank you for it.  If you have installed the OS
     updates and you still see discrepancies in the time you set the alarm
     for and the time it went off, I encourage you to send a note to me as
     well as Palm/3Com.
   * If your Palm device goes to sleep while the Timer is running, you may
     experience a delay of up to 60 seconds after the Timer expires before
     the Timer alarm goes off.  Again, this is a feature of the Palm
     hardware and not a deficiency in Cesium.  The Palm device checks if
     an alarm has expired at the top of each minute.  If the device checks
     for an alarm and then the Timer expires a second later, the device
     won't realize that an alarm has expired until the next check, 59
     seconds later.  This bug should not affect the Clock alarm since the
     clock alarm is always set to expire at 0 seconds, allowing the device
     to catch the alarm.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Warranty

There is no warranty expressed or implied with this software.

The author shall not be responsible for any reason arising from the use,
direct or indirect, of this software for any purposes whatsoever, whether
personal, private or commercial, whether due to defects in the software, or
the originating libraries. In other words, if you're using Cesium to time
the Olympics and you lose the gold because my stopwatch made a mistake or
you miss a plane because of the alarm, you're on your own. Also, you are
entirely responsible if Cesium clubs your other data or applications to
death. Simply put, if you install Cesium, you agree that you hold the
author free and clear of any and all claims whatsoever arising from its
use. If you don't agree with the terms of this warranty, please choose one
of the other fine stopwatch/clock packages available for the Palm
Computing platform.

Installation of this software will denote your acceptance of these
conditions.

I hate having to say that, but the times they are litigious.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Disclaimer

This software is in no way connected to my employer. Any attempt to
implicate my employer in any actions arising from the use of this software
will cause an immediate revocation of the license to use this software.
Plus, you'll spoil my fun.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Credits

So many people have helped make Cesium better.  Just about every single
user, registered or not, who wrote with useful suggestions deserves my
thanks.

Special mention must go to Wade Hatler and Dave Pearson who steered me
right, the newsgroups on massena.com, Murray Ball (no relation) and the
Stratford Palm Users Group for beta testing, and the fine folks at Palm
DevSupp, including David Fedor and Keith Rollins for putting up with my
endlessly stupid questions.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Kudos & Reviews

Cesium was awarded 5-Stars and chosen Editor's Pick on ZDNet!

Read the review of Cesium (formerly known as 'Chronos') in
PalmPower Magazine!.

Cesium is the proud recipient of four and a half planes/cows from
PilotZone and was a pilot.org SyncPick!

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Copyright & Contacts

Send e-mail to Andrew Ball at cesium@interaccess.com
Last revised on December 2, 1998
[Copyright 1997, 1998 Andrew Ball]
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 1997, 1998 Andrew Ball.  All rights reserved. 3Com, the 3Com
logo, Palm Computing and HotSync are all registered trademarks, and Palm
III, the Palm III logo, and the Palm Computing platform logo are trademarks
of Palm Computing Inc., 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries.  All other
brands or product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective holders.
