Subject: [98attendees] How to shut off the alarm clock?

From: Phillip Hallam-Baker <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2017 10:04:49 -0400

The alarm clock in my room went off (8:30 fortunately but could have been
worse).

None of the buttons seemed to turn it off. For that it appears you need an
iPhone with the old connector. Unplugging had no effect and the battery
cover was screwed in place. Obviously previous guests had had the same
issue as the device had been tied to the bed with a cable and a crack
(repaired) on on side suggested an earlier attempt to disable.

The device has a matrix of buttons on the front. The symbols are too small
for me to read, I am unable to decipher them in any case.

It might just be me but if an alarm clock needs someone from the hotel to
come and explain how to operate it then IT IS A BAD ALARM CLOCK!

---

From: Yoav Nir <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2017 09:09:13 -0500

> On 27 Mar 2017, at 9:04, Phillip Hallam-Baker <[email-masked]> wrote:
> 
> The alarm clock in my room went off (8:30 fortunately but could have been worse).
> 
> None of the buttons seemed to turn it off. For that it appears you need an iPhone with the old connector. Unplugging had no effect and the battery cover was screwed in place.

Need a screwdriver?

> Obviously previous guests had had the same issue as the device had been tied to the bed with a cable and a crack (repaired) on on side suggested an earlier attempt to disable.

Just means they didn’t try hard enough.

> The device has a matrix of buttons on the front. The symbols are too small for me to read, I am unable to decipher them in any case.

Whatever phone you have can also double as a camera, allowing you to enlarge the button matrix.

> It might just be me but if an alarm clock needs someone from the hotel to come and explain how to operate it then IT IS A BAD ALARM CLOCK!

---

From: Christer Holmberg <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2017 14:14:59 +0000

Do it the Chicago way: dump it in Lake Michigan :)

Regards,

Christer

From: 98attendees [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Yoav Nir
Sent: 27 March 2017 17:09
To: Phillip Hallam-Baker <[email-masked]>
Cc: [email-masked]
Subject: Re: [98attendees] How to shut off the alarm clock?

On 27 Mar 2017, at 9:04, Phillip Hallam-Baker <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>> wrote:

Need a screwdriver?

---

From: David C Lawrence <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2017 10:25:36 -0400

> for me to read, I am unable to decipher them in any case.

Swissotel?  My room has an iHome and the buttons have text labels,
with the alarm off button on the far left of the button row above the
snooze bar, like in this picture:

http://the-gadgeteer.com/assets/ihome-ih5r-7.jpg

Dunno what's up with your symbols, but my two leading guesses are "you
don't have the same clock" or "the labels wore off".  Hope this helps
in some way.

---

From: Alexandre PETRESCU <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2017 14:47:11 -0500

I had the same problem at Inn of Chicago.

The various push buttons have meanings hard to understand, the battery 
cover is closed with a screw, and the battery symbol is blinking as 'low'.

But a 3-position protruding slider button has a "off" position.  It's 
not a traditional 'on-off' - there is a 3rd.  At home I have a similar 
FM double-casette device about which people complain because of this 
counter-intuitive 3rd position when all today's switches have 2.

Whoever invented 3-position on-off buttons :-)

Alex

Le 27/03/2017 à 09:04, Phillip Hallam-Baker a écrit :
> None of the buttons seemed to turn it off. For that it appears you 
> need an iPhone with the old connector. Unplugging had no effect and 
> the battery cover was screwed in place. Obviously previous guests had 
> had the same issue as the device had been tied to the bed with a cable 
> and a crack (repaired) on on side suggested an earlier attempt to 
> disable.
>
> The device has a matrix of buttons on the front. The symbols are too 
> small for me to read, I am unable to decipher them in any case.
>
>
> It might just be me but if an alarm clock needs someone from the hotel 
> to come and explain how to operate it then IT IS A BAD ALARM CLOCK!
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 98attendees mailing list
> [email-masked]
> https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/98attendees

---

From: Brian Reid <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2017 14:54:30 -0500

I routinely unplug my in-room alarm device and turn it in at the desk, 
suggesting that they can re-install it after I check out. I have never 
had them refuse to take it off my hands.

Mine here had a nice 30-pin iPod connector on top of it. Collector's item.

---

From: Evan Hunt <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2017 03:04:12 +0000

> to come and explain how to operate it then IT IS A BAD ALARM CLOCK!

I am suddenly reminded of a conversation I had with a subway station
attendant several years ago:

"Why does it think there's no money on this metro card?  I just filled it
up."

"Well, if you hold the card next to the reader for two long, it reads it
over and over again and uses up all the money."

"... So, it's broken."

"No, it's not broken. It's just that if you hold the card there for *too
long*, it reads the card again."

"Uh huh. So it's *broken*."

"No no!  It's working fine!  But if you hold the --"

"Ma'am, I'm an engineer.  I am qualified to diagnose 'broken'."

-- 
Evan Hunt -- [email-masked]
Internet Systems Consortium, Inc.