ABOUT THE iPHONE ALARM

Quite Alarming!

By ADC

I possess the enviable ability to sleep soundly through my bedtime without being too deep a sleeper to snore through the wake-up call of an alarm. So on the very first morning of 2011, I woke up somewhat discombobulated. It was 25 minutes after the time I had intended to rise, and I was pretty damn sure I did not hear Scissor Sisters telling me I was “filthy and gorgeous” like they had every day in the last 3 months. The tiny clock icon was still sitting pretty on the top right corner of my iPhone screen, which meant I had not disabled the alarm. Perhaps I had touched the snooze button? But unless I had suddenly been cursed with short-term memory loss, I would surely remember having activated that feature! At that point, I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. Did the alarm go off at all?

GASP!!! Could my trusted iPhone alarm have failed me? It was inconceivable! Instantly, I felt betrayed! And my technophobe status received yet another validation! Then, a wave of paranoia washed over me as I started to freak out at the thought of no longer having a wake-up call I can absolutely depend on! How would I start my day from henceforth?

I was utterly perturbed. Throughout the day, I conducted various trials and surveys, in an attempt to solve the mystery, if not resolve the problem. My many trials did not result in the sounding of any alarm, even after I was advised to switch the phone off and on again. But my surveys unearthed a curious yet comforting fact. All iPhone owners I had randomly asked had had the same strange experience with their iPhone alarms that day! I felt relieved that I was not alone, that I had not been singled out for bad fortune this New Year’s day. Yet, while the sanctity of my karma remained intact, my conspiratorial curiosity was piqued. Could this be some far-fetched marketing campaign intended to draw people into the Apple Stores with a problem only they can fix? And while we queued up at the Customer Service counter, could we really avert our greedy eyes from coveting all those glitzy gadgets and gismos displayed so attractively in the vicinity? Someone had planted that possible scenario in my head. And there was no stopping the insidious growth of paranoid speculations after that. While I was indignant that I could be made a victim of such trickery, I was even more disconcerted by the realization that my iPhone could be remotely reset! What else do they have access to? I was aghast. While alarms were mysteriously silenced on every iPhone that first day of 2011, alarm bells were certainly screaming bloody murder for all conspiracy theorists!

It turned out that all iPhones had been reset in the New Year, and that we now had to select specific days we wanted the alarm activated each time we set it. What an annoying inconvenience! Was that really a necessary feature to add? For crying out loud, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Better Late than Never

By JKLM

I always choose the lazy option on a public holiday to stay in and despite the choice, I still set my alarm on my trusted iPhone just to remind me that the day should not be wasted on sleep.

On the first day of 2011, I got woken up by a phone call and realised I woke up late. Damn. Was I so tired that I turned my alarm off without knowing it again?

Recently, it's been quite a normality for me to 'miss' my alarm so I didn't really think much of it. However, my partner was convinced that the iPhone alarm was not working. I think I was concerned but not perturbed about it as despite the existence of my alarm, I am still perpetually late. I did test the iPhone however, and it was SILENT. And mine was not the only silent iPhone. The horror!

Was it a ploy by Apple? I thought these things were only supposed to have happened during the turn of the new millennium. Apple was 11 years late! If it was a joke, April Fools' would have been a more appropriate day as rightfully pointed out by my partner. What if we were late for a multi-million dollar appointment? Would we be able to get compensation? The more you delve into the matter, the more annoyed you get. ARGH.

I decided to clear up the matter by making a trip to the Apple store. Was it an elaborate marketing gimmick just to get customers into the store? Well, all the speculations were such a let down when we found out it was an iPhone glitch.

I must say it was really inconsiderate, to say the least, of Apple to do that without warning. If they could spend the time sending out emails to buy Apple products for whatever impending festivities or special days, what was so difficult about sending out a notice about an automatic phone reset that did not come about by me clicking 'update iOs'?

For the past 10 years, the alarm on my mobile phone has been my choice of weapon. As much as I hate to be woken up from my sweet slumber, it's become a dear part of me. So my iPhone alarm is working, for now. But I'm not sure it would make a difference to my declining record of tardiness.