Windows Timing Machine still available?

[Chet]

I just downloaded a trial copy of Windows Timing Machine V2.07 10/26/98.

I tried to contact the author at gregsa@teleport.com to check on buying a registration key, but my e-mail to the above address bounced back as being invalid.

Is it possible to STILL buy a registration key today?

I saw the paypal logo at the bottom of the screen, but with no e-mail response from the author I am concerned that a payment will be lost in the great internet void...

I also checked previous threads on this topic in the NAWCC boards, and I believe the most recent was dated 2 years ago... a lifetime by some standards! ; - )

Thanks for any input...

Chet

 

[shutterbug]

I remember the discussions, and even dl'd the trial copy myself. The accuracy and usefulness of the program were questioned, and most found the program less than satisfying. If you want a timer, it would probably be a wiser choice to inquire about the pro's and con's of the existing machines. There are a number of discussions here on the board that can be found with the 'search' function.
I don't doubt that a useful program could be written for the home computer, but as yet I don't think one has been.

 

[Bill Ward]

The annoying thing about Windows is that a new version comes out every year or two, and the old software isn't supported soon afterwards; this insures obsolescence. The Macs have been running OSX for over a decade now, so that seems much more permanent (though the hardware is more expensive). Linux, of course, is incrementally updated, so obsolescence is much less of a problem, but you have to be a bit of a geek to wrestle with it.

 

[Chet]

I've successfully loaded the program on Windows Vista for Home Premium following the instructions and had no problems.

So far I've been impressed with its abilities.

But I don't want to send a check/paypal for registration if the author is unable to send me a registration code.

Is anyone here familiar with the author of the software?

Thanks,
Chet

 

[TEACLOCKS]

was this the website http://home.teleport.com/~gregsa/clocks/wtm/

 

[Chet]

Yes, that's the one.

 

[R. Croswell]

Hi Chet,

I tried the trial version and couldn't get reliable results with my PC. It may have been that my audio card was not compatible or the pickup I was using. Greg's web site gives a mailing address, and an on-line directory search gives a phone number for Greg Saville in Hillsboro as (503) 628 7205. So why not just send him an old-fashioned snail mail, or give him a call and ask him directly? Seems odd that he would have a web site and not list an email address.

Bob C.

 

[wdonovan]

The annoying thing about Windows is that a new version comes out every year or two, and the old software isn't supported soon afterwards; this insures obsolescence. The Macs have been running OSX for over a decade now, so that seems much more permanent (though the hardware is more expensive). Linux, of course, is incrementally updated, so obsolescence is much less of a problem, but you have to be a bit of a geek to wrestle with it.

Without getting into t p***ing contest between IBM and Apple, it sounds like you don't have much experience with Windows. I have run programs more than 20 years old on the newest Windows. Older software / newer OS works almost all the time. New software / old OS hardly ever works. This "Windows obsolescence" thing is probably something invented by the Mac world. It just doesn't exist.

 

[Chet]

Thank you everyone for your input.

I was able to get in touch with Greg, both by telephone and e-mail.
He has been very cooperative, but admits he does not have experience with Window's Vista.
I do seem to be having a problem getting a sufficiently loud audio signal from the clock into the computer for the program to process.
I'll post a solution when I finally find it...

Chet

 

[R. Croswell]

Thank you everyone for your input.

I was able to get in touch with Greg, both by telephone and e-mail.
He has been very cooperative, but admits he does not have experience with Window's Vista.
I do seem to be having a problem getting a sufficiently loud audio signal from the clock into the computer for the program to process.
I'll post a solution when I finally find it...

Chet

That was the main problem I had as well. You may need to use a preamp on the pickup. I could get a pretty loud sound from my speakers, but still the timing program didn't seem to have adequate signal level to work reliably. One thing to check on your PC is that the "microphone input" software volume control is all the way up. Not sure where you find that in Vista, but in 98 or XP, click programs, accessories, entertainment, volume control. Then select the advanced option.

Let us know if you get it working consistently. Seems like a great idea, but from my perspective, it looks like something that was shot at and missed.

Bob C.

 

[Chet]

Well, I must confess I am somewhat frustrated...
I hooked up a battery powered lavalier mic to a mini clamp and placed it right next to the oscillating wheel on a ship's clock I'm working on.
Fed the mic into a radioshack mini-speaker amplifier and fed that output into a professional microphone mixer.
Tweaked the frequency response on the equalizer to focus on the clock, and then matched the mixer output to my computer mic input.
My output was full swing on the mixer's Vu meters, and full range on my computers mic input.
The clock's ticking was clear, loud, and distinct.
But when I ran a series of samples ranging from 10 to 30 seconds long, the beat info was always different...
Sometimes remarkably different...
So it's been a lot of experimenting, but even more frustration.
As one writer pointed out earlier, you SHOULD be able to do this with a computer... but so far I haven't found that program.
Besides the dedicated beat handhelds, has anyone had luck with any other software?
Chet

 

[ChuckR]

Chet,
I too, have tried the WTM software. Did you try playing with the skip ahead function? It will ignore noises between the tic's, if you let the software run a couple of sec's and then double click on the skip ahead letters it will auto adjust to the beat. This might help you get a more consistant reading. Hope this helps.

Chuck