NiftyCountdown is a simple utility that when given a date and time, will display the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until/since that time. Additionally, NiftyCountdown will count down a certain number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds. NiftyCountdown has handy features such as multiple window sizes, basic color scheme support, starting the countdown on startup, customizable text messages, and support for foreign date formats. NiftyCountdown could be used for holidays, birthdays, special events, et cetera.
2. Requirements
NiftyCountdown requires very little. It should be able to run on any Macintosh with a Motorola 68020 processor or better, running at least System 7.1, and with 1MB of available RAM (real or virtual). If your computer meets these requirements, is unable to run NiftyCountdown, and you are certain it is not a software conflict, please contact me with your machine's configuration.
3. Using NiftyCountdown
NiftyCountdown is very simple to use.
1. Open NiftyCountdown
2. Select a window size from the window size pop-up menu.
3. Select a color scheme from the color scheme pop-up menu.
4. (a) If you want to countdown until a certain date and time, click on the "Date & Time" tab.
(b) If you want to countdown a certain number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds, click on the "Timer" tab.
5. Enter date & time or timer information.
6. Click the "Start" button.
Additional features:
•By choosing "Auto Start" from the preferences window (File:Preferences), you can have NiftyCountdown automatically start a countdown when it is opened. This is useful if you want to put NiftyCountdown in your Startup Items folder.
•By choosing the "Text Msg" option, you can display a custom text message over your countdown.
•When using the timer, if you enter zero days, hours, minutes, and seconds, NiftyCountdown will act like a stopwatch, counting the time since you started.
•When using the Date & Time mode, if you enter a date that has already past, NiftyCountdown will count the elapsed time since that date.
•By clicking the "New..." button next to the color scheme pop-up menu, you can create your own color scheme.
4. Getting New Versions
You may get new versions of my software at the following URL.
http://www.susogi.net/travish/
5. Distribution
You may distribute NiftyCountdown freely as long as you include all original, unmodified files including the NiftyCountdown application, Schemes folder, and this Read Me file. If you would like to include it in a CD, floppy, or other media collection, please send me a copy.
6. Version History
1.2.0 - 01.25.99 - This version adds a redesigned console, as well as three new features.
New features:
•"Auto Start" preferences option starts the countdown on startup (useful if you have NC in your startup items folder).
•Timer feature counts down user-entered days, hours, minutes, and seconds.
•Text message feature allows the user to display a text message above countdown.
1.1.1 - 01.10.99 - This version corrects an unforeseen complication that arose when NiftyCountdown 1.1 was ran on a system configured for a foreign date format. The U.S. uses a MM/DD/YY format, whereas many other regions use a DD/MM/YY or YY/MM/DD format. Because of this, NiftyCountdown would provide inaccurate results, or give an error message, when ran on a machine configured for a date format other than U.S.
New features:
•Supports the date formats of different regions
•Supports counting the elapsed time since an event (just enter a date that has already passed)
•Saves countdown info to a preference file so you can resume without having to reenter date & time.
1.1.0 - 01.01.99 - Second release, redesigned from scratch, coded, and compiled in a different language. Starting to look fairly good. This release utilizes the CDate plugin, written by an unknown author, to convert a date string to a seconds integer. I hope to soon write my own method to accomplish this task.
New features:
•Significant speed increase due to REALbasic.
•Significant speed increase due to a more efficient method of counting down.
•More stable.
•Support for counting down to a specific time of a day, not just 12:00 a.m.
•Four window sizes available, including full screen.
•Basic color scheme support including changing schemes from the Finder.
1.0.0 - 07.15.98 - First version, available in B&W and color versions. Slow, ugly, and very unprofessional due to it being written in HyperCard.
7. Contacting The Author
If you enjoy NiftyCountdown and would like to encourage a young developer, feel free to send some cash, food, computer equipment, miscellaneous items I might enjoy, or just a quick note to the address below. For questions, comments, and bug/incompatibility reports, you may also contact me through my web site at the URL below.
http://www.susogi.net/travish/
NiftyCountdown Support
ATTN: Travis J. Hicks
408 North C Street
Fairfield, IA 52556-2935
8. License Agreement
By opening NiftyCountdown you acknowledge that NiftyCountdown may cause harm to your computer and/or components and that you will not hold the author, Travis J. Hicks, responsible for any harm caused by NiftyCountdown. NiftyCountdown may not provide accurate information. Use NiftyCountdown at your own risk.
