[wetsleet]

100% agree! I have suffered numerous midnight alarms. My ancient Psion had this sussed, you set a default alarm time of your choosing, and that was it, problem solved. I can't believe we need to entertain the solutions put up here - edit each one individually, give up entirely and rely on the grey matter. I use Pocket Informant because in a few respects it kind of approaches the useability of the ancient Psion software - but sadly not here. Even ordinary appointment alarms, you can't set a default time, you can't set any time at all. Amazing but true, in PI you can not set an actual time when the alarm will sound. Its like a clock with no hands! Oh no, you have to do some quick base 60 mental arithmetic and work out the difference between your appointment time and the time you want the alarm to sound and enter the result in the box! Progress...oh yeah.

[wetsleet]

100% agree! I have suffered numerous midnight alarms. My ancient Psion had this sussed, you set a default alarm time of your choosing, and that was it, problem solved. I can't believe we need to entertain the solutions put up here - edit each one individually, give up entirely and rely on the grey matter. I use Pocket Informant because in a few respects it kind of approaches the useability of the ancient Psion software - but sadly not here. Even ordinary appointment alarms, you can't set a default time, you can't set any time at all. Amazing but true, in PI you can not set an actual time when the alarm will sound. Its like a clock with no hands! Oh no, you have to do some quick base 60 mental arithmetic and work out the difference between your appointment time and the time you want the alarm to sound and enter the result in the box! Progress...oh yeah.

[BevHoward]

I've also discovered if you want to irritate someone, include a number of personal calendar events in your "Contact Exchange" such as your birthday, your anniversary, kid's birthdays plus a few special events and make them all day events...

Not only don't I remember some of the card exchange events which come up regularly, I get charged for them when google text messages me about them later, the contact which loaded them is long gone and I don't have the information necessary to call the idiot who spammed them into my calendar the next night at 2am to get even.

[Dave Beauvais]

Originally Posted by BevHoward

... the contact which loaded them is long gone and I don't have the information necessary to call the idiot who spammed them into my calendar the next night at 2am to get even.

Sorry, but LOL. ;-)

[starstreak]

Ok, more awake now. Just making it clear, I'm just saying, as the way the OS is set now, the reminder at 12am is the best. It's the OS way of being clear that it warned you of this event.

BUT they should've fixed it ages ago, by having options on how to remind all day events. Like by vibrate/ring/NO screen turning on/light indicators/etc. I would have it put the reminder up at 12am, flash indicator lights. That way it wont wake me up at 12am, but yet, when I look at my phone, it would show a flashing light and when I turn it on, it would show notification.

[Fellwalker]

BUT, a reminder on the first second of the day does not give time to get a card, let alone send it. Unless its an electronic one, and SWMBO is not a techy.

[Down8]

There is a configurable default "start of the day," All-Day items should alert then. It is that simple.

If it is important enough that you need prep time, you need to set it to remind earlier, but default should be at the start of the day.

-bZj

[SomeAudioGuy]

Originally Posted by Dave Beauvais

I'm usually up at midnight, so I am annoyed by this for a different reason: It really highlights the absurdity of the Windows Mobile reminder snooze options.

• 5 minutes before
• 5 minutes
• 10 minutes
• 15 minutes
• 30 minutes
• 1 hour
• 1 day

That's it. Why no "4 hours," "8 hours" "half day," etc.? It just jumps from 1 hour to an entire day. Why isn't there an option to specify a snooze time? It's been a while, but I could swear that was available in some previous Pocket PC version.

As it is, a midnight reminder goes off and my only real option is to dismiss it -- thus forgetting about it by the time I wake up in the morning -- so as not to be annoyed throughout the night.

I know what you mean.
This drives me CRAZY!
We used to be able to set the snooze time in WM2003SE.
Aside from the losing all info if the battery died, I think I liked WM2003SE better than any of the following updates.

[wetsleet]

hmmm, so after much discussion the original question goes unanswered:
Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?
my guess? The question contains an assumption, erroneous as it tuns out, that there actually was someone who thought.

[Fitch]

Hahaha, great post Jason. This still gets me every time. I usually have to set a task or reminder to go through my Birthday events and turn off the reminders! How crazy is this, and why hasn't this happened to Microsoft Engineers!?

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by Down8

If it is important enough that you need prep time, you need to set it to remind earlier, but default should be at the start of the day.

Indeed - for the birthdays that I need to order online gifts for, and factor in shipping time, I set it to remind me seven days before the birthday, which works great. Except for the fact that it's still at midnight.