Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with scheduled

How to be notified that I didn't receive a scheduled email?

enfa — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:24:32 -0800

How does your computer say that you didn't get an email that you were expecting to get? I receive email notifications every day with varying, automatically generated subject lines that have a timestamp, all from the same internal email address, generally before a certain time every day. Each notification arrives on a separate schedule - some monthly, some twice a week, some on the 1st and 17th of the month, some daily. The email lets me know that some process or another completed on a server somewhere in my company, and is usually to: a client contact, while I'm usually bcc:'ed.

I'd like to be alerted if one doesn't land in my inbox, by a scheduled time. This gives me time to investigate and hopefully resolve before the client notices.

I have a list of the emails I should receive, each with a schedule, charted out in Excel, and I manually compare to what is actually in my inbox. Which is tedious. Assume I would be checking for 20+ emails every weekday. Assume that everyone else in my department does the same thing, and that we all dislike doing this.

I'm on a pc using outlook 2010, exchange server, USA.
I'm technical andwork with programmers, but don't code much.
I can modify anything about the email notifications.
I assume the emails are confidential, can't send to 3rd party service.

I'd love to hear about how this could be solved with an outlook plugin, snip of code, or a network monitoring application (like WhatsUp) that would do this.

Best way to timeshift FM radio?

kristi — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:44:54 -0800

How can I best record over-the-air FM radio broadcasts to listen to later? I'd like to time-shift a couple of FM radio broadcasts I enjoy; I'm often away from radio when they're on.

I currently have an ancient PC with a Leadtek WinFast card that works okay. However, the PC is on its last legs and probably won't see the end of 2012, and various things about the WinFast card are flaky and annoying.

I also have a Cowon D2 device, which receives and records FM radio, but output formats are limited and there's no timer option. (Also, reception isn't great.)

I've been looking at Radio Shark and similar devices, but they don't seem to be made or supported much these days.

The ideal solution would probably be a USB device I could plug into my iMac, but I haven't seen anything like that (aside from the possibly flaky, no longer supported Radio Shark).

I could also consider replacing the dying PC; if I did that, a dual-boot Windows/Linux solution would be much preferred over the single-boot Windows setup I have now.

Requirements:

* over-the-air FM radio recording
* timer
* decent reception
* ease of use, minimum of fuss, and reliability are huge bonuses

So: what are my best options for automatically time-shifting these radio shows? Details, specific products, and any other specifics you can think of would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Cutting hours that have already been scheduled?

KimikoPi — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:58:21 -0800

What are the regulations or laws in California relating to employers sending you home from work (because it's slow) after your hours have already been scheduled? California: My mom works in a salon where she needs to work at least 30 hours/week to keep her health insurance, which is fully paid by the company. Each week, she and everyone else is scheduled to work 30 hours, but when they're at the salon, they are often asked or told to go home early when it's a slow day. Basically, the company doesn't want to pay their hourly wages when no customers are coming in. Lately, everyone has been asked to go home early. Unfortunately, this affects those who need to work 30 hrs to keep their insurance benefits.Can anyone point me to any resource on this particular issue? I would SOOOO appreciate it!

How do I schedule webcam recordings? (like a dvr)

jumpfroggy — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:48:22 -0800

How do I schedule automated webcam recordings on Windows? I have a laptop at the back of a classroom, and I want to be able to record classes by setting up a schedule beforehand. How can I do, essentially, a DVR for webcam recordings? The laptop is running Windows Vista (but XP and 7 are options). The webcam is a normal logitech. I currently manually start & stop recordings remotely, but that only works when I have access to a computer at class start / stop times.

I want software that I can input a schedule to, and it'll start & stop webcam recordings automatically. I want output as a normal movie file (avi, etc). I don't need streaming or anything fancy. Just start & stop recording.

Is there any software like this? The only I've found that claims webcam & scheduling (the two things I need) is ChillCam (http://www.chillcam.com/), and that thing is awful & didn't work with my webcam. Any others out there?

Why should I lose money if you needed to reschedule at the last minute?

Wild_Eep — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 07:19:10 -0800

Should I bill clients for scheduled appointments they missed? Twice in the past month, I've had clients who have chosen to call (or email) me within 2 hours of their scheduled appointment time to say that they needed to reschedule. I take time to mentally prepare myself for their appointments (small amounts of research, listing topics for discussion, etc.), so I feel a bit deflated when things don't proceed as scheduled. Also, as other appointment requests come in, I have scheduled around these clients' meeting times.

A doctor's appointment I had to reschedule a few months ago warned me that I'd be responsible for the cost of the visit personally if I were not to provide 24 hours' notice. (They let me off with a warning this first time.)

I think it's a bit rude (or at best, an imposition) to reschedule things at the last moment, but it's also 'less than friendly' to bill someone for the full hourly rate when you haven't delivered any value to them. Should I just think of the 'fee' as an 'annoyance tax'?

Is billing for missed time a sign of being professional, or is it just being a money-grubbing jerk?