You can use your computer to wake yourself (or your neighbors!) each morning. This is done by using the windows Task Scheduler in conjunction with an MP3 playback application.

In this case, we use Winamp and Windows Media Player. Here’s how you go about creating the loudest and most effective clock in your house. First create a playlist of your favorite songs using Winamp, Windows Media Player or any other MP3 playback application. Export your favorite playlist as an M3U file. The M3U playlist format is generally accepted by almost every player. Next, you will need to create the trigger for your alarm. Go to “Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Scheduled” tasks. Create a new task and choose the program as Winamp and click Next. Enter an indicative name for this task and choose “Daily” under the “perform this task section”. Next, select the time and the start date. It will now ask for a password- leave it blank in case you don’t want to enter one. Right click on this newly created task and check the “run only if logged in” check box. Now click on Properties and append the path to the playlist you created in the “Run” text box. It should now look like: “C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe” K:\Playlists\smoothies.m3u. This will cause Windows Media Player to call up that particular playlist when it starts. That’s it- all that is left is to remember is to leave your computer on and logged in before you go to sleep!