iAlertU
The
alarm system for your Mac
Original
© Slappingturtle (now M.I.A)
iAlertU
v0.68
sourceforge.net/projects/ialertu
Welcome!
iAlertU
is a simple utility that turns your MacBook into a motion sensitive remote
controlled alarm system
System requirements:
MacBook
or MacBook Pro, OS X 10.4 or higher, Quicktime 7.1.3 or higher, and a valid
email account to use iAlertU's email functionality. iAlertU may now work
on other Macs but has not been tested.
Installation
1.
Drag the iAlertU icon to your applications directory.
2.
Launch the iAlertU application and you with see the icon in
your menu bar.
3.
To arm the alarm system press and hold the menu button on
your Apple remote control once and you should hear one chirp indicating the
alarm is armed. You may also select the "Arm system" from the
iAlertU menu to arm the system. Note - for the "Arm
system" menu option to be accessible you must enable the "Enable arm
from menu" checkbox in Preferences under the the General tab.
4.
To deactivate the alarm press and hold the menu button on
the Apple remote control once and you will hear 2 chirps and you will be
returned to your desktop. To disarm the iAlertU without
the remote you can enter your password using the keyboard.
Using the keyboard to arm and
disarm iAlertU
iAlertU
can be armed and disarmed without the use of an Apple remote control by
selecting the "Enable arm from menu" checkbox in the General tab of
the preferences window and entering a password.
With
the above done, you may arm iAlertU by selecting "Arm System" from
the iAlertU menu and entering the "arm" password.
To
disarm from the keyboard, simply re-enter the "arm" password whenever
you see the full-screen iAlertU logo. If you mistype, you will trigger
the alarm, however you can simply begin entering the password again to disarm.
Note - To set up your MacBook to
only respond to your remote control it must be paired. To do this aim your
remote at the infrared port on the front of your MacBook. Next, press and hold
the Play/Pause button and the MENU button at the same time until the paired
graphic appears on your screen. To unpair your remote launch
System Preference select the Security icon and press the Unpair button.
Configuring a Login Item
Version
0.62 adds a new preference, allowing a user to add iAlertU into the Mac's login
item list. This can also be used to effectively specify the -arm option
(see below).
If
you want to do this manually however, please follow the instructions below as
they provide a couple of other features.
1.
Start Automator, and create a new Application Workflow.
2.
Add a "Run Shell Script" item to the workflow.
Place the following line in the script:
open -n /Applications/iAlertU.app --args <option>
where <option> is one of:
-check tells iAlertU to
check if it was disarmed properly previously. If this option is
used, and the application was not disarmed properly, then it will attempt to
take another photo, and then send any photo's taken since the last arm event.
-arm tells iAlertU to
automatically arm immediately. This can be overriden from the
preferences window by un-ticking "Allow automatic arming" in the
General tab.
-snap tells
iAlertU to automatically take a photo and exit (unless -arm has been specified). This option requires
the -pass option to be provided
-pass <password> provides iAlertU with the unarm password. iAlertU requires this
for some command line options where it is important to insist that the person
starting iAlertU is authenticated.
3.
Save the workflow to somewhere like Documents
4.
Add a login item to your user preferences using the newly
saved workflow.
Note - This may only work on 10.6
because the --args option may not be supported with older versions of Mac OS.
Using the -snap command line
option
Version
0.6 added a new command line option that allows you to, from a command line,
tell iAlertU to start, take a photo and exit.
This
is done by providing both the -snap and -pass command line options. The -pass option is
required because you don't want just anyone connecting to the Mac and
requesting a photo as this could lead to misuse and privacy issues.
So,
so take a snap from the command line use:
open -n /Applications/iAlertU.app --args -snap -pass
<password>
where
<password> is your unarm password.
Configuring Email to use Gmail
accounts
A
couple of people have asked for a little guidance on how to configure iAlertU
to use their Gmail accounts. Below
is a screenshot of the Email Preferences panel. Just replace "yourgmailusername" with your Gmail
username.
Known issues/limitations:
A
number of people have noticed that with a plug in the headphone socket of the
Mac, the alarm sound is not played on the speakers. This is a problem
that differs from one MacBook(Pro) version to another. At this time, without
some form of low-level hack I don't believe it's possible to bypass the
headphone socket on a MacBook. It may be possible on some
MacBookPro's, but without access to such a machine, I have no way to get this
working. A future version will attempt to force the alarm sound out
via the speakers if they can be found, in case the Mac is currently using
bluetooth headphones, but again this requires having hardware to test with.
Uninstall
1.
Delete iAlertU file
2.
Delete ~/Library/Preferences/com.slappingturtle.iAlertU.plist
3.
Delete ~/iAlertU_*.jpg (if any exist)
4.
Remove iAlertU from the login items if needed.
New/Fixed 0.68
á
Corrected a number of issues preventing the latest version
of iAlertU from working on Mac OS Leopard (10.5.8). Most of these showed as problems with email.
á
Corrected a bug in the generation of latitude/longitude
values in the southern or western hemispheres where the degrees component was
zero.
á
Disable the various controls on the ÒCameraÓ tab when the
camera is not in use.
á
Corrected the formatting of the new HTML email in some cases
when all information is not available.
á
Corrected issues relating to sending email when the sending
of images is disabled.
á
DonÕt try to override the default Java JVM for email. On some platforms (10.5.8) this caused
problems.
New/Fixed 0.67
á
Corrected the handling of some unarm passwords as they could
be impossible to enter without triggering an alarm.
New/Fixed 0.66
á
Corrected the application build setting so that it is no
longer necessary for the CoreLocation framework to be present. This means that iAlertU should now work
on OS/X Leopard 10.5.8.
á
Corrected the handling of password entry when armed and no
logo is in use.
New/Fixed 0.65
á
Corrected (finally) the problem with validation of passwords
which was causing most of the crashes on startup. This problem also caused odd behaviour with the email tab of
the preferences window and the ÒArmÓ menu item.
á
Corrected an issue whereby the mouse would not always
reappear after disarming.
á
Allow iAlertU to continue to run on MacÕs running 10.5.x
which does not support the CoreLocation framework. On these MacÕs, the location information in the email will
not be filled in.
New/Fixed 0.64
á
Corrected the layout of the emails so that when no
geographical location is available, the table is completed properly.
á
Corrected another error in the handling of uninitialized
preferences.
New/Fixed 0.63
á
Corrected a bug that prevented new installations of iAlertU
from starting. Upgraded
installations should still have worked.
á
Corrected a bug whereby using the keyboard to disarm using a
disarm password would trigger an alarm in error.
New/Fixed 0.62
á
Corrected a spelling error in the Dutch translation.
á
Corrected an issue with connecting to mail servers with
non-default port numbers.
á
Corrected an issue with connecting to some mail servers such
as hotmail.The ability to blank multiple screens has been fixed. I thought this had
been done in 0.6, but without the required hardware I had no way of knowing.
á
The logo now fades to black as it used to and is displayed
on each screen. In addition to this, the logo will reappear as soon as a key
is pressed, or the mouse is moved.
á
A new preference has been added to allow some people to
disable the fading of the logo.
á
iAlertU now interfaces with CoreLocation in an attempt to
determine the geographic location of the mac when an alarm goes off. This information is
included in the email, and is embedded in the images (both in the filenames,
and internally in their metadata).
á
The preference allowing you to disable arm and disarm sounds
has been split into two preferences so that the two sounds can be disabled
independently.
á
iAlertU can now be installed as a login item from the
preference window on the General tab. You can also optionally instruct
iAlertU to automatically arm when it starts as a login item.
á
The layout of the General tab of the preference panel has
been re-done in an attempt to group the preferences.
á
On the Alarm tab of the preferences window, if you move the
Mac in a way that would normally trigger an alarm, an icon will flash just
below the sensitivity slider, and a sound will be played. The purpose of this
is to provide a means by which you can see how much movement a sensitivity
setting will allow before triggering an alarm.
á
An old bug whereby the password dialog was not by default
given keyboard focus has been fixed.
á
A new option has been added allowing you to cause iAlertU to
automatically arm when the lid is closed. This is great if you
are working on the mac when someone steals it. As soon as they close
the lid, iAlertU will arm, and trigger when they reopen it.
á
A new option has been added allowing you to disable Idle
sleep on the Mac. This means that whilst the display might sleep (and it will
as of this version), the computer itself will remain awake unless you force it
to sleep by closing the lid or using the Sleep menu item in the Apple menu. Setting this option
on also has the effect of delaying the forced sleep by up to 30 seconds. The great thing about
this is that if the thief closes the lid, and picks the Mac up, the sound
should still play, even with the lid closed as long as the Mac is still awake. There have been a lot
of people that have asked for iAlertU to disable forced sleep altogether. At this point in
time, I don't intend to do this as there is arguably a risk of overheating.
á
The entire sleep management mechanism has been reworked so
that the above two new options can work together. In doing so, the
screen is no longer "captured" in the same way. The old method was
effectively preventing the display(s) from ever being allowed to sleep.
á
An old bug whereby an attempt to take a photo after opening
the lid caused iAlertU to freeze (which in turn meant that there was no way to
wake up the computer without a reboot) has been fixed.
á
The Email tab on the preferences panel will now validate the
various email settings. Those fields that have invalid
values will be highlighted in red. If any fields are invalid, the
test email button will be disabled, and iAlertU will be unable to send any
emails out. When iAlertU is first started, if email is enabled, and any
settings are invalid, then a warning dialog will be displayed requesting that
you fix any errors.
á
Emails are now sent out in HTML format, so they look a bit
nicer, and the information is easier to read.
á
All of the text in warnings, the email, etc that is
currently English-only has been reworked to allow it to be translated easily in
the future (if you have time to spare, please contact us).
New/Fixed 0.61
á
Fixed a problem with the default shortcut key.
New/Fixed 0.6
With
this release we have been able to merge in some new features and bug fixes
provided generously by David Reitter.
á
Fixed the bug where multiple displays were not being blanked
when iAlertU is armed.
á
Added a new hot key feature that allows iAlertU to be armed
by simply pressing a hotkey that you define in the General preferences.
á
Added a new preference that allows you to arm using a hotkey
or the menu without requiring the entry of a password.
Note: A password will still
be required to disarm.
á
Added a new preference that allows you prevent the use of
the Apple remote to arm/disarm iAlertU.
á
Added German translations, thanks to David Reitter.
á
Added Dutch translations, thanks to Edgar de Graaff.
á
New feature. A new command line argument is
accepted that can be used to start iAlertU, take a photo, and email it. This new feature was
requested so that people capable of establishing a remote connection to their
Mac after it has been stolen can get iAlertU to send emails out without
necessarily being armed.
á
New feature. iAlertU now takes a snapshot of
the screen and includes this in the email.
New/Fixed 0.57b
Note
that this release is simply a bug fix release to help a few people that have
had problems running on 10.5.8 (Leopard), or with French as the default
language.
Users
of 10.4.x (Tiger) "may" find that it works for them as well. Let us know if it
does, as we have no Tiger platforms on which to test this.
á
Fixed a problem with the storage of mail passwords on Mac's
using French as the default language.
á
Fixed a bug where the Send Test Email button would remain
enabled for English users if "Email Alarms" is un-ticked.
á
Attempt to make iAlertU run on 10.5.8 by allow it to run
without the CoreWLAN framework.
New/Fixed 0.56b
á
Fixed a crash at startup if the Mac was configured to use
Spanish as the default language.
á
Fixed a crash at startup if the Mac is running 10.5 or
older.
á
Ensure that test emails can't be sent if the email config is
incomplete.
á
Add ability to send emails without inclusion of photos.
á
Added "New folder" button of our own to the path
selection panel so that the new folder dialog is no longer hidden underneath
the preferences panel.
á
If the arm menu item is disabled, then the keyboard can't be
used to disarm.
á
The arm menu is no longer enabled if there is no arm
password set (it must not be blank).
á
Fixed a bug where the alarm sound would never stop if the
arm/disarm sounds are disabled.
New/Fixed 0.55b
á
Fixed a bug whereby using iAlertU as a standard user would
not allow the sending of emails.
á
Fixed a number of issues with regards to the use of the
iSight camera. This results in iAlertU only turning the camera on for short
periods of time when the photo is actually being taken. This in turn means
that other applications such as Skype can have access to the camera the rest of
the time. The downside to this is that if the camera is in use by
Skype (or similar), then a triggering event for iAlertU will not include a
photo because only one application can use the camera at a time.
á
Fixed issues with regard to the "Check for
updates" feature of iAlertU.
á
Fixed the way that iAlertU detects motion so that it is not
so sensitive.
á
Fixed an issue that could result in a triggering event
endlessly flashing or crashing entirely (requiring a hard-reboot).
á
Added a new feature allowing the arm/disarm sounds to be
disabled via the General tab of the preferences window.
á
Added the trigger reason to the emails.
New/Fixed 0.54b
á
Fixed an issue where iAlertU would trigger as a result of an
AirPort event such as the local WLAN changing state. This is currently
believed to be the reason behind unexpected trigger events.
á
Fixed the bug where iAlertU required a restart after having
triggered once.
á
New preference added to allow the user to disable the arm
and disarm sounds.
á
New preference added to allow the use of a "-arm"
argument on the command line. This new argument, when used
with a login item, will force iAlertU to automatically arm.
New/Fixed 0.53b
á
A check is now done to ensure that the stored unarm password
is encrypted. If it isn't then the user is forced to reset it.
á
Closing the lid no longer disables keyboard input for
iAlertU which has been causing problems when the lid is opened. The act of closing
the lid causes OS/x to enter sleep, so when iAlertU detects that sleep has
ended, it now triggers the alarm. This way if the MacBook is
stolen and the lid is closed, when the lid is reopened later on, iAlertU will
trigger then, when there is a better chance of photographing the thief.
á
Added the ability to specify where iAlertU will store it's
snapshots. This defaults to the users home directory.
á
Opening the preferences dialog no longer turns on the iSight
camera.
New/Fixed 0.52b
á
Passwords are now encrypted before being stored.
á
iAlertU checks at startup that the correct Java version is
installed and available (1.5).
á
Added ability to keep multiple images and view them from
Preferences window.
á
Added ability to keep multiple images and view them from
Preferences window. They can also be deleted from here.
á
Added integrated email application that no longer depends on
Apple Mail. Emails are now sent from within iAlertU.
á
Added test email functionality.
á
Added -check command line argument that will force iAlertU
to check if iAlertU had previously been armed and shutdown without being
disarmed. This, when coupled with an Automator login item allows iAlertU to
send any images out the next time the Mac is logged into, effectively dealing
with the possibility of someone using the power button to circumvent iAlertU.
á
Added SSID (supported in 10.6 and later) and public IP
details to the emails that are sent out.
á
Added auto detection of network availability if iAlertU has
previously been started with -check argument when no network is available.
á
Added with many thanks from other contributors, both French
and Spanish UI (some dynamic alerts are still English only).
New/Fixed 0.30b
á
Fixed iSight compatibility with Snow Leopard
á
Added remote codes for Mac OS 10.6.2
New/Fixed 0.29b
á
Simplified email screen
á
Added trigger for device tampering
á
Screen close, AC Adapter, and Motions sensors options are
disabled for non portable machines.
á
Added user option to enable and disable the alarm sounding
at maximum volume.
New/Fixed 0.28b
á
Fixed to work with both Tiger and Leopard
New/Fixed 0.27b
á
Fixed iAlertU email bug where email was not being sent
New/Fixed 0.26b
á
Fixed Apple remote bug in Leopard
New/Fixed 0.25b
á
Open sourced under GPL license
New/Fixed 0.24b
á
Photo email should be working better
á
several other small bugs fixed
New/Fixed 0.23b
á
Fixed bug in password window
New/Fixed 0.22b
á
Improved the password entry functionality
New/Fixed 0.21b
á
Password entry bug fixed
á
Alarm sounds for 10 seconds after lid is closed because
forced sleep can not be disrupted.
New/Fixed 0.20b
á
Default preferences fixed
á
Lock screen without logo now clear again
New/fixed 0.19b
á
Captured photo can now be emailed automatically to a POP3
email account.
á
Camera capture functionality improved.
á
iAlertU should work on more Apple systems
á
Users can now arm the system without the Apple remote.
á
Added Sparkle framework for automatic updates.
á
New icons by Kyle Kesterson
New/fixed 0.18b
á
Fixed bug in code that was causing kernel panics.
New/fixed 0.17b
á
When FrontRow is active iAlertU is ignored
á
Power button, eject button and several other keys will now set
off the alarm
New/fixed 0.16b
á
Fixed F3 mute issue with MacBook machines
New/fixed 0.15b
á
Coded optimization. CPU utilization has been
significantly reduced in this release.
New/fixed 0.14b
New/fixed 0.13b
á
Fixed object that was not being released properly
New/fixed 0.12b
á
Wrong version was uploaded in .11b so .12b gets everyone in
sync.
New/fixed 0.11b
á
Added some debugging to log mute button activity for the
MacBook owners
á
iSight performance improved
New/fixed 0.10b
á
F3 mute button disables correctly now when alarm is sounding
á
Screen logo now fades to black after 10 seconds. This will
soon be a user preference
á
Alarm is now activated and deactivated by holding the menu
button for approximately. By using the delayed menu button
all the other applications(FrontRow, iTunes, iPhoto, etc) should work correctly
sharing the remote with iAlertU.
New/fixed 0.09
á
Alarm now activates when power adapter is removed
New/fixed 0.08
á
Added basic camera capture functionality. The camera component
still needs some work.
á
Fixed some performance issues and this release should be
more stable.
New/fixed 0.07:
á
Should work better with FrontRow and again with iTunes.
á
If dual monitors and using the logo the second monitor will
black out
New/fixed 0.06:
á
Preference panel now part of the overall menulet
á
Made menu bar icon more Apple-esqe.
á
Updated window texture to more modern look
New/fixed 0.05:
á
Logo centers and sizes correctly on external monitor
á
iAlertU now shares the remote with FrontRow without the need
of a toggle
á
Preferences added to turn on and off different
sensors(motion, keyboard, and trackpad)
á
Preference added to turn Lock Screen logo on and off
á
Removed application timeout
New/fixed 0.04:
á
UI worked on
á
Code cleaned up, memory leak fixed
á
Bug Report menu item put back in(Whoops!)
New/fixed 0.03:
á
Created a main window with preferences
á
Added user adjustable sensitivity slider
á
Added user adjustable alarm duration
á
Added checkbox to enable and disable remote control of
iAlertU. This returns control of the remote back to the system while
iAlertU is still running.
á
Fixed popup windows so they get focus
New/fixed 0.02:
á
Screen lock with logo when armed
á
Alarm sounds on key press or mouse activity
á
Volume returns to normal listening level after alarm is
disarmed
á
Alarm will now keep sounding for up to 30 seconds after lid
is closed and continue after the lid is reopened
á
Mute disabled when armed
á
Control-tab disabled when armed
á
New icons
á
Cleaned up audio
New in 0.01:
á
First beta release
á
Forces system to un-mute when alarm is active
á
Forces max volume when alarm is active
á
Screen flashes when alarm has triggered
á
Idle sleep disable when alarm is active
Purchasing
iAlertU
is free but you are welcome to donate if you would like. Just click the
"Donate" button on the iAlertU About window.
Disclaimer
iAlertU
is provided as is. The Author is not responsible for any damage to the user's
computer system or data and in no event will The Author be responsible to the
user for any consequential, incidental, or indirect damages (including damages
for loss of business profits, business interruption, lost of business
information, and the like) arising out of the use or inability to use the The
Software, even if The Author has been advised of the possibility of such
damages. Because some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of
liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitations may
not apply to you. Further, the consumer agrees that using this software in any
way illegal, or even for the purposes of assessing its viability for illegal
usage, is prohibited.
Credits
Sparkle Updater
Version
1.1
Copyright
(c) 2006 Andy Matuschak
Thanks
to Paul Ingendorf for fixing the mute issue with the MacBook non Pro machines.
www.timespace.org
Graphics and icons by
Colin
Anawaty
and
Kyle
Kesterson
motion.c
Copyright
2005, Christian Klein. all rights reserved.
AppleRemote.h
AppleRemote
Created
by Martin Kahr on 11.03.06.
Copyright
2006 martinkahr.com. All rights reserved.
Special
thanks to Pall Thayer creator of the Carpenter's Level Dashboard Widget for all
of his help getting the motion.c code working on the MacBook Pro. His website is
located at http://pallit.lhi.is/palli/dashlevel/
Audio
file enhancements. Tom Zappala http://www.yeahtomdoesmyhair.com
ShortcutRecorder
Copyright
2006-2007 Contributors. All rights reserved.
License:
BSD
Thanks
to http://caffeinatedcocoa.com/blog/
for their great post on how to access meta data within image files (http://caffeinatedcocoa.com/blog/?p=7
- comment-4952).
Thanks
to Rogue Amoeba LLC for their
assistance with the audio code, and the integration of login item support.
Translations
Spanish:
Emmanuel Fern‡ndez Campillo
Dutch:
Edgar de Graaff
German:
David Reitter
French:
Pierre Rudloff
Contributors:
David Dauer
Jesper
Jamie Kirkpatrick
Edgar de Graaff
David Reitter
Peter Easdown
Contact
http://ialertu.sourceforge.net/
If
you like iAlertU please consider donating to the project to help support
current and development.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ialertu/
Thanks
and enjoy.