5 Minute Break - Eye Strain and Pomodoro tool

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I am Baas
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5 Minute Break - Eye Strain and Pomodoro tool

#1 Post by I am Baas »

[Moderator Note: This thread was split from Rest break / eye strain programs.]

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5 Minute Break (V1.04)

http://code.google.com/p/5minutebreak/
This little program lets you set a timer that alarms you to make a 5 minute break away from your computer. Alarm can be easily set on/off by left clicking program icon in system tray.
Dl Portable Version @ http://5minutebreak.googlecode.com/file ... 201.04.zip

Tested: Not Portable

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\5 Minute Break

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I am Baas
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Re: Rest break / eye strain programs

#2 Post by I am Baas »

I am Baas wrote:5 Minute Break (V1.04)
Latest version is 1.10:
Version 1.10 released on 2013-01-26.
•Added close button in alarm window

Version 1.09 released on 2013-01-26.
•Added new timers for 3 and 4 hours

Version 1.08 released on 2013-01-25.
•Added alarm sounds, you can change the default sound or disable it through application context menu ( issue 8 )
•Fixed character encoding problem for the Polish language

Version 1.07 released on 2013-01-25.
•Added 25 minutes timer for those familiar with the pomodoro technique. 20 minutes timer was also added ( Issue 9 ).

Version 1.06 released on 2013-01-12.
•Disabled assertions that caused shutdown of the application when system tray icon api call failed ( Issue 7 )
•Added new option in context menu to set timer for 10 minutes

Version 1.05 released on 2012-05-10.
•In alarm window instead of "Close Window" there is a "I need 5 more minutes" link that closes window and at the same time extends the time to break by another 5 minutes.
•Application does not add itself by default to Auto Run - Comodo Firewall detected it as suspicious behavior.
http://code.google.com/p/5minutebreak/


Writes to the registry :cry:

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Re: Rest break / eye strain programs

#3 Post by webfork »

I am Baas wrote:Writes to the registry :cry:
That's a shame. I tested this out today and really like this program. Very well done. My only complaint is that the break screen looked like a blood splatter, which is just odd.

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Re: Rest break / eye strain programs

#4 Post by webfork »

webfork wrote:
I am Baas wrote:Writes to the registry :cry:
That's a shame. I tested this out today and really like this program. Very well done. My only complaint is that the break screen looked like a blood splatter, which is just odd.
I deleted the blood splatter image and have found this to be an extremely useful program.

My one complaint is that it seems to close mysteriously. I think it might have something to do with running it on 64-bit system.]

Wishlist:

* Option to disable the "be ready to take a break in 5 min" notice
* Switch from a bright red clock icon to orange or something a little more tame.

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Re: 5 Minute Break - Eye Strain and Pomodoro tool

#5 Post by webfork »

So this looks like abandonware. Does anyone have an earlier copy, ideally including the source code? I have a modified copy that I can post if not.

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Re: 5 Minute Break

#6 Post by smaragdus »

@webfork
All 5 Minute Break downloads (archives, installers, sources) are still available here.
5 Minute Break can also be found at Softpedia:
- archive
- installer

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Re: 5 Minute Break

#7 Post by webfork »

smaragdus wrote:@webfork
All 5 Minute Break downloads (archives, installers, sources) are still available here.
5 Minute Break can also be found at Softpedia:
- archive
- installer
The installer verison has a softpedia mirror (which I didn't see when I originally posted about this) but unforutnately the portable version is still linking to the original website download, which is offline.

I was able to use UniExtract 2 on it and break it open with default settings. Still not portable.

I think I tracked down the author but I can't figure out how to contact him. Github doesn't exactly have a messaging system beyond project posting. https://github.com/cztomczak

EDIT: author's blog (translated)
Last edited by webfork on Wed Oct 12, 2016 3:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: (better wording)

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Re: 5 Minute Break - Eye Strain and Pomodoro tool

#8 Post by smaragdus »

@webfork
I meant that all 5 Minute Break versions are still downloadable from Google Code Archive:
https://code.google.com/archive/p/5minu ... /downloads

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Re: 5 Minute Break - Eye Strain and Pomodoro tool

#9 Post by webfork »

smaragdus wrote:@webfork
I meant that all 5 Minute Break versions are still downloadable from Google Code Archive:
https://code.google.com/archive/p/5minu ... /downloads
Very well done. I spent forever on that -- thanks!

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Re: 5 Minute Break - Eye Strain and Pomodoro tool

#10 Post by nicolwh »

very very very welll done, i like it thnx

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Re: 5 Minute Break - Eye Strain and Pomodoro tool

#11 Post by webfork »

Despite it's age, I'm still using this program. I was specifically using it to help me keep track of my time and avoid goofing off on a project I REALLY didn't want to work on so I predictably spent a bunch of time customizing it.

Some tweaks:
  • The sort of freaky "splattered blood" break screen can be fixed by editing the files Background1.jpg and Background2.jpg. 
  • Edit the alarm message and alarm sound in a similar format by just changing the included HTML and WAV files respectively.
 

These settings changes ARE portable, but the program of course the other settings are not.

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Re: 5 Minute Break - Eye Strain and Pomodoro tool

#12 Post by webfork »

webfork wrote:Despite it's age, I'm still using this program.
Sadly this program disappears on Win10 when you set the time and only appears again when the program alarm is about to go off. Not being able to modify your timer sort of defeats the point.

The first casualty of my recent Win10 upgrade.

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