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Speech and Debate Timekeeper 2.3 |
Freeware
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Info/description:
Speech and Debate Timekeeper is a multi-platform debate timer for various speech and debate events. It has speech order and time limits preprogrammed for Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, Parliamentary, Public Forum, World Schools, Karl Popper, and miscellaneous debate formats as well as individual events. This timer gives visual and/or vocal time signals at user defined intervals so that you will never have to give manual time signals or frequently look at the time. At the end of each speech, cross-examination, or preparation, the timer automatically sets itself to time the next thing that needs timing at the push of a button. No stopwatch or general purpose timer comes this close to fulfilling the role of a dedicated human timekeeper in a round. Features: - Simple stopwatch style interface simultaneously shows time elapsed and remaining. Buttons are large so that they can be finger pressed on PDAs.
- Visual time signals on a color coded background indicating minutes or seconds remaining.
- Spoken time signals or tones, including protected minute alerts for points of information in constructive speeches of Parliamentary debates.
- Tracks speech order and prep times. Default time limits are set according to the selected event and are adjustable.
- The name of the speech or task being timed is displayed in the title of the window.
- Navigational buttons set the timer to time the previous or next task.
- Always-on-top window is useful for keeping time while working in another program (e.g., flowing or note taking).
- High contrast display setting with black text on a white background.
- Context sensitive help screens are available from drop down menus.
Description: v2.3 (11-02-2009):
- Compiled against SuperWaba 5.85.
- Improved support for devices running Windows Mobile 5 and 6, including smartphones with and without touch screens.
- Added NFA Lincoln-Douglas debate format with 6-7-6-6-3 speech time structure.
- The application window is now always on top for desktop OSes.
- Spoken time signals for speeches and cross-examination no longer end with "left", since they always count down. Spoken time signals for prep time still use verbose sentences, since those may count up or down.
- Visual time cue popups can now be dismissed by pressing any key in addition to clicking on them. This is helpful for devices without touch screens or pointing devices.
- Start/Stop button is green for Start and red for Stop, except in high contrast mode.
- The menu button is slightly larger.
- Added "View Prep" button for quick access to the running prep time display.
- "Reset All" option under Options menu renamed to "Reset Round", which better describes its purpose.
- "Audible Time Signal" option in the Time Signals configuration dialog renamed to "Audio Time Signal".
- The user interface has a uniform appearance across all platforms with 3D shaded buttons.
v2.2 (29-01-2008):
- Compiled against SuperWaba 5.84.
- Prep time for Lincoln-Douglas updated to 4 minutes to conform with new NFL rules.
- Fixed bug where the time setting buttons would not correctly set the prep time when it is reset after some of the prep time was used before the current prep session.
- Added View menu to the menu bar of the timer window. The View menu contains menu items for displaying the name of the debate format or speech event and the running prep time for both sides.
- Spoken time signals are turned on by default for policy debates only. For all other events, time signals are silent by default, except for prep times and the first and last minutes of constructive speeches in parliamentary debates.
- On desktop platforms, the Stop button will beep immediately when pressed even while a time signal is being spoken instead of waiting for the spoken signal to end.
- Fraction of a second is now rounded down in the time left display. It used to be rounded up. This is a cosmetic change only. It does not affect the accuracy of the timer.
- Added additional application icons for Palm and Linux platforms.
- Added a package supporting the Palm Z22 device as a separate download.
v2.1:
- Added World Universities Debate Championships (a.k.a. Worlds) Parliamentary debate format.
- Fixed bug where prep time seconds to go alerts did not match the check box settings for prep time.
- Added a menu button to the upper left corner of the timer window that activates the menu bar, as an alternative to clicking on the black title bar. It was not immediately obvious to users that there even was a hidden menu bar.
- The tabs at the top of tab panels, such as in the event selection window and the Time Signals dialog, now show the currently selected tab in bold text. This is a new feature from SuperWaba.
- Task navigation buttons now show speeches and tasks that come after the current one in bold text to make them easier to distinguish from speeches that preceded the current one.
- Timer for Impromptu and Extemporaneous speeches continues running without sounding the timeout alarm after time runs out.
- Combined question and answer timing for Extemporaneous into a single 3 minute cross-examination period according to new NFL rules for final rounds.
- Pitch of low tone increased so that the interval between the high and low tones of the timeout alarm are now 2 semitones apart rather than 1 octave apart. Time signal tones also play at the new pitch.
- Added 50 ms gap between successively played tones to make them more distinct.
- Volume of the button beep is reduced.
- GUI for Pocket PC changed to flat style.
- XPlatUtil.pdb has been removed from the Palm release, as it is not needed to run the program.
- On Mac OS X, the application title at the top of the screen is now Timekeeper rather than TimekeeperApplication.
v2.0.2:
This release fixes the bug where prep time signals after the first prep session for a given side would use time signal settings for speeches along with visual cues instead of the settings for prep time.
v2.0.1:
This release includes a critical bug fix for Pocket PCs. The timer was several seconds slow on some devices. It is now correctly synchronized with the device's system clock to keep accurate time.
The "low power" mode has been replaced with a high contrast black on white display mode, because black backgrounds actually consume slightly more power than a white one on most current LCDs.
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