Use Phone to Shut Down System

Some of my mates here opine that there is nothing more trivial than a system shutdown piece of software. They say that in the case of this type of software developers have beaten every logical path and covered all they needed and wanted. Indeed, there are such programs that are capable of performing shutdown, reboot, logoff, stand-by, hibernate and even wake-on-LAN (if the feature is enabled) actions, and then some; they even give you the possibility to set alarms, enable warning messages, turn off/on the monitor, lock the computer or run a user-defined program.

My favorite such application is PowerOff, a very light piece of software that comes in portable flavor as well, and which, despite being discontinued for some time now, still works like a charm on Vista and Windows 7. It is free and the developer makes available the source if you feel up to the challenge of improving it (if that's even possible).

However, it seems like Reohix has come up with a new standard for this sort of apps and has adapted it to the new technology largely available to the users. Sleep Moon Xpress is a freebie designed for simple tasks like shutting down the computer, logging off Windows, getting system in stand-by, hibernation, running a specified file or sounding an alarm.

Up to now there is nothing special about it, but the means you can do all of the above are absolutely a premiere for this type of software. Besides scheduling manually the actions to take place at a desired time and date, Sleep Moon Xpress also provides the possibility to activate them via sound, send the command to the computer through your phone's Bluetooth or use the WLAN to convey the message. These three methods allow you control over the supported actions remotely, with the least effort. Of course, if you want to try all three channels, a microphone, a Bluetooth adapter and a wireless adapter are absolute musts.

The main application window is so easy to use that a single look and a few clicks are all you need to make your way to the right configuration. All supported commands are available in plain view, all selectable from a drop-down menu in the upper part of the screen. Depending on the command you choose, the app will unfold supplementary settings, like in the case of running a user-specified file, choosing the wake-up alarm or displaying a notification on the desktop screen.

Scheduling is available and, unlike other programs of the same feather, Sleep Moon Xpress adds to the classic time and date option the possibility to monitor the download and upload speed. When the user-set threshold is reached, the program will set loose the command. It will also display the current download and upload speeds in real time.

From the more special commands that feature additional settings there is the one that permits you to schedule running a file of your choice. What is special about this feat is that you are allowed to test it before applying it. The “Test” button will actually perform the launch so that the exact behavior is subjected to your attention before the scheduled time.

The second feature-supporting command in the application is sounding an alarm. Again, testing is possible, but more interesting are the presets available. These include alarm, a police siren, a nuclear siren, funky drums beating, the classic and modern alarms and a cuckoo clock. There is also the possibility to go with a file of your own, as long as it is a WAV or an MP3. Stopping it requires a single click on one of the two options displayed in the middle of the desktop screen that provide alarm dismissing and snooze alternatives.

Notification display sports the fields for the title window and the actual text to be shown when demanded. Unfortunately this little option in the software did not work during our testing and, even more, it caused the application to crash and terminated its process. Further testing led to the conclusion that this bug perpetrated regardless of the method used to invoke the command.

A different way to activate the commands supported in Sleep Moon Xpress is sound activation. This means that if the noise is above a user-set limit it can trigger the automatic action. Despite the pompous naming, the Sound Activation Console doesn't require special skills to configure. First you have to perform a normalization of the background noise (establish the regular noise level of the environment you’re using the software in). Noise level normalization takes less than a minute and a half and in the meantime the racketing in the room must be absolutely normal so that the software can determine the regular amount of decibels in the environment.

You, in turn, have to set the noise limit above which the application has to react and run the specified command. More settings include defining the number of triggers beyond which the application will no longer respond to noise above user-set level. Once the defined number of triggers has expired, Sleep Moon Xpress will become immune to the elevated number of decibels.

If the Sound Activation Console is unusual for this kind of software, then the Wireless Technologies section will blow your mind. The options here permit remote commanding your system to take a specific action triggered by a Bluetooth-enabled phone or one you can connect to the local network.

WTP Mobile Technology is the one responsible for making possible a remote connection to your computer from any WAP-enabled mobile phone and triggering the pre-selected action. There is nothing fancy about it and all you need to do is enable WTP Mobile Technology on your computer by simply ticking a checkbox. We tested this feature by connecting both devices (computer and mobile phone) to our WLAN. Needless to say that all the commands were carried out with no trouble, save for the notification display one, which always caused the termination of the Sleep Moon Xpress process.

The “miracle” happens as soon as you type your computer's IP address in your mobile phone's web browser. You will receive a confirmation message, and next thing you know is that the computer acts in accordance to the predefined command in the main window.

If Bluetooth is your thing, Sleep Moon Xpress provides a way to remote control your PC this way. However, this method requires a bit more time and effort on your part to reach the desired result. BlueActiv Technology needs to be enabled, which is no big deal (a tick on a checkbox and you're through). What you have to do next is pair the two devices together and set the Bluetooth on the computer to accept the connection from your phone, no questions asked.

As soon as this is achieved you can start sending the commands you want your PC to follow. This can be done by sending a file with one of the supported extensions (JPG, GIF, TXT or BMP) to the computer. The file has to have the name of the command you want to be executed. Sure, it also has to be saved by default to a folder Sleep Moon Xpress monitors and this can be set from the software and the Bluetooth settings.

If you do not want to send a real file from your phone, simply have an image named after the supported commands and, according to the help file and our tests, the naming should be: Alarm, Shutdown, Run, Standby, Restart, Logoff and Hibernate, with any of the five extensions mentioned earlier. In this case the application can be used to run only eight of the nine commands supported, leaving notification display aside.

Sleep Moon Xpress does a great job with all the functions it includes, offering innovative ways to control your computer. The application is filled with alternatives to performing an action the regular way: manual setting of the time and date. It makes available possibilities to send the command the moment a certain upload/download limit has been reached, via sounds in the room or remotely, with your mobile phone via wireless technology (Bluetooth or WLAN).

But there is a downside, which shows some bugs in this new version. “Display A Notification” automatic command for instance did not work in our case and when invoking it the application always crashed and terminated itself. Also, if WTP Mobile Reaction is enabled, at the next launch of the application the technology will be disabled. And only for WTP, as BlueActiv preserved our settings.

The Good

The Bad

The Truth