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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the story of the company?

The first time we realize we need a different kind of reminders other than provided by Outlook calendar and Google calendar is when we are in the middle of developing and testing The Options Lab..

Active options trading by nature follows certain patterns that are often time based. For example, monthly options for stock and ETFs always expire at same time on the third Friday of each month. Weekly options expire every Friday.

Our trading strategies are based on catalysts which use companies' earning reports and government's economic reports as triggers. Majority of those reports are also time based. For example, non-farm payroll reports, Fed meetings are scheduled months even years ahead. The release dates for a company's quarterly earning are usually available weeks ahead. Most of our options strategies are designed around those dates. Time element is not only an integral part of our strategy inputs, but also a part of our trade constructions. A time-based entry and exit is every bit as important as a price-based entry and exit.

While those important dates can be added in a calendar ahead of events, they still need to be associated with actual trading in a meaningful way. An effective reminder can be thought as a link between a plan and an action.

Reminders that distinguish themselves based on only different tunes of sounds are only able to do a perfunctory job they are unable to tell what events are actually about. Upon hearing the sounds, professionals have to look up calendar to find out what events are.

We believe an ideal reminder shall meet following requirements:

  • A reminder shall not distract professionals from what they are doing at the moment.
  • A reminder shall relieve the burden of having to memorize all the upcoming events at beginning of the day.
  • A reminder shall be able to summarize upcoming events in a concise manner.
  • A reminder shall require minimum or no configuration rather than initial installation.
  • A reminder shall behave as an invisible personal assistant who shows only when the moment comes, not a minute before.
With those requirements in mind, we came up with the idea, created the product then establish the company.

What is the application?

The application is a browser extension that can be installed to popular browsers such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.

How to install the extension?

Go to home page of this website. Click on the "DOWNLOAD" button. This will take you to the extension's landing page in Google Web Store. Click on the button "Add to Chrome", then "Add extension". This will install the extension to a browser.

How to use the extension?

Once installed, first pin the extension to a broswer's menu bar. In order to do this, click on the puzzle piece icon in the browser menu near upper right corner. Find the extension "Talking Calendar Reminder" in the dropdown, click on the Pin icon near the extension. The extension's icon will now be displayed in the menu bar.

Next click on the icon. An window named "Talking Calendar Reminder" will be displayed. If you haven't already logged to your Google and/or Microsoft Outlook account, two more windows will also be showing, asking you to choose an outlook account and a google account.

If this is the first time for the selected Google and/or Microsoft account to use the extension, consent windows will also be shown after you choose and sign in your Google and/or Microsoft accounts.

How do I hear the reminders?

Once the extension window is open and you signe in and give consent, all that requires is make sure the your computer's sound system is not muted. The extension will pick up any meetings from Google Calendar and/or Microsoft Outlook Calendar automatically and speak reminders when time comes.

How many reminders are for each meeting event?

Reminders are announced 15, 10 and 5 minutes before a meeting starts and when a meeting starts.

How to configure reminders?

All four reminders ( 15, 10, 5 minutes and now ) are enabled by default as indicated by the four blue squares at the top of window. Each blue square indicates one reminder. Starting from top left square, going clock wise, they are 15 minutes reminder, 10 minutes reminder, 5 minutes reminder and now reminder. To disable a reminder, just click on it. Blue means "on", gray means "off". For example, to disable the 5 minute reminder, click on the lower right square. to disable the 10 minute reminder, click on the top right square. The configuration applies to all events in both Outlook calendar and Google calenders. Any changes will only be effective for new meetings.

How to mute the sound of the reminders?

Reminders can be muted by clicking on the speaker icon in the top of window. This will mute the sound of reminders.

How to turn off the reminders?

Reminders can be turned off by closing the window. Once window is closed, no reminders will be created or announced and all accesses granted to the extension will be stopped.

How to uninstall the extension?

There are two ways to uninstall the extension. One is by right click on the extension's icon in browser menu bar, then select "Remove from Chrome...". The other one is by clicking on the puzzle piece icon in the browser menu near upper right corner, find the extension, click on the three dots, then select "Remove from Chrome...". Once removed, all accesses and permissions granted to the extension will be revoked.

What browsers are supported?

The extension is supported by both Google Chrome browser and Microsoft Edge browser. To install the extension in Microsoft Edge browser, please also download it from Google Web Store and follow the same steps as outlined previously.

Do I need install the extension again if I use a different computer?

If you logged with the same google account and have sync feature turned on, the extension will automatically show up in the browser menu bar. Otherwise, you will have to install it by following the same steps as outlined previously.

What if I don't have an Outlook account and/or Google account ?

Click on the round button behind Outlook Calendar if you don't have an Outlook account. Click on the round button behind Google Calendar if you don't have an Google account. When the round button turns to light green, the extension will stop reading the selected calendar. When the round button turns to blue circle, the extension will start reading the selected calendar. When a calendar is turned off, reminders for any meeting events that have already been read will still play. They cannot be stopped unless the extension window is closed. Both Outlook calendar and Google calendar are turned on when extension window open initially.

What data does the extension use?

The extension reads calendar and calendar event data, along with user's first name and last name, also the email addresses used for Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook Calendar. Please also refer to Privacy Policy page if you have more questions or concerns.

What other application does your team also develop?

Our team are also the proud developers of  The Options Lab. The Options Lab is a cloud-based software for options strategy analysis.

This FAQ was last modified on Aug 7, 2021

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