Need a gentle, spoken reminder that yet another hour has ticked away? If you’re a Mac user, your system has its own, built-in speaking clock that will read you the time every hour, on the hour—or the half hour, or even quarter hour.

No, it’s not exactly like the late, lamented “time lady” (“Good morning! At the sound of the tone…”), but it’s close.

Here’s how to turn it on:

You can select from dozens of voices—or even languages—from the System Preferences window.

• First, you need to open the Mac’s System Preferences control panel. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the page, then select “System Preferences.”
• Next, find the System section near the bottom, then click the “Date & Time” icon.
• At the top of the next screen, select the “Clock” tab, then click the “Announce the time” checkbox.
• You can have the Mac’s computerized voice announce the time on the hour, on the half hour, or the quarter hour; just select the option you want from the nearby pull-down menu.
• Want to change the voice that reads off the time? Click the Customize Voice button to choose from dozens of different male and female voices. Six pre-loaded options are available in the “Voice” pull-down menu, or select “Customize” to download a voice that speaks with an accent, or even in a different language. (I ended up going with “Serena” from the United Kingdom.)
• Once you’ve picked a voice you like, go ahead and close the System Preferences window—and try not to jump out of your chair when out of nowhere, your Mac says, “It’s 10:30.”

Looking for more Mac tips? Click here!