By Andrew Liszewski

I’ll admit I’ve always had a passion for high-tech watches and it’s mostly because I don’t see a reason for wearing one unless it does something more than just tell time. So as someone who grew up in the late 70’s and early 80’s and saw the evolution of the digital watch first hand I highly recommend the Nerd Watch Museum for a small dose of nostalgia.

The collection appears to date back as far as 1977 and goes all the way through the 80’s up until the late 90’s. Just keep in mind you’re not going to find any Rolex or Tag Heuer models here. No I’m afraid this is the domain of companies like Casio, Citizen, CompuChron, Texas Instruments and Seiko. (Plus plenty of knock-off brands as well.) In fact there’s a section dedicated specifically to calculator watches which I guess is as ‘nerdy’ as you can get. I particularly like the attempts to cram all the functionality of a scientific calculator into something as small as a wrist watch which usually led to the individual buttons being about the size of a pin head. Clearly a case where functionality had a higher priority over form, and even usability.

[ The Nerd Watch Museum ]

Nostalgia, Watches

By Andrew Liszewski

Like with watches there’s really no reason to buy a standalone clock these days unless it’s for reasons of fashion or design. So it’s no surprise we’re seeing more and more clocks that push form over functionality, like this ZER00:00 clock for example. Created by WAT from the Netherlands it’s as minimal as a digital clock can possibly get since it’s comprised of only a circuit board and a basic 4 character LCD display.

In fact it doesn’t even include a way to stand on its own and instead relies on a 9-volt battery connected to the back to remain upright. And while I don’t see any buttons I assume there has to be at least one somewhere on the clock for setting the time. (FYI it doesn’t include any date functions.)

The ZER00:00 Digital Clock is available from Charles & Marie for a very unminimalistic price of $40. But at least you have the choice of either a butterfly or tree branch design on the front.

[ ZER00:00 Digital Clock ]

Clocks, Design

By Ryan Nill

[ I’m hiding this one after the jump, less I spend the entire day responding to hate mail over auto-playing music. -Ed. ]

You might want to turn your sound down (or even off) for this one, folks. [Don’t bother unless you read the full article. -Ed.] The uniqlock Interpretive dance clock tells time online via 5 second bursts of highly confusing dance. Also comes included an exceedingly catchy tune. It is both free and highly entertaining. Performance art never looked like so much fun. You can also insert it into your site.

Hit the jump to see what we’re talking about.

[ Uniqlo ] VIA [ redferret ]

Online Services

By Evan Ackerman

The last time a major corporation tried mixing oil and water, the results weren’t nearly as pretty as this prototype display from LG Philips. Typical E-Ink displays use organic light emitting diodes and are expensive to produce, but LG Philips has patented a method of making pixels out of itty bitty plastic cells containing oil and water over a colored background. Normally, the opaque oil floats over the water, obscuring the color. When an electric current is applied, the oil moves out of the way, revealing the color underneath. Cheap to produce? Check. Colorful? Check. Flexible? Check. There isn’t any information about the refresh rate, power consumption, or pixel size of this new technology, but hey, at least it’s otter friendly.

[ Flexible Display Patent Application ] VIA [ New Scientist ]

Displays

Great for all devices, on airplanes, trains, long trips or just chillen

Great for all devices, on airplanes, trains, long trips or just chillen

The superb-sounding ALTEC LANSING AHP 712i headphones with Active Noise Reduction are ideal for the traveler, anyone in noisy enviroments or those of you (lite me) who just like to kick back and relax. The AHP 712i features “Active Noise Reductin Technology” which uses small microphones to listen to ambient sounds and special circuity to create a sound wave 180 degreed out of phase from the ambient sounds. In English when the sound passes through the headphones it reduces outside noises which allow you to focus on your music, movies or games. Compatible with all iPods, MP3 or CD players, stereos, etc. Foldable design is made for easy in carrying bag which is included. Retails between $99.99 and $129.99 plus shipping. THING FLING price is $ 37.95 and shipping is free.

Remeber, at Thing Fling it’s not a deal ———- It’s a steal!!!

Price: $37.95

Quantity Left:3

Condition: Brand New

Brand: Altec Lansing

UPC: 021986950691

Model: AHP712I

Specifications:

• Digital Noise cancellation technology
• Comfortable
• Foldable
• Superior Audio
• Connection: 3.5 mm plug
• Frequency response: 20 Hz - 20KHz
• Impedance: 32 ohm
• Noise reduction:19 dB from 40 Hz - 12 KHz

Insight Communications and Winstream are engaged in triple play price combat in the Kentucky market. Insight is offering a “$40-$30-$25″ plan, which offers cable for $40, 10Mbps broadband for $30 and VoIP for $25, according to local news outlets. Windstream has responded with bundles of their own — the lowest starting at $69.97.

att=1195390,r The longevity of Insight’s offer is dubious, given that the company seems close to selling their remaining 639,000 Kentucky customers for $3 billion. Of course, 684,000 Insight customers will become Comcast customers on January first of 2008 (see details), a process the company insists will be seamless.

If you listen, you can hear Los Angeles Time Warner Cable customers (who just got done with a much larger transition of their own) saying “Yeah, right.”
12 comment(s)

Insight Communications and Winstream are engaged in triple play price combat in the Kentucky market. Insight is offering a “$40-$30-$25″ plan, which offers cable for $40, 10Mbps broadband for $30 and VoIP for $25, according to local news outlets. Windstream has responded with bundles of their own — the lowest starting at $69.97.

att=1195390,r The longevity of Insight’s offer is dubious, given that the company seems close to selling their remaining 639,000 Kentucky customers for $3 billion. Of course, 684,000 Insight customers will become Comcast customers on January first of 2008 (see details), a process the company insists will be seamless.

If you listen, you can hear Los Angeles Time Warner Cable customers (who just got done with a much larger transition of their own) saying “Yeah, right.”
12 comment(s)

A month or so ago, there was a wave of negative publicity for municipal Wi-Fi, as the mainstream press (and some towns) realized that simply throwing Wi-Fi access points around a city doesn’t automatically create utopia. A month later finds some analysis noting that yes, citywide Wi-Fi has problems, but deployments have been greatly helped if you know what the hell you’re doing and what your city needs: bquote “Wi-Fi is working in the areas where they did thorough needs assessment, aligning the technology with the needs of the end user, Settles said. Whether the network was for the government, for economic development or for general purpose, the first step was clearly defining where the needs were going to be and the paybacks.” /bquote
7 comment(s)

A month or so ago, there was a wave of negative publicity for municipal Wi-Fi, as the mainstream press (and some towns) realized that simply throwing Wi-Fi access points around a city doesn’t automatically create utopia. A month later finds some analysis noting that yes, citywide Wi-Fi has problems, but deployments have been greatly helped if you know what the hell you’re doing and what your city needs: bquote “Wi-Fi is working in the areas where they did thorough needs assessment, aligning the technology with the needs of the end user, Settles said. Whether the network was for the government, for economic development or for general purpose, the first step was clearly defining where the needs were going to be and the paybacks.” /bquote
7 comment(s)

Mobile Jones sits down and calculates how much users actually pay wireless providers for bandwidth used for SMS (text messages), and it isn’t pretty. They calculate that one SMS character equals one byte&#46 If there are 1024 x 1024 or 1,048,576 bytes in 1MB, then there are 6,553.6 SMS messages in 1MB of data. att=1195347,r

AT&T charges a $.15 send and a $.15 receive charge per message, while Verizon and Sprint charge $.10 per message, with some variations depending on plan. Assuming you’re using all 160 characters (which u don’t k thx), the site throws out some garish numbers — even for people on special SMS plans.

AT&T charges $983.04 per 1MB of message data for domestic SMS and $1310.72 per 1MB for international SMS. Verizon charges $655.36 per 1MB of domestic data and $983.04 per 1MB if you’re texting someone on another carrier. They then charge $1,638.40 per 1MB of message data for international SMS.
63 comment(s)

Mobile Jones sits down and calculates how much users actually pay wireless providers for bandwidth used for SMS (text messages), and it isn’t pretty. They calculate that one SMS character equals one byte&#46 If there are 1024 x 1024 or 1,048,576 bytes in 1MB, then there are 6,553.6 SMS messages in 1MB of data. att=1195347,r

AT&T charges a $.15 send and a $.15 receive charge per message, while Verizon and Sprint charge $.10 per message, with some variations depending on plan. Assuming you’re using all 160 characters (which u don’t k thx), the site throws out some garish numbers — even for people on special SMS plans.

AT&T charges $983.04 per 1MB of message data for domestic SMS and $1310.72 per 1MB for international SMS. Verizon charges $655.36 per 1MB of domestic data and $983.04 per 1MB if you’re texting someone on another carrier. They then charge $1,638.40 per 1MB of message data for international SMS.
63 comment(s)

You may want fiber, but rising copper prices continue to make the metal a prime target for thieves, who have started stealing it wherever they can (sometimes with dire consequences). In many cases, thieves have been ripping live telephone wires directly from poles: att=1195333,r bquote More than 1,000 feet of copper cable was stripped from Verizon Northwest poles in the Bald Peak area northwest of Newberg earlier this week, leaving 149 households temporarily without phone service. Thieves working during the night used a vehicle to pull cable loose from two poles, and the tension snapped a third pole off at the base (emphasis added). /bquote Copper is now bringing in more than $3 a pound on the scrap market. In order to reduce related phone and Internet outages, AT&T has started offering rewards for tips leading to the arrest of copper thieves.
92 comment(s)

You may want fiber, but rising copper prices continue to make the metal a prime target for thieves, who have started stealing it wherever they can (sometimes with dire consequences). In many cases, thieves have been ripping live telephone wires directly from poles: att=1195333,r bquote More than 1,000 feet of copper cable was stripped from Verizon Northwest poles in the Bald Peak area northwest of Newberg earlier this week, leaving 149 households temporarily without phone service. Thieves working during the night used a vehicle to pull cable loose from two poles, and the tension snapped a third pole off at the base (emphasis added). /bquote Copper is now bringing in more than $3 a pound on the scrap market. In order to reduce related phone and Internet outages, AT&T has started offering rewards for tips leading to the arrest of copper thieves.
92 comment(s)

You’ll never have to worry about running out of power while using your iCarPlay Wireless.

Easy one-button FM channel selection with eight available channels / Smart Digital Charger for fast iPod charges and maximum battery life

Monster Cable iCarPlay Wireless FM Transmitter for iPod w/ DockConnect AIPFM-CH-PS - With Monster iCarPlay Wireless for iPod you can tune in and power up on the road. Simply plug the iCarPlay Wireless Charger end into the 12v outlet (cigarette lighter) in your car and plug the other end into the dock connector on the bottom of your iPod. Select an FM station on the iCarPlay Wireless, and find the same station on your car stereo; pick your favorite song on your iPod and you’re ready to roll. Your Music transmits wirelessly to your car stereo using FM radio frequencies. Monster Smart Digital Charging technology rapidly charges your iPod, and then switches to a trickle charge to optimize its performance. You’ll never have to worry about running out of power while using your iCarPlay Wireless.

Retails between $55.99 plus shipping and $89.99 on the web.

Thing Fling LOWER PRICE is $24.99.

Remember, at THING FLING its not a deal —– It’s a STEAL!

Price: $24.99

Quantity Left:21

Condition: Brand New

Brand: Monster Cable

UPC: 050644387531

Model: 125063

Specifications:

$Specs

NEC and Hitachi have collaborated on a joint project to release an almost silent hard disk drive.  Their system incorporates a water cooling system that cools both the CPU and the hard disk.  What is more, the hard disk is wrapped in a sound absorbing, vibration proof material.  In combination with the water, this renders most of the hard disk sounds inaudible.

One great application for this is in home theater PCs, eliminating the noise of the CPU fan and the HDD with one fell swoop is great.  There are plenty of silent solutions to cover video cards, not to mention a new range of fairly impressive passively cooled systems.  With a silent hard disk, it is now possible to better integrate the PC into the home theater.  No word on price yet, this is apparently only going to be in finished systems for the time being at least.  Never fear, however, the technology is sure to make its way to the market in one form or another.  Be patient and there are sure to be a few solutions for the home builder.

Source: Yahoo! Japan, TG Daily