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Linux on a Wrist Watch?
OnlyNou writes "IBM Develops Prototype of
Wrist Watch Running Linux only a prototype, but it shows big blue has a lot of time on it's hands." The article is pretty vapourous: Its just a press release saying that they've done it. No pictures of linkage, so if anyone finds something informative, please post it. Update by HUNQ: Here is the picture of the watch, and it's DAMN CUTE! (credits goes to Linux Weekly News)
I have not worn a watch since about 1989, and I have never been in a situation where I wished I had one. The need for a timepiece on your wrist is a complete illusion.
I can only assume you never ride public buses.
Please turn off all electronic devices until 10 minutes after takeoff.
Some of us have realized that it is even more productive to not wear a watch at all. Why carry a clock with you everywhere you go when there are clocks everywhere, and you are surrounded by people who wear them as fashion statements.
By not wearing a watch, I actually manage my time better, and I have no temptation to glipse at the time over and over when I am anxious.
I have not worn a watch since about 1989, and I have never been in a situation where I wished I had one. The need for a timepiece on your wrist is a complete illusion.
Watches are shackles, dude. Loose it and you will be happier.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Casual Passerby: "Do you know what time it is?"
Person wearing Linux Watch: "Absolutely not, but I run linux on it."
nerdfarm.org
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
Digital watches have never been fashionable -- I don't think wrist-computers are going to take-off any time in the near (or not-so-near) future.
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"You can't shake the Devil's hand and say you're only kidding."
Seriously, all analog watches can be used as sun compasses. It's a couple of steps, but an interesting trick:
First, hold the watch horizontal. Then, hold something thin over the center of the watch, making a sundial-like shadow. Line this shadow up with 12:00. Now, true North is half way between the hour hand and the shadow. You do need, however, to correct for daylight savings and have the correct time.
Of course, there's always the GPS watch...
This is EXACTLY the point.
Too many companies only do projects to have a product at the end. And then they complain that they are behind or dont have the training to do some other practical project.
Historically the most used inventions were made by mistake. How does anyone expect to create something REALLY good when the outcome is already set in stone.
In 1960s the french actually tried decimal time :)
/hour, 100 seconds /minute, e.g. 5:00:00 is 12:00 noon
It was a good idea, unfortunately it never caught on (of course, here in the US the entire metric system 'never caught on' despite being our official standard for decades now).
I wrote an amusing java applet which is viewable on my homepage, which impliments a kind of "metric time."
10 hours / day, 100 minutes
Actually, it would make more sense in terms of nomenclature to have 1000 seconds / minute, such
that one has hours (decirotations), minutes (millirotations), and seconds (microrotations), e.g. 7:50:000 would be 6:00 PM.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
I can handle a PDA running Linux. I can even handle a calculator running Linux. But a watch? What's next, a Linux powered hearing aid?
Anyone else thinking that IBM just invented the "Really Big Pen"??
;-)
So close and yet so far from the world's perfect ID number
The Palm succeeded because it has an interface more suited for a PDA. A wristwatch is going to need something even more stripped down than that. Strangely enough, a GUI is not what is needed for a watch like this. Pure alphanumeric with a few graphical characters is probably what is needed here. Something for the user interface researchers to work on here. As cute as it is to see the command line on a watch, its not very practical.
To be blunt, a watch is a data display device only. Merging the watch with the pager makes perfect sense and putting your address and appointment book in it. Not sure I'd want to try reading some of my email with it. Maybe just a summary of what is in my PDA through wireless. That is what I really want. A wireless interface between my PDA and my watch to keep the data between them in sync and so I can use my PDA as the data entry device for my watch.
This falls into the Convergence thread we had elsewhere, about ergonomics and why you don't want a device for doing everything. A watch is good for displaying small amounts of text instantly and with minimal controls for wading through it. It also has a convenience factor to it that is unmatched by any other consumer device. You don't want to load too much gadgetry into it and try to make it do too much. You really just want it to be a specialist device among many. Its not there to replace a PDA any more than a PDA replaces a laptop or a laptop replaces a workstation.
IBM is two years behind on this one, playing catchup to the Open/Free Source community again.
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1) Keep your business card on your watch. When you shake hands with someone else wearing a similar watch, it trades business cards.
2) Let your watch talk to your PDA through your body's electric field.
3) Let your watch and your PDA talk to your MP3 player through your body's electric field.
4) Automatically synch your watch, your PDA and your MP3 player when you sit down at your computer (Though I think the protocol was too slow to download MP3s last time I read about it.)
Down sides:
1) Your body, PDA, Watch and MP3 player would have to run Lotus Notes.
2) If you want to run the latest thing from Lotus, you'd have to be running Windows.
3) Who knows what your watch, PDA and MP3 player are REALLY talking about? They could be conspiring to kill you!
4) They'll recruit your computer in their evil plot when you sit down at your computer. They might even have a chat with your car on the topic.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Multi-tasking: "Look honey! I'm telling the hours AND the minutes simultaneously!"
Journaling Filesystem: If my watch goes down, I won't lose my other timezone settings.
Scriptability: No more trying to figure out what watch band hole to use. Just setup a cron job to periodically ioctl(IOTIGHTEN, "/dev/band").
Multi-user: My friend can tell the time while I'm busy using the stopwatch.
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Linux MAPI Server!
http://www.openone.com/software/MailOne/
(Exchange Migration HOWTO coming soon)
What's next, a Linux powered hearing aid?
Sure - only it's one with voice recognition, speach synthesis, and a wireless link to babelfish...! You laugh... give it 20 years, max.
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Don't think for a second that this is merely a pointless gimmick - it's a necessary component for truly Free Time.
No longer will we need to be tied down by vendor-proprietrary time: the ability to hack time to our own open source, GPL'd, and entirely bizarre standards.
"You're five minutes late."
"Not by my watch, you whore of Casio! I'm 37 chimpanzees early, for insert-deity-here's sake!"
"Foiled again! Damn you and your Free Time!"
We already knew this, but hey! This can easily refute the people who say that Linux isn't downward scaleable. "Hey, see my watch? It runs Linux! How's THAT for downward scaling?"
However, IBM does not have plans to commercialize the Linux watch itself, a spokeswoman said.
That's a very smart move. Anyone remember the Timex Data-Link watch? I'm not sure I totally buy this as research, though - because if you back up a bit:
``Designed to communicate wirelessly with PCs, cell phones and other wireless-enabled devices, the 'smart watch' will have the ability to view condensed email messages and directly receive pager-like messages,'' IBM said in a statement.
Erm, all of this for "research"? Sounds like a marketable product to me....but again: "IBM, REMEMBER THE DATA-LINK?"
Linux, which was developed by Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds, is used for many basic functions of Web sites, but is not yet considered mature enough for heavier business tasks.
It's not? Well jeez, I guess the millions of businesses that run Linux exclusively aren't considered 'Heavy.' Those Corporate Internet Solutions Providers are going to be disturbed to hear they aren't considered a "Heavy Business Task", and that their Linux infrastructure is only handling the "basic functions" of their operation.
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon? :P)
(If you can't figure out how to E-Mail me, Don't.
I think a lot of people are jealous of the engineers at IBM (I know I am), because they get to sit around and get paid huge amounts of money just to screw around and try new stuff. If only the rest of us could be as lucky...
I can just imagine the staff meetings:
Engineer 1: Did you taste the coffee this morning? It was horrible...
Engineer 2: Yeah, maybe we should throw Linux on the coffee maker and see if that helps
Manager: Sounds good to me. Do it. And if you get it to make a mocha, I'll give you a bonus.
Do you have Linux and a DotPal? Click here now!
"No problem, hold a a sec" (types in the following):
[root@localhost]$ date
[root@localhost]$ Mon Aug 7 10:44:49 EDT 2000
"It's 10:44"
"Thanks"
---------------------------------
"We're sorry, but the website you're trying to reach has been disconnected."
http://lwn.net/daily/linuxwatch_pen.php3
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Infuriate left and right
Linux Journal had an article about GNU/Linux on a wristwatch with videoconferencing last month, here is a link to the appropriate month with a picture of the watch on the cover even!
http://www2.linuxjournal. com/lj-issues/issue75/index.html
Linux in a box,
Linux under rocks,
Linux in a watch,
Linux in your cr*tch,
Linux in your hair,
Linux everywhere.
Everywhere, we don't care,
We'll shove Linux everywhere.
[Disclaimer: I truly support what Linux, GNU, the Open Source community, et. al. are trying to do, but gimicks are not the way. Please, think before you stick something into a random hole]
-={(Astynax)}=-
-={(Astynax)}=-
"Darkness beyond Twilight"
...because i need a multi-user operating system on my wrist.
wish
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Redmond, WA - Microsoft today announced the release of Microsoft Time 2000. This updated version of their popular package incorporates 6 all new hours into the day.
The US DoJ slammed microsofts innovation claiming it was an attempt to force their competitors 24 hour system out of use. MS would not speak to us directly but did issue the following statement:
We are not trying to force anyone out of business but are merely trying to cater for customer demand. Our users wanted more time in the day to surf the internet and drink beer so understandably we have built this into our product.
Industry Analysts fear customers will be taken in by the microsoft hype and are warning that unless you clock is sufficiently powerful then you will find that time runs too slowly to be useful.
press any key to clear the tiny seti-at-hand screen saver.
Bob.
How many of you people actually read these articles? Because it's obvious you're not getting the full story. Let me enlighten you:
In other words...get over it, guys. Sorry, no linux watch for you. Not from IBM, anyway.
And as for Mr. "No good will come of this" (my third link) -- Judging from Takako's comment, I'd say this will help a lot more than it can harm. After all, if Linux can be scaled down to fit on a wristwatch, it can obviously be used for [insert name of portable device here].
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"I personal[ly] think Unix is "superior" because on LSD it tastes like Blue." -- jbarnett
"Excuse me, do you have the time?
"Yeah, sure. It's..."
[root@localhost]# time
0.0u 0.0s 0:00 5% 0+388k 0+0io 0pf+0w
"Oh $#!&@!"
[root@localhost]# date
Mon Aug 7 17:50:22 UDT 2000
"Uh, it's 17:50... which I think is 3:50 PM, oh shit... then you need to subtract the difference between Pacific Time and Universal Mean Time, which is.... wait. Is it Daylight savings? Oh, ok... then you subtract 8 hours from Universal time, which means it's 7:50 AM... yes. It's 7:50 AM, ma'am!"
"Uh, thanks..." (slowly backs away)
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."