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Wristwatch USB Drive
opwierde writes "For the gadget happy multitude LAKS has made the ultimate wristwatch. It's a USB drive combined with a watch and they've managed to make it look rather nice." (This looks like a nice place to store a persistent homedir to use with Knoppix-MiB ;))
Now my hands can be used for other things! Ohhh wait, 128MB ... hmmm, that's a decent sized porn clip...
Nevermind, there are no new uses for my hands here, sorry.
Cyde Weys Musings - Scrutinizing the inscrutable
i ordered one of these from them over 30 days ago, no watch and no returned emails....anyone get theirs yet?
I purchased my first USB drive a couple of months ago. I love it. As the family and friends 'computer guy'(not to mention work), I'm always fixing this or that on other peoples computers. I keep a collection of utilities on my drive so that I can plug it in and have most everything I need.
Wow. It really is an interesting watch. The usb cord seems to hide inside the wristband. I bet this will making cheating my collage harder when testing in the testing lab. The already check you body and your keychain for usb thumbdrives.
I'm getting one i guess. The 128 meg model is only $93...
No.
If you had scrolled all the way to the bottom of the page, they show where it folds into the wristband. They more than likely showed it with the cord out so you could see that exactly how it worked.
libertarianswag.com
Click on the picture and scroll down and you'll see that it tucks in pretty nicely on the strap.
Nice looking watch
Look at loads of pics from thinkgeek here
www.laks.com
I wonder if I could use this at work...
"Hey, this server's root drive just crashed!"
"No problem, I'll just boot it off my handyh watch here!"
Have EVDO, will travel.
I'd rather carry a floppy in my pocket
Hottie: Is that a floppy in your pocket or are you just happy... hey wait. That is a floppy in your pocket. Like, you're such a nerd! Forget it!
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
Okay now, come on!!!
USB watch, toothbrush, shaver, coffee pot, George Foreman grill...
yet there's one thing every nerd still needs by their computer, a USB Girlfriend!!!
Colossians 2:8
Is it just the pr0n you're suggesting he needs the magnifier for or... um... nevermind.
Why not just add a bit more memory to your phone or Palm Pilot?
Because your phone and PDA can't act as a disk. They're a USB device, not a USB server.
If you don't like the watch, get the keychain. If you don't like the keychain, get the watch.
OK, I have no need for a Palm Pilot, I don't always carry my phone around with me, but I always wear my watch... now if my watch can hold 128Meg of stuff... that's damn handy... I can have useful tools on there, or funny video clips/trailers etc... just very darn cool.
And my thoughts on the look... it's a nice looking watch.
And having a floppy in your pocket is never going to allow you to date 'hotties' now is it?
I think it would be a little strange-looking keeping the watch on your wrist while sticking it next to a USB port. And how the heck are you supposed to type at the same time, especially if the ports are in the back of the computer!? It would be cool if you could auto-sync your watch time by plugging it in though.
I'm going to be the most popular guy in my cubical farm. The babes will be lining up. Fame. Sex. Better gas mileage. All thanks to my new uber-geek watch.
(PS: Sex for one still counts as sex, no?)
---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
I really typed that, and hit submit.
Wow.
A USB Girlfriend? Would that acronym be
Undress Some Baby?
Unsane Serial Bitch?
Unending Soulcrushing Banter?
Unloved Slightly Bloated?
(im going to hell for this)
---- The real Slashdot is still here. You just have to browse at -1 to read the comments.
Made it look nice? With that honking USB connector wrapped around the wrist strap? Why not brand the word "NERD" across your forehead?
Watches from Laks? Smells fish to me...
--Joey
So, the USB cable doesn't come out any further than that? Still a cool toy, but I guess you gotta take the watch off before plugging it into your puter. I'll probally buy one from thinkgeek once they're back in stock.
Ia agree. My USB keychain fob is smaller, less obstrusive, and there are days I simply do not want to wear a watch. My keychain is almost always with me.
Neat gadget, but not nearly as practical as the key drives.
Generally, anything built into fashion is going to be useless at some point. Clothes, accessories, etc are temporary and best suited just to cover us and make us look good. I don't exactly see the Armageddon Bra (bad example, I know but I cant help but mention it) flying off the shelves and anyone wearing those "PDA pockets dockers" just looks silly.
Personally, I'd love to see the USB key drive replace the floppy. Its easy to use, holds tons of data, and is pretty cheap. My Lexar 128 meg drive was $40 after rebate. Plus it would be nice not to be the only guy in the room with one.
When I first saw the watch with the cable sticking out if it, I thought of Batman using it in lieu of something in the batbelt. You know, the Penguin pushes him off the top of a skyscraper and he saves himself by shooting a cord out of his watch and attaching it to a flagpole or something.
Then spiderman finds out and sues him for IP or patent infringement or something.
Huh?
Is this thing waterproof? If so, how deep can it go before it cracks under pressure?
there was a USB-boot option in my BIOS, I would think this a very cool thing.
meh
3 people correct you with almost identical posts, and all 3 are modded as informative.
He's an MCSE. Give him a break.
It's too bad it doesn't have an SD slot in it as that way it wouldn't be limited to 128megs. With an SD slot I could stick a 1gig (coming out in a few months) SD card with Knoppix on it in there and on many new PCs (USB2.0) boot from the watch ready to go with networking, KDE and the whole shebang.
I'd love to see the functionality of one of those keyless entry remote dealies for your car embedded in a decent looking watch. Has anyone ever seen such a thing? A quick google turned up nothing.
...because you can daisy chain 127 of them together.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
While I'd be the first to agree that maybe a radio isn't cool just because it runs Linux, or a watch isn't cool just because it has USB, this tends to be the theme of Slashdot. Certainly, I take it with something of a grain of salt and read other news sources, but I find Slashdot interesting. If you don't like the common topics (like useless gadgetry), then don't read it. If you read for the sake of pointing out things you don't like, you are little more than a troll.
Please befriend me if you don't like idiots.
When you absolutely, positively have to beat off right now, accept no substitutes.
(im going to hell for this)
Only if your girlfriend reads it.
The net will not be what we demand, but what we make it. Build it well.
Sooner than I thought.
Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
If you're going to be storing files on your watch, you might as well listen to music at the same time with one of these.
You can buy one for the low price of $129.99 USD at your local Radioshack.
Not only does it function as a watch, it also plays mp3 files (4 hours of play time on one AAA battery) and stores data (by way of usb mass storage device).
You get a choice of wearing it on the GripClip cradle, wriststrap, or lanyard. Much more convenient than just a watch.
It works without drivers in winXP (or newer, when we get newer) and MacOSX.
Best of all. Because it acts as a USB mass storage device it works under linux. Simply compile in the usb drivers, usb mass storage drivers, FAT files system drivers, and scsi generic drivers and your ready to go (after a simple mount =)
It even includes the AAA battery =)
-this comment would be modded up if I posted it earlier =)
I wouldn't hold my breath for it. Using Bluetooth will require some serious battery power (at least, compared to what is ordinarily put into watches). USB is nice because it can power the device from the host (and perhaps even recharge the watch).
Tsunami -- You can't bring a good wave down!
Where have you been?
(Austin powers voice)
Floppies aren't floppy anymore, they're *hard*, baby. YEAH BABY! YEAH!
You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
There is a lot of hype here.
If your watching porn, you wouldn't have a free hand...
Science will save us. The question is, will it destroy us first?
Two of the following are true:
1) Love slashdot.
2) Push nearly everyone I know in IT to read slashdot.
3) Slashdot is still important.
Unfortunately I'm struggling between #2 and #3.
This post is nothing more than an advert for a 128MB USB wrist watch that has been heavily advertised by www.thinkgeek.com. I've seen half a dozen popular web sites today that mention this watch and -every- one mentions thinkgeek yet somehow slashdot manages to find a "submission" that doesn't.
Odd. Yep. Unlikely. Yeppers.
Still, a neat piece of tech, not nearly worth $100. A 128mb keychain is like $30 and few will care if you're keychain is goofy. They're much more likely to notice the geek watch.
I mean, but your friends will dig it, and that's what matters...
-dameron
What is clock speed...?
1. Why is the cable on the watch and not vice-versa?
2. Why doesn't it use a MicroUSB Connector?
3. Why doesn't it use Bluetooth instead? For that capacity, the lack of speed ain't an issue.
<? include ('signature.inc'); ?>
This is the type of device I'm looking for in a Secure Digital card reader. I can imagine the possibilities, upgradable memory as SD card become larger and cheaper, easy transfer of data between any computer and my Tungsten and best of all I wouldn't have to worry about not having it when I really need it.
1. Why is the cable on the watch and not vice-versa?
That's kind of a metaphysical question isn't? "You cannot bend the spoon..." Actually, I think it would have been amusing if they could have used the USB connector as the catch for the band. Of course it would have to be modified to include a real latching mechanism and not just a friction fit.
2. Why doesn't it use a MicroUSB Connector?
Do you have a MicroUSB connector on your computer? I don't have one on mine (home, work, laptop, etc.) That's probably the reason, though it would be convenient.
3. Why doesn't it use Bluetooth instead? For that capacity, the lack of speed ain't an issue.
For that size, power must be an issue. I'd really rather not have a recharging cradle to put my watch in ever night.
If you're in Germany, you can get one for free! The ISP 1&1 is giving away the 32MB version when you sign up for DSL. The offer ends in a week.
Some features it lists:
Although it doesn't say so, it is the Laks watch that they are offering. Personally, I preferred the combo DSL/ISDN PCI card that 1&1 used to offer.
-- Steve
My left arm and right arm are already taken. I don't have any more arms, you insensitive clod!
Personally I'd rather do without the bundle of pointy keys in my pocket and have everything unlock via a small proximity RFID or similar I could mount on the back of my watch. Hand reaches for lock, door opens. Easy. Why isn't this common? You can get it for cars, why not houses? Keys are pretty nasty things...
"Why is the cable on the watach and not vice-versa?"
Probably because it would feel a lot worse to have a small plastic rounded watch band, and you would then also have to remove the watch to make use of it. If you're a contortionist, you don't have to now.
"Why doesn't it use a MicroUSB Connector?"
Probably because there are already two different small USB implementations, neither of which are on any standard-design PC. Sony desktop computers do not count. It's much more useful if you can plug it into a slot that *every* modern computer has, rather than having to carry an adapter around with you to use it.
"Why doesn't it use Bluetooth instead? For that capacity, the lack of speed ain't an issue."
Power/heat requirements, probably, and possibly due to a lack of widespread adoption of bluetooth on desktop equipment. If you have one that is bluetooth, you need to supply either a reliable way to turn it off, so its not constantly looking for computers to connect to, and you need to have a much better power source than a dime-battery. As with the previous comment about USB, if you can't find a computer that is aready equipped to handle the device, then there really isn't a point to having the device in the first place.
This all being said, it would have been nice if they would have used a different, thinner USB cable, even with that connector, and if they had hidden the connector inside the body of the watch so that it doesn't stand out like it does, but at least they built it in the first place. Hopefully they'll come out with some better ones now.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
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I got one of these myself and it's really nice.
/dev/sda2
/dev/sda
Anyway I wanted to be a bit more sophisticated
and have multiple disk images that I can just
dd to the watch (/dev/sda) as required., rather
than just have the 1 vfat partition on it.
However when you dd a 2 partition disk image to
the watch for e.g. after it's been registered
with having only 1 partition, you can't mount
or do anything with
So you need to get the linux kernel to reread
the partition table, and the handy way to do
this is: blockdev --rereadpt
also the best size to read/write the watch (32MB
version anyway) is: 32k, so to backup the watch
just: dd bs=32k if=/dev/sda of=watch.backup
Well, to whoever did: Thanks!
Warning: Look out!!You were 80% angel, 10% demon. The rest was hard to explain. - Over The Rhine
"Math in a song is good."-Linford
The first 2 1/2 minutes of any movie is the FBI warning message telling you how bad it is to copy the movie. Unless of course you previously copied the movie and removed the FBI message...
From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
The difference is in the shipping. If you go to the LAKS site and set the country to the US, you'll see that it's $93.00 + $42.15 (or euros they're charging the same for both) which brings us to a total of $135.15 including shipping. Now take a look at Think Geek, they charge $119.99 (they had to get it shipped into the country) and another $8.19 for UPS delivery bringing the total to $128.18.
Now which is the better deal?
Conclusion - I'll buy this watch if it can take my lifestyle. Which has some fairly mundane but demanding requirements like cycling home in the rain, fixing my house and my watch getting knocked around a bit, oops, washed my hands and forgot to take my watch off, etc....
You're lucky you were able to fit that much on your arms. My wrists have allready been filled up with this.
No, not really.
Irene KHAAAAAAN!
Remember, 3 1/2" Hard is always better than 5 1/4" Floppy. It's an old bit of nerd party wisdom
-Jason