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Ask Slashdot: What's The Most Useful 'Nerd Watch' Today?
He's worn the same watch for two decades, but now Slashdot reader students wants a new one. For about 20 years I've used Casio Databank 150 watches. They were handy because they kept track of my schedule and the current time. They were very cheap. They required very little maintenance, since the battery lasts more than a year and the bands last even longer. Since they were waterproof, I don't even have to take them off (or remember where I put them!) They were completely immune to malicious software, surveillance, and advertising. However, their waterproof gaskets have worn out so they no longer work for me. Casio no longer makes them or any comparable product (their website is out of date).
Today's watches include everything from heart rate monitors to TV remote controls, and Casio even plans to release a new version of their Android Wear watch with a low-power GPS chip and mapping software. But what's your best suggestion? "I don't want a watch that duplicates the function of my cell phone or computer," adds the original submission -- so leave your best answers in the comments. What's the most useful nerd watch today?
Today's watches include everything from heart rate monitors to TV remote controls, and Casio even plans to release a new version of their Android Wear watch with a low-power GPS chip and mapping software. But what's your best suggestion? "I don't want a watch that duplicates the function of my cell phone or computer," adds the original submission -- so leave your best answers in the comments. What's the most useful nerd watch today?
Star Trek sites? /.?
Reddit?
Pornhub?
Prove anything by multiplying Huge Number times Tiny Number
Go to your local Wal-Mart (or equivalent). Buy one of their digital watches. It'll probably be in the $10-$20 range. It'll tell time just fine. It'll likely also tell the date. It's even rare to find low-end digital watches without alarm and stopwatch functionality. It'll likely be water resistant to a reasonable depth, too.
There's no need for modern "smart watches" and all of the nonsensical features they include. Why the hell would I want a step-counting watch that ends up being off by a factor of 3 to 5 times? Why would I want a watch that tracks my every move and sends it off to "the cloud", where this information probably ends up in the hands of advertisers?
It makes even less sense to spend hundreds of dollars on some fancy watch. Embedded diamonds and gold crowns don't make them tell time any better than dirt-cheap watches! Besides, then they make you a target for thieves and other petty criminals. Even in the best circumstances, wearing such a watch will often make people think you're some kind of a prick who over-charges for whatever service you provide.
The cheapest watches around are the only sensible option.
http://gizmodo.com/5795554/peo...
I tried an Apple Watch for a while, to find out what the fuss is about (a more or less work related activity). They are useful for certain things, convenient for others, but in the end I found the bother of having to wear it (and charge it every night) to outweigh its usefulness. But that's just me. I wouldn't call them too expensive for what they do, but too expensive for their expected lifetime. If they'd commit to one or a few case form factors, sell a variety of cases ranging from cheap to luxurious, and let us swap out the electronics every few years for a modest price, then they'd make more sense financially.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
The Pebble Time does pretty much all the cool things, without a fiddly touchscreen, and with a battery that lasts longer than all other smart watches I've looked at. A shame, then, that the price must have gone through the roof since the Fitbit buyout.
You shouldn't have any trouble finding a watchmaker to repair your existing watch. A waterproof gasket is an easy fix. I wouldn't suggest doing it yourself only because tiny parts tend to fall out when you don't know how to open it.
I have an Apple Watch and love it, but won't try to convince anyone here that it's the best (which I wouldn't know) but rather want to share how I use it:
- I bought it because I work at cafes and was tired of taking my phone out of my pocket to check notifications. It serves that purpose rather well.
- I use it a lot to set reminders with Siri. "Hey Siri, remind me to hang the clothes to dry in two hours", etc. I now try to avoid having to keep track of small things doing it "the cyborg way". In fact I just used it to set a timer for my tea. Siri supports some more surprising things (while listening to a podcast interview I said "Hey Siri, show me pictures of X (the person being interviewed)" and the face appeared on the watch) but I don't always realize I can use it for those.
- I often use voice dictation to reply to messages when walking around. I even picked up phone calls Dick Tracy style a couple of times when the phone was a couple of meters away.
- I use it to navigate with the maps when walking. I don't drive, but it's possibly useful that way as well. When walking long distances it's better to have the notification to turn around the corner on the wrist than on the phone in your pocket.
- I use it to track my hearbeat during trainings. It has a podometer function as well that stores the distance walked in the health app on iOS.
- I have the current temperature on the watch's face and tapping on that opens the forecast. I use that a lot.
- I didn't expect this feature, but it suggests standing up and moving around a bit for at least a minute every hour... and I love it. It's a very small thing, but helpful for us who work sitting down.
- When you charge it and set it on its side it becomes a bedside clock. I use that to wake up in the morning.
- The flashiest thing it does is acting as a remote of the iPhone camera, with a live video feed and all... it's handy to get group shots without setting the timer and running away into place.
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