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posted by martyb on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-that-time-again dept.

I came across a wooden word watch on kickstarter. I like the concept and the approach this chap took (see also Imgur post on building this watch).

I have little more to add except that it felt like the kind of thing I'd love to see on SN, so here you go. I am not involved with this in any way and am (currently) not even backing this. But I just thought it was a cool story about engineering, and I figured it'd be appreciated. I am also kind of hoping some of the reactions will point out similarly cool small tech projects, so please do respond in the comments with your own SoyVertisements of cool, independent projects!


[Ed Note: We occasionally receive self-promoting story submissions. These are quickly noted as 'bin spam' and unceremoniously passed over for use on the site. (You can well imagine what would happen to the submissions queue were we to do otherwise!) This submission does not seem to fall into that category, but it does nudge up against it. The tipping point for my accepting this story is based on three factors. The submitter has been with the site since nearly its inception. (Submissions from ACs and newly-created-accounts just for submitting a self-promoting story will continue to be looked at very askance.) Another factor is the submitter receives no remuneration or benefit from the submission. Lastly, the item in question does look interesting to me and I think it would be of interest to the community. So, if you do [not] want to see more stories like this, on occasion, please indicate so in the comments. Also, any suggestions as to factors to use to assess these kinds of submissions for acceptance are also appreciated. --martyb]


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  • (Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:08AM (1 child)

    by Nerdfest (80) on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:08AM (#558258)

    Just by coincidence (probably), I saw this watch on my Google+ feed as well. Seems the watch is popular with a certain crowd.

    • (Score: 2) by Nuke on Thursday August 24 2017, @10:13AM

      by Nuke (3162) on Thursday August 24 2017, @10:13AM (#558395)

      Seems the watch is popular with a certain crowd

      There is a name for them .... can't remember .... oh I know, it's "hipsters".

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:11AM (16 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:11AM (#558260)

    With the advent of mobile phones watches are a thing of the past (except as a status symbol)!

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:27AM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:27AM (#558266) Journal

      Even with an advanced holographic interface to make up for the crap screen size, you would still have to hold up your arm and wrist in an awkward way to use a smartwatch as a smartphone replacement. Although it might not be bad if you are sitting down or leaning on a surface. Voice is pretty easy though... just pair with a Bluetooth headset.

      Yup, it's dead.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:32AM (7 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:32AM (#558268)

      Guess I'm a chump then, so be it. Don't have a cell phone, borrow one once or twice a year when it's actually needed.

      Some days I still wear a Casio basic calculator watch, but not for the calculator--it's really easy to set the alarm when there are enough buttons. The batteries seem to last about seven(7) years, I've been through several of these cheap watches, easier to buy a new one than to change out the battery.

      I liked this story. A few off-beat or home-built tech stories are fine by me.

      • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:02AM (3 children)

        by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:02AM (#558275)

        I agree, the story is fine. The device is kind of interesting.

        I also wear a watch, so I must be a chump too.

        • (Score: 2) by kazzie on Thursday August 24 2017, @08:21AM (2 children)

          by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 24 2017, @08:21AM (#558374)

          And another echo:

          The story is interesting. I also am a watch-wearing chump. And worse still, it's an analog watch!

          • (Score: 2) by FakeBeldin on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:24PM (1 child)

            by FakeBeldin (3360) on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:24PM (#558432) Journal

            Chump++ here.
            I recently got an analog watch myself. It looks great, and not having to whip out the phone just to see the time is very nice too.
            I'll have to see whether I'll be wearing it a lot in 6 months, but for now, having a watch makes me giddily happy :)

            • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday August 25 2017, @02:30AM

              by Reziac (2489) on Friday August 25 2017, @02:30AM (#558701) Homepage

              That wooden word watch is cool as all hell. Both clever and beautiful to look at. Will be interesting to see what else comes out of that fellow's brain.

              Alas, on the rare occasions when I wear a watch, it's one that I got for the cost of a stamp, from a coupon in a box of corn flakes. (Yes, really. Cost me 26 cents.)

              --
              And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
      • (Score: 2) by Nuke on Thursday August 24 2017, @10:09AM

        by Nuke (3162) on Thursday August 24 2017, @10:09AM (#558394)

        I'm another chump.

      • (Score: 1) by jrial on Thursday August 24 2017, @10:48AM

        by jrial (5162) on Thursday August 24 2017, @10:48AM (#558397)
        Agreed. The story is fine, no objections to similar stories in the future.
        --
        Install windows on my workstation? You crazy? Got any idea how much I paid for the damn thing?
      • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday August 25 2017, @08:10AM

        by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 25 2017, @08:10AM (#558771) Journal

        Lots of people still rely on watches - don't write them off yet. Aircrew, nurses, divers, military folk, scientists (look at pictures of people working on the LHD for example), people working in remote places, astronauts, people working in secure areas with classified information. The list goes on but I think that I have made my point.

        you would still have to hold up your arm and wrist in an awkward way

        As opposed to having to pull your phone from your pocket and holding it in an 'awkward way'? My watch is on my wrist and the movement required for me to view it is minimal and entirely natural.

        As for using a smart watch - why not just use a watch? I don't need it to tell me how far I have walked, what I had for breakfast, how fast my heart is beating, or the quickest way to the nearest McDonalds. I just want to know what time it is!

    • (Score: 2) by zocalo on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:01AM (4 children)

      by zocalo (302) on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:01AM (#558350)
      Looks the creator of this watch does semi-custom builds to support different languages and a limited amount of personalization, so if you don't like the idea of a watch maybe talk to him about making a bespoke desk or wall version for your home/office. It would be the same core electronics and code, so other than the additional materials, woodworking, and some larger lights it would probably not cost that much more and would make a really neat gift for the right person (or yourself).
      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
      • (Score: 3, Funny) by Nuke on Thursday August 24 2017, @10:23AM (2 children)

        by Nuke (3162) on Thursday August 24 2017, @10:23AM (#558396)

        if you don't like the idea of a watch maybe talk to him about making a bespoke desk or wall version

        I'll talk to him about making me a 80x25 monitor for my PC. At the moment I'm still on a 20x4 character amber-on-black circular 6" CRT.

        • (Score: 2) by zocalo on Thursday August 24 2017, @11:44AM

          by zocalo (302) on Thursday August 24 2017, @11:44AM (#558408)
          If you're going for an upgrade but still want that retro look then an 80x25 array of Nixie tubes in a wooden case as a monitor would be rather cool. The Nixie watch has been done though (albeit not out of wood) - Steve Wozniak has one.
          --
          UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:31PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:31PM (#558466)

          I'll talk to him about making me a 80x25 monitor for my PC. At the moment I'm still on a 20x4 character amber-on-black circular 6" CRT.

          I'm selling a Lite Brite on eBay that would be perfect for you! The refresh speed is a little slow at first but it gets better the more you use it.

      • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:24PM

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:24PM (#558445) Homepage
        It's based on a wall-clock. I remember it doing the rounds a few years back. The novelty here is the miniturisation. (And the analogue mode.)
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by engblom on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:30AM

      by engblom (556) on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:30AM (#558358)

      My watch is definitely no status symbol. The one I use for work cost like $22 shipped. A watch is plenty useful and I bet you would be addicted to having one on your wrist if you wore it for a month or two.

      A watch allows you to very quickly check the time without having to dig up something from the pocket. Also it allows you to check the time while your hands are dirty, maybe from food preparation or any other work. It is also very practical if you really have to be at some place a certain time and you have a very tight schedule. You get faster feedback if you need to hurry up a bit more.

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @12:19PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @12:19PM (#558418)

      I disagree. I wear a watch (one that definitely doesn't work as status symbol), and I have a phone. I could read the time off the phone, but I don't usually:

      • Looking at my watch typically needs only a slight movement of my arm (sometimes not even that). Looking at my phone involves getting the phone out of my pocket (which can be cumbersome while sitting), turning on the display (I'm sure I could configure it to be always on, but I value battery life time), reading the time, stuffing away the phone.
      • The battery of my watch holds years, therefore it is a very rare occurrence that I can't read the time from my watch (at which time I still can pull out my phone). The phone battery running empty is a much more common occurrence.
      • I cannot look at the clock on my phone while using it as phone (i.e. talking with someone over it). I can do so with my watch. Well, that one could be solved with a headset, but that's just yet another thing I'd need to carry with me all the time.
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:10AM (15 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:10AM (#558276)

    All you submitters and editors are in cahoots to sell us things. Keep it classy! Where's that toilet paper salesman whose name is a brand of toilet paper? I want to wipe my ass with that guy.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:53AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:53AM (#558285)

      Only two are brothers and none of them are named Statler

    • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:06AM (9 children)

      by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:06AM (#558288) Homepage Journal

      I'm the king of classy self-promotion. But the editors turn down a lot, a lot of my submissions. The stories about myself. They loved a story about the Japs. And one about the Chinese. So I was thinking, it's because they're Dems. Because the Dems run a lot of these sites. Secretly, they run them. But I saw -- did you see? -- the editor says he doesn't like self-promotion. Does NOT like it. Which is crazy, that's the biggest reason to go on these sites. On the social media. Self-promotion is the key to success. You get your name out there, you make some money. The bigger your name, the bigger the money. I like to say, show me someone without an ego, and I'll show you a LOSER. Having a healthy ego, or high opinion of yourself, is a real positive in life! And self-promotion is a huge part of that. Of keeping your ego healthy. Every day, I stroke my ego. Sometimes for minutes, sometimes for hours. Great for the health, great for the wallet. #MAGA 🇺🇸

      • (Score: 2) by mrpg on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:55PM (1 child)

        by mrpg (5708) Subscriber Badge <reversethis-{gro ... yos} {ta} {gprm}> on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:55PM (#558453) Homepage

        Is Donald Trump Actually Just a Really Mean Teenage Girl?

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4xdSr7x8yI [youtube.com]

        • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Friday August 25 2017, @05:55AM

          by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Friday August 25 2017, @05:55AM (#558741)

          No, he lacks the maturity of a mean teenage girl.......

          --
          Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
      • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday August 25 2017, @08:29AM (6 children)

        by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 25 2017, @08:29AM (#558775) Journal

        But the editors turn down a lot, a lot of my submissions.

        Before you blame the editors - of which I am one - why not look at the quality of your submissions?

        Firstly, the idea of a submission is to generate an intelligent debate regarding some topic of interest to the majority of our members. A political diatribe written from a obviously biased point of view hardly meets that requirement. We are not here as your own personal publicity machine so let me know when your attempts to gain sufficient publicity here to generate real financial income come to fruition. If you submit something based on a topic of interest, intelligently researched and well written, you have a very good chance of having your stories accepted. You might see your submissions and comments as humour - unfortunately, that is not a view point that is widely shared.

        As an aside, if we look at the number of 'good' political submissions i.e. those generating a good discussion with a large proportion of intelligent debate, you will find that they can usually be counted on the fingers of one foot! You are not the only person that believes that 'us' versus 'them' equates to a good discussion - we have several submitters who fall into the same trap. Their submissions also tend to go the same way as some of yours have. I personally believe that having a 'political' nexus has led to a discernible dumbing down of this site and the loss of some of our community who have gone elsewhere to find intelligent discussion.

        • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Friday August 25 2017, @04:53PM (5 children)

          by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Friday August 25 2017, @04:53PM (#558964) Homepage Journal

          I didn't blame the editors. I do blame the editors. Who don't want to be my personal publicity machine. But love to help Cafebabe make money. Because any submission that goes to her site SAILS through. Submissions that say "something about your browser made us think you were a bot." For those who don't know, anything that goes to Science Daily. The latest being the cartilage story. Which went through yesterday. And has three tweets on it. THREE. All of which say nobody cares about the story. LITERALLY saying nobody cares. But the editors did a favor for Cafebabe. Yet again. Not the only time yesterday, the story that says good cholesterol is bad goes to her site too. And on Wednesday, there was the story about the mosquito candy. For which the submission also says, you were a bot. Rubber stamped by the editors to give Cafebabe more traffic. Which is OK, that's their right. I don't expect any better. And stories that advance the Dem agenda also SAIL through. There's one up right now. The Daniel Kammen story. A disgruntled employee writes "impeach" and it's news. Apple promises to build a plant in the USA, not news. Rejected! Everywhere else it's news. It's OK, I'm used to it. I'm the ultimate outsider. But I'm winning. It's very hard to get my message out directly. But when the #fakenews industry puts out the hit pieces -- hit piece after hit piece -- it gets my name out there. It gets me publicity. Builds my brand, tremendously. More and more people hear my name. And more and more respect it. 🇺🇸

          • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday August 25 2017, @05:35PM (4 children)

            by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 25 2017, @05:35PM (#559000) Journal

            So, if I understand your complaint, you are objecting to stories that have been published on Science Daily regardless of content?

            The connection with Cafebabe is puzzling to me. She did not submit the story, it was submitted by somebody else direct from IRC. It is a science story - the very basis for this site. We are supposed to covering science and technology stories predominantly. The fact that only 2 ACs and yourself bothered to comment might simply be because it was informative yet not posing any facts that warrant further discussion. That happens. You don't have to like every story. Simply move on. I found it interesting (although I was not involved in editing this story) but there is nothing intelligent that I wish to comment on the topic. If you don't like science stories, don't read them.

            Furthermore, as 2 of the comments are discussing 'cartridge' as a poor attempt at humour, shows the level of intelligence of some of the more recent arrivals to our site. Funny that they always want to post as AC, rather than risk having their comments directly attributable to them. At least you were moderated up as 'Funny'.

            The reason that your input is suspected of being a bot is probably because you are operating through a VPN. Use of a VPN is considered by many sites to be one of the possible indicators of activity that is undesirable to them. If you don't like it then either drop your usage of a VPN or accept that not everyone on the internet believes in the same degree of anonymity as you or I might do. All we can do is accept that. I have absolutely no problem in accessing that site with my genuine IP, but get the same problem when I attempt to view it using a VPN.

            Now, returning to Cafebabe. If you think that we actually decide on the merit of submissions by who is connected to the company publishing them then you are just wrong. That is not how it works - indeed, I am not aware of any direct link between Cafebabe and Science Daily, so it is not something that I could have taken into account, is it? Submissions are graded entirely on content, and we try to pick a wide cross-section of topics so as not to repeat our stories more than already happens with inadvertent dupes. To bring it back closer to your own current predilection for stories, if we had something political that wasn't relating to AltRight/free speech/Nazis then it might stand a better chance of being picked, because we have covered that topic rather a lot recently.

            • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Friday August 25 2017, @10:02PM (3 children)

              by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Friday August 25 2017, @10:02PM (#559128) Homepage Journal

              I didn't tweet on the cartilage story. You keep saying it was me. It wasn't me. It was Aristarchus and the ACs. And it wasn't a debate. It was supposed to generate a debate? It shows up here, it raises the PageRank of Science Daily. If no one looks at it, it helps out Science Daily. Which is Cafebabe's site. According to what she wrote here. Which I read, but you, who have been here much, much longer didn't read? OK. You say you don't know that, what can I say? I can't tell you what you know. You're busy, you can't read everything. I take your word for it. But she said it's her site. And I doubt, I doubt I'm the only one who read her tweet saying so. She didn't submit those stories. Neither did I. You say it was my input, it wasn't. The submissions say "we think you're a bot," no story in them. Full of garbage, you call it content. The cartilage one, the one about the mosquito poison, many others. The editors fix them up. Totally replacing the contents. The content. And they sail right through. Rubber stamped. You say it isn't so Cafebabe can make money. You say it's because they're science and technology. LG Electronics is technology. They're opening a factory in Michigan. I send in my submission. On Tuesday, I sent it. Friday afternoon, it's still waiting. Not hard to fix, the editors don't like the fact that it's bringing lots of jobs, they can take that out. But it sits. Apple is technology. The biggest technology company ever. As far as money. They promised to build 3 plants in the USA. I send in the link, I say it's beautiful. In the department, which the editors ignore, I say it's beautiful. But the story, it's an interview of me. By the WSJ. Rejected. OK, not everybody can afford the WSJ. Not yet. But it was big news about technology. Which happened to make me look terrific. Rejected, why I don't know. The WSJ asks for money up front. Science Daily doesn't. They still make money. Which isn't a bad thing. We all need to make money. Cafebabe included. Nothing wrong with that. Honestly, she probably needs it more than I do. I'd love to make a lot more money, but I don't need it. I love it when people talk about me. And some will remember my name, and when they're at a bookstore they'll pick up some of my books. When they go to vote they'll look for my name. Because they talked about me. And I didn't ask for stories about the Nazi movement. I didn't submit stories about Nazis. Because they would be very slanted. After the editing they'd be slanted. And every day I work with Nazis. And Jews. Most everyone in the White House is a Nazi or a Jew. There are fine people on both sides. Very talented. Can you imagine if a story came up with my name on it, slanted to favor one over the other? Half my staff would quit. If they caught wind of it. Right now they get along, I like it that way. Believe me, more chaos in the White House is the last thing I want. Thank you. #MAGA 🇺🇸

              • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Saturday August 26 2017, @07:02AM (2 children)

                by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 26 2017, @07:02AM (#559328) Journal

                I didn't tweet on the cartilage story. You keep saying it was me. It wasn't me. It was Aristarchus and the ACs.

                Apologies for the mis-attribution. We don't tweet on this site - we make comments. I think that you are looking at the wrong site. We do not have a 140-odd character limit, in fact we encourage more intelligent discourse than that favoured by many Americans and others elsewhere today.

                The submissions say "we think you're a bot," no story in them

                The submissions appear prefectly normally to me - there is a story and it is the one that we have published. The fact that you can't see them suggests that the problem lies at your end and not with the site in question, however, I cannot explain why this should be so.

                It shows up here, it raises the PageRank of Science Daily. If no one looks at it, it helps out Science Daily. Which is Cafebabe's site.

                Personally, I don't give a damn who owns the site. We publish stories based on their content and not on who is connected to the site.

                The editors fix them up. Totally replacing the contents. The content.

                We are editors - we are meant to edit the stories to make them suitable for publication. The alternative is that we just don't publish them, but you seem to object to that as well. If you want more of your stories to be published please allow me to give you a few hints (although I don't think that you actually need them, you are just stirring things). Take out the bias from your submissions. Look at the problem from both sides and ask the questions without getting too emotionally involved with either side. Don't keep banging on at the same topic. Once we have discussed it let it rest for a while before putting another similar submission into the queue. And finally, just because it involves the USA doesn't mean that everyone on our site wants to know about it. We have a very broad community from all around the world. We have heard and discussed the problems relating to the right/left wing disputes. The USA needs to sort it out. Period. But you know all of this because your record shows that you can make very good submissions.

                LG Electronics is technology. They're opening a factory in Michigan. I send in my submission. On Tuesday, I sent it. Friday afternoon, it's still waiting. Not hard to fix, the editors don't like the fact that it's bringing lots of jobs, they can take that out. But it sits.

                One factory being opened in the US doesn't make it a story worthy of worldwide attention. Furthermore, it isn't time critical and might still be picked up when we are running short of stories. The editors don't even think about how many jobs it might or might not bring to the region. We couldn't care less about how much money it makes for the site providing the original story. We judge them on how much interest we believe there is in that particular story, and whether it is original and likely therefore to generate some community interest.

                The WSJ asks for money up front. Science Daily doesn't. They still make money. Which isn't a bad thing. We all need to make money. Cafebabe included. Nothing wrong with that. Honestly, she probably needs it more than I do. I'd love to make a lot more money, but I don't need it.

                And now we get to the nub of the complaint. You are not being published as much as you would like. Please remember this is not your personal web site, nor Cafebabe's.

                • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday August 26 2017, @02:12PM (1 child)

                  by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Saturday August 26 2017, @02:12PM (#559441) Homepage Journal

                  You looked at the submission about the cartilage and the submission about the mosquito poison. You're saying they look normal to you. They're not normal. I see them and they're not normal. They're normal because they were edited heavily. I look at them, I don't leave this site, they say something about being a bot. I look at other submissions, they don't say that. Original submissions. The Science Daily ones say that. A lot of them say it. I'm not published as much I'd like. I'm published more than I expected. For a Dem site, much more than I expected. Very happy that the story about #HurricaneHarvey went through. Getting the word out! Which saved thousands of lives. Very important and they didn't sit on it. I thank them for that. And I love going past 140 characters. Don't have to use the dots. One time I had to use the dots. Tremendous! 🇺🇸

                  • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Saturday August 26 2017, @06:46PM

                    by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 26 2017, @06:46PM (#559530) Journal

                    Ah, I think I understand your point, but you do know that Arthur T Knackerbracket is a bot don't you?

                    It is continually scanning numerous RSS feeds to provide source material. But if you go to the link provided in that original submission then the page displays correctly. We have to use a bot to gather more material when there are insufficient stories worth publishing or to enable people to submit things directly from IRC. Whenever I run the bot on my computer at home, I collect over 300 potential stories per day, and after sorting I can usually identify over 100 that would make the front page. The majority of them are parse perfectly well by the bot, but there are a handful that do not because they play naughty with javascript or prevent viewing by some other means etc. We still look at the link that the bot has provided though, because more often than not they can lead to very good stories. The clue that the submission has been at least partially automated by a bot is when the submission is by 'exec', or the story attribution is to Arthur.

                    All submissions go through exactly the same editing process; automated submissions are not favoured over those from the community, in fact the opposite is true. We prefer to use stories provided by the community.

                    The output of the bot is available to all to use. Whenever people say that they cannot find stories worth reporting then we can direct them to a whole pile of possible stories that just need the minimum of effort on their behalf to sort them out.

    • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:13AM (2 children)

      by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:13AM (#558290) Journal

      Popeil Pocket Fisherman and Ginsu Knives! But wait, there are no comments! At least this was honest unblockable spam, and I guess everyone has used all their spam mods on a certain somebody, and even more, the editors have taken over with their own ideas of what is newsworthy, and this is what we get? Mr. Takyon Charmin?

      • (Score: 2) by tibman on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:42PM (1 child)

        by tibman (134) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:42PM (#558555)

        Anything constructive to add?

        --
        SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:35AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:35AM (#558361)

      Where's that toilet paper salesman whose name is a brand of toilet paper?

      Tork [soylentnews.org] left a year ago. End of the roll.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:18AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:18AM (#558277)

    I wouldn't use it myself, I prefer pocket watches because I'm a working class guy. My wrists do dangerous things that cause watches to fear being crushed as I wrench a bolt, scratched as I squeeze past engine parts, or being slathered in grime as I touch nearly any part of a well oiled machine.

    Fortunately, a smart phone is basically an advanced pocket watch. We've almost got smartphones in pocket watch form factors, just add a wireless earpiece and voice and I'd be happier.

    "OK Google-competitor-who-replaced-Google-after-the-SJW-implosion, what time is it?"

    IMO, the downsized wooden word clock is not impressive from an engineering standpoint. Good as a graduate project. I'm glad the guy is learning entrepreneurship. Hope he finds more projects to "obsess" over and starts a small business. Bonus, if he's a migrant (probably isn't), he could get a $10k small business loan and pay no taxes. Too bad native born people can't take advantage of that program too.

    Nazi Disclaimer: I'm black. [imgur.com]

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:48AM

      by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:48AM (#558298) Homepage Journal

      There are places where we can't bring smartphones. Such as the Middle East, Israel, and Europe. But a wristwatch can be a problem. For the reasons you said. But also when shaking hands. You shake hands with a wristwatch on, you could cut your face. Or the other person's. Especially if it's loose. I do wear a wristwatch, but I keep it snug. As tight as I can bear. Very painful, but safer for the face. I like your idea about the pocket watch. You're a working class guy but you have a classy idea. 🇺🇸

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by KilroySmith on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:20AM (1 child)

    by KilroySmith (2113) on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:20AM (#558278)

    I'm fine with occasional postings of cool little projects like this.

    I won't buy one, but I still think it's neat.

    • (Score: 2) by zocalo on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:04AM

      by zocalo (302) on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:04AM (#558353)
      +1 on the postings, since presumably the editors are testing the water here. If it's cool, likely to be of interest to Soylentils, doesn't come across as too spammy, and maybe is tagged appropriately into it's own topic so it can be filtered, then bring them on.
      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
  • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:49AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:49AM (#558284)

    The recent diaries page's google juice had grown beyond some manner of threshold.

    Eventually raph implemented user ratings, and set the default threshold to 3 - so the recent log would hide the spammers from google it.

    The spammers were allowed to roam freely, but that became strangely ineffective for black hat SEO.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:25AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:25AM (#558292)

      Someone claimed on Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] that

      The motivating idea for Advogato was to try out in practice Levien's ideas about attack-resistant trust metrics, having users certify each other in a kind of peer review process and use this information to avoid the abuses that plague open community sites.

      The earliest profile pages I found on archive.org are from August 2000, and they already showed the peer evaluations, e.g. "This person is currently certified at Apprentice level. " [archive.org]

  • (Score: 2) by jelizondo on Thursday August 24 2017, @05:19AM

    by jelizondo (653) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 24 2017, @05:19AM (#558322) Journal

    For whatever it is worth, I don’t use a watch but I would probably buy one of those only for the geek factor.

    I don’t mind adverts such as this, provided that the product is geeky enough to make consider parting with some cash.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by bradley13 on Thursday August 24 2017, @05:39AM (3 children)

    by bradley13 (3053) on Thursday August 24 2017, @05:39AM (#558329) Homepage Journal

    Looks like a copy-cat to me: This words-only clock came out in the German-speaking world a few years ago. [qlocktwo.com] Certainly copyright infringement, if the Qlocktwo people want to pursue it.

    --
    Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @08:14AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @08:14AM (#558373)

      Are you saying he copied the source code? Where exactly is the infringement? You can't copyright a style or looks. (But sadly you can patent it... ask crApple)

      • (Score: 2) by bradley13 on Thursday August 24 2017, @09:39AM (1 child)

        by bradley13 (3053) on Thursday August 24 2017, @09:39AM (#558390) Homepage Journal

        You're right, it wouldn't be copyright, it would be a design patent that protects the appearance.

        Look, it's a cool idea, and ideas can be copied. But the guy has left the design nearly identical to the Qlocktwo watch [design-milk.com]. His only substantial change is the material: where the Qlocktwo watch is in metal, his is wooden. Otherwise, the appearance is nearly identical. He needs to make some substantial change: put the words in a spiral, maybe, with a circular dial.

        As it is, he's going to get sued, or at least get his project shut down. Stupid.

        --
        Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:34PM

          by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:34PM (#558447) Homepage
          He has different order for the words (maybe even different words (e.g. after vs. past)), and now has analogue mode, that might be enough to get him off the hook. Influences are fine in copyright law. (And design patents are completely fucked up and deserve to die.)
          --
          Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by engblom on Thursday August 24 2017, @06:56AM (2 children)

    by engblom (556) on Thursday August 24 2017, @06:56AM (#558349)

    I find mechanical watches to be more geeky. Personally, I use Vostok watches. I use a Vostok Komandirskie for normal work and a Vostok Amphibia for diving.

    Vostok is a Soviet era watch brand, still doing the same watches. They are cheap and built like tanks. Somebody recently tested an Amphibia to destruction. While an Amphibia is rated for 200m, it actually begun getting damaged around 700m and at about 820m the crystal broke and water entered the case.

    For about $60 including shipping, they are well worth. Russians are having less good quality control than many other, so if you get one, get from a reputable seller so in case of warranty, everything works well out. Both meranom.com and komandirskie.com are know to handle warranty cases well.

    As these are mechanical, they are not the same exact as quartz. They can be regulated to stay withing a few seconds drift a day with a bit of patience (there is a handle for regulating on the movement). Additionally a new strap/bracelet is often needed as the included one is often bad.

    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:48PM (1 child)

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:48PM (#558452) Homepage
      My last wrist watch was a self-winding 1960s Rodania from .ch with a wonderfully elegant design which I forgot to remove when having a game of badminton after a barbie, and which suffered irreparably from my stupidity. I promised I would buy no other watch until I could find something equivalent, and alas affordable antique self-winders seem rather thin on the ground. I do notice that a lot of the antique shops here (Estonia) have Wostok/Vostok watches, I should perhaps investigate to see if any are self-winders. This puppy's my kinda minimalism: https://osta-ee.postimees.ee/en/wostok-vostok-kullatud-tookorras-meeste-kaekell-2214-96755320.html?_src=search

      I will admit that this wooden word watch is really neat, and I fully agree with the editorial decision to let it through, but deep down, you can't beat an old-fashioned watch face.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
      • (Score: 2) by engblom on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:54PM

        by engblom (556) on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:54PM (#558478)

        Most of the vintage Vostok watches are not automatic. All current Vostok Amphibias have the self-winding complication added. The much cheaper Komandirskie is still manually winded. If you go Vintage, don't go swimming unless you have changed the rubber gaskets (easy to do).

  • (Score: 2, Informative) by pTamok on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:07AM (1 child)

    by pTamok (3042) on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:07AM (#558354)

    I'm fine with a stream of tagged SoyVertisements, so long as they are tagged as such by the independent editor, and I can set an option to have them filtered out of the default display of the stream of postings.

    Occasionally, I would even like to have 'one-click' access to a stream that presented only SoyVertisements, with one-click access back to the filtered stream. Sometimes it is fun to browse.

    I am not fine with SoyVertisements appearing in the news feed with no way of keeping them away.

    • (Score: 1) by DavePolaschek on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:32PM

      by DavePolaschek (6129) on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:32PM (#558435) Homepage Journal

      I like the idea of tagged SoyVertisements, especially if I can filter them out.

      I would much rather use soylent during a wait for a clean build to ogle cool toys than going to LifeHacker or Gizmodo. Definitely not an everyday thing, but I'd look through them once in a while.

  • (Score: 2) by FakeBeldin on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:22PM

    by FakeBeldin (3360) on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:22PM (#558431) Journal

    When I came across this item, I was intrigued and I wanted to share it with people who might appreciate it. Then again, with a kickstarter running, it'd be an obvious soyvertisement... I figured I'd leave it (firstly) to the editors to decide whether or not stories on such gadgetry make sense here.
    I appreciate that the story is running, and, after this comment, I'm taking a look at the comments to see how folks feel about this.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:48PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @01:48PM (#558440)
(1)