Recommend a watch
 

Dammit, I'm tired of going through watches. Somebody recommend one that will be reliable (aka last more than a year--maybe this is a stupid requirement for the disposable merchandise era). I've tried buying cheap ones and I've tried more expensive ones (~$20 and ~$70-100 respectively) on the theory that a more expensive one will last longer, but it hasn't panned out. I'd be happy to pay ~$5 for one and consider it disposable if I could find one that didn't look like a kid's toy. (I'm not super hung up on appearances, but it kind of detracts from your managerial cachet in those meetings with the other vice presidential types when you casually pull up your sleeve and flash a Boba Fett watch like my kids just got from Burger King for $2.) But once I get up around $20 I, perhaps foolishly, expect it to run for a while.

Personally I've had good luck with Timex. They last through a couple of battery changes - so ~ 5 yrs.

But if you're hard on watches and have the money, get a Rolex oyster. They're not fancy, and they're very expensive. But they're built like a tank.

Timex Ironman Triathlon is good. I currently have the "Flix" and it's lasted several years so far.

Your mobile phone gets its time from the network and therefore is more accurate than watches. Mechanical watches are a quaint leftover relic from an earlier day. They should not be used. Thank you.

Bullshit! Next you're going to be telling me print is dead. :reaper:

Well you have a point about the timekeeping accuracy of a phone, but I prefer to continue to maintain a wristwatch for several reasons.

• Checking the time on my phone requires me to pull it from my shirt pocket (assuming it's not already out, on a table or something) and flip the cover. (Yes I know some models display the time on the outside of the case, but I like what I have now.) There are situations where this isn't practical for logistical reasons (standing in line at wawa with a bag of donuts in one hand and a coffee in the other) or because I don't want to draw attention to myself by doing so (committee meetings, school plays, etc.)
• Believe it or not, there are times when I don't have my phone with me.
• Force of habit. I've worn one for 25-odd years. (Some of them very odd.) I'm not stopping now. What are you going to do, come to my house and impound my watch, fountain pen, and books?? :D

EDIT: I won't start about an alarm clock either. I believe I've mentioned before that my vision is rather horrible. I have an alarm clock with 2.5" tall red LED numbers. I can actually read it lying in bed without my glasses, as long as it's only a few inches away. Well, the "minute" button is getting flaky, making it increasingly hard to change the alarm. I just tried out one of those clocks taht will project the time, but I found its lens arrangement didn't enlarge things much at all. (Aiming it up at the ceiling, it got to maybe 3 inches tall, which is not big enough at that distance.)

Picky, aren't I?

Analog or digital?

This is what I have except I have a black face on mine. I didn't pay much for it and it lasts. I'm on my second one after Little Sidhe used my wrist as a swing set without warning.

It's simple, water resistant, inexpensive and resilient.

http://www.timex.com/bin/detail.tmx?item=048148438927

I've had a Seiko that has been running perfectly since 1997 and has taken a hell of a beating. It has an analog face but is quartz-driven and even has a pleasing alarm. The battery has to be changed about every three years or so.

I like that one, TS. It's nice and simple, not ugly, and pretty cheap.

I'm a big fan of Casio watches. Over the years I've owned maybe three or four of them.

When I say "years" I mean "since high school."

Last year would have been my 25th Reunion, if my class wasn't too apathetic to have one, so it was just my 25th anniversary out.

They have both analog and digital styles.

My favorite Casio watch (and the one I was saddest to see go) was the one that was featured in the movie "Blue Thunder."

Timex scores points for the catchiest slogan--"takes a licking and keeps on ticking", but you can't beat Casio for durable watches. I am *hard* on my equipment (go ahead, pun away. I wrote it, deleted it, and rewrote it. It's true) and the Casios are not indestructible, but anything short of a direct hit with a tool to the face will incur cosmetic damage at worst. They are easily the best watches in their price range. And the selection is staggering. Analog, digital, plastic, metal, rubberized. There isn't a chip based gadget that isn't available in some model (stopwatch, timers, altimeter, digital compass, remote control, usb drive, mp3 player, thermometers, radio-atomic timekeeping, solar power, titanium cases, organizers, calculators, you get the idea). There are plenty of dressy styles that I'm certain carry all the same quality and durability characteristics of the sport oriented models I have worn and loved.

You can not go wrong with a Casio watch.

I am straining and failing to think of another company/brand for whose products I hold an equal amount of esteem. Get one, or two. You won't be disappointed, until you lose it.

I've been happy with the Citizen dive watch I've been wearing for years but what I really want is one of these...

http://mi.oakley.com/site/media/cach...pg_242_0_0.jpg

Oh, well, maybe next Christmas.

I had this Swiss Army watch.
It was a gift, but I once checked out how much it cost. About $200. I loved it while I had it. It died after about 10 years. So that's $20 per year. I think you can probably do better buying a Timex or Casio.
http://www.princetonwatches.com/imag...ches/24529.jpg

Damn it! I looked for one of those for *years*! @#$!~%&!!*@# !!!

Back in the days before the Internet, all you could do was cruise the damn stores, and no one *ever* had it here in the Midwest. I was so pissed. I wanted that watch desperately.

Anyway, I can also throw in a vote of confidence for Casios. I've had several, and lost them all before they ever broke.

*I* like my Palm Watch very much
 

It's totally impractical. I plug it in to my USB port every night to resync and recharge.

Almost satisfies my nostagia impulse for an HP-01. (http://del.icio.us/MaggieL/hp01)


I don't care: it's way too much fun to have. $60 on eBay.

And when synced to a Linux box running NTP, it keeps excellent time. :-)

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive...g_website.html

I got this one for christmas:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/6a17/

I trashed three Timex watches in about two weeks at work. One played with two bashed. We have a monitor in each room that gives emergency info along with the time... now that's on the fritz. :eyebrow:

I got my husband a Skagen titanium watch - it's one of those super thin ones. He hasn't killed it yet, but he also hasn't worn it much.... but he can kill a watch in 15 minutes just by looking at it, and this one has lasted 2 years. He only wears it when he travels to testify.

but anything short of a direct hit with a tool to the face will incur cosmetic damage at worst.
Try a 4 lb shop hammer directly to the face of a casio g shoc , scratched it but only , now this damn near BROKE my arm , I once saw a tug boat mechanic with a g shock that he had welded accross the face it still worked , Casio Gshocks ROCK I have had 2-3 of them in 20 years , they ALWAYS died a HARD death !!!!!! ( well exept for that one that the girl at walmart KILLED while trying to change the battery )

Look here , http://www.countycomm.com/Watches.htm
They may have something for you.

I've had a Citizen Eco-Drive for a few years now. It's solar powered, or any light source. I wear short sleeve shirts to work and the flourescents keep it charged.

The list is over $200 but Kohl's or Sears always seems to be running a big sale, so the final price is about $120.

Not as sturdy as a G-shock, but in theory it will never need batteries. My wife's Eco-Drive did have a problem, but a lot of that was the fact that she kept it covered almost all of the time.

Here ya go , http://www.network54.com/Forum/12547...ted+wristwatch

Watches I have had good and bad luck with
 

Hello,

Here's my experience (based on a few watches I have):

1. Fossil Watches. Delicate and will get trashed. I'd personally avoid them.
2. Kenneth Cole Stainless Steel watch - this is a tank and puts up with a lot of damage. Well worth it.
3. Swatch Metal Watch - again, well worth it, very sturdy.
4. Invicta Diablo - very nice watch, very sturdy - band could use a better pin.
5. Technotunes 256MB watch - not very sturdy, USB drive on it flakes out occasionally. Needs headphone adapter to use with normal headphones. On the whole, doesn't tell time or play mp3s well.
6. Movado Museum Watch - can't tell time, but looks good.
7. Timex Ironman Triathlon Watch - almost impossible to break. Incredibly good watch, and well worth the money.
8. Timex Indiglo Analog Dial Watch - small, cheap, incredibly good watch.

If you want something that will stand up to torture and work well, Timex makes the best.

Thanks,

Mitch

I tend to buy my watches at CVS.
Go ahead, laugh.
I beat watches like they owe me money.
A buddy bought me an expensive watch, forget what type, and I wore it hunting.
Bad move.
After field-dressing a buck, I realized that the crystal was busted.
I figure that if I was going to buy a watch every couple of months, I'm not spending more than $25 at a clip.
Plus, the cost of replacing a battery is re-fugging-dick-u-lus.
$10 for the batery, $15 for installation, and the pleasure of some airhead cheerleader telling me that I could get insurance on the battery for only $50 a year.
Insurance? On a battery?
This bitch is gonna be poledancing in about two days.
I told her that when her IQ reaches 28, sell.
"OK. Thanks for the tip."
In the words of Charlie Brown - AAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The only dress watch I have is a Russian MiG fighter pilots watch 'liberated' from an Afgani soldier back in '91. Looks great with a tux.

It took a LOT of looking. Finally found it at a now-defunct discount chain called BEST. You had to order your stuff at the counter and it would come down the conveyor to you. Not a cool merry-go-round or ferris wheel conveyor like Brookstone, but a regular industrial one.

I really miss BEST. I got a lot of totally great stuff there. I get nostaligic every time I go to the Montgomeryville Borders.

The plastic wristbands tend to be the biggest problem. I would typically go through three or more per watch, which over the course of the life of each watch really wasn't all that bad when you think about it.

My newest Casio has a nylon fabric wristband that holds up quite well.

My current watch is actually a Timex. Yes, I am appropriately ashamed by this. It's a Timex Expedition clip watch that I hang from my belt loop. It's a lot easier to lend to coworkers who need to take vital signs than a wristwatch. I also have a very cool Remington Pocket Watch that an Avon Lady friend gave me. It has a graphic of a Pheasant in flight on the case and face, but the hands are pretty thin and it's harder to read than I like.

I also have an Avon novelty watch of the First Moon Landing Life Magazine Cover, but I don't often wear it because I really need a backlight.

Oh, and I still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.

Does anyone have an opinion on Eddie Bauer watches? Are they just branded cheap crap or do they have any durability?

The Seiko Kinetic Titanium. It lasts forever, never needs winding or batteries, and it's light and looks nice.

I think, Steve, that what you really need to do is go out and buy a character watch. Subtle or obvious is your choice. But there's something about an adult wearing a Darth Vader or Spongebob Squarepants watch that really makes a statement.

Restaurant premium watches are really good for this. You sometimes get them free with your purchase, otherwise you're not going to be out more than $5 for a very funny watch, sometimes with amazing light and sound action. I got a lot of wear out of my Denny's Space Bear Watch (mine was blue) as well as my Burger King Rugrats watches.

The Mr Spock Watch I had to buy for myself. A friend gave me an Alf Watch. You have to rip Alf's entire head off your wrist to see the time on that one. I didn't wear that one a lot.

The classic Mickey Mouse, while always available, doesn't have quite the same impact.

I look outside. If the sun is up, I should be at work. If not, I can go home.

I also have a shepherd's watch, but it's not much more than a novelty, particularly since I work nights, mostly indoors.

I also have not really had it work right ... I don't think it's "tuned" for my latitude. Either that or someone forgot to wind the sun and it's starting to run slow.

Must be hell during the summer.

Well they did add that extra second at the end of the year.

I don't do statements.

Yeah, but checking the time on your cell phone or PDA makes you look like a tool. Watches are more for looks than function, anyways.

Do you keep your money and ID in a velcro canvas wallet, too?

Cash is dead. :reaper:

I carry my identity around with me at all times, as it is inherently part of my history and personality and consciousness. :biggrindu

i never wear a watch as obvious impediment to starting a convo with possible sex partner: "D'you've the time?" said with one eyebrow raised is a go-er. Esp. if wearing an Emma Peel-ish outfit.

Also is useful if state trooper pulls you over and says, "Do you've any idea how fast you were going?"

Well, I have these, but they are more for formal occasions, as I would hate to scratch them up in daily use.

BTW, when I said each day of the week, I meant each weekday of the week. The original Mickey Mouse Club was Monday thru Friday.

And so much easier to steal than cash. :rolleyes:

Not only that but you can only spend the cash you steal once. A purloined identity, on the other hand, has syndication value. ;)

"I've got the time if you've got the inclination." I doubt dressing like Emma Peel would help me though.
Trooper pulls Werner Heisenberg over, asks ""Do you've any idea how fast you were going?". Dr. Heisen berg replies "No, but I know *exactly* vere I am".

Welcome back Maggie! I haven't seen a post from you in a long while. Have you been lurking or staying away?
http://www.cellar.org/images/moresmilies/welcome.gif

What the hell are you? A farmer? :lol:

Well, I bopped over to Sears and ended up with one of these thanks to all of you who recommended Casio. (They put it in a Timex box after I bought it, which I'm sure would make both Casio and Timex very happy.)

I also had a chance to traipse around the mall unimpeded by children. (Or, I should say, unimpeded by my OWN children.) As always, an interesting experience, leading to fascinating observations.

• I usually consider myself fairly nerdy, but I had to re-evaluate in the face of the 10 or so guys playing Warhammer in the comic book store.
• I also note that Spencer's Gifts, that emporium of all things of good taste, is selling plug-in video games of Space Invaders right next to plug-in video games of Jenna Jameson Strip Poker.
• Victoria's Secret is running a sale and they placed the banners so that they covered up almost all of the mannequins, leading me to wonder if they have had complaints.
• While in Gamestop I checked out a demo PSP and was fairly impressed with the graphics, sound, etc. However I managed to win the fight (it was some kind of street fighting game that I didn't even see the name of) just by pushing buttons more or less at random, so that doesn't seem to speak well for that particular game.
• Good pool tables still cost more money than I can afford and take up up more space than I can spare. For some reason, it always comes as a surprise to [re-]learn this.
• Dairy Queen has apparently teamed up with Orange Julius.

Nice looking watch SD .

Well, I landed a 6-month contract gig back in August. Before that I was busy job-hunting, and after that I was working pretty hard. The gig was terminated prematurely by the client on Christmas Eve (nice guys), so I'm back in job-hunt mode.

I *very occasionally* swing by here; but I've been pseudoGAFIAted for so long it's hard to get back in the swing...and the post volume here is huge. I suppose "staying away" is a more accurate description than "lurking", but it's not "I hate the Cellar" staying away but rather "just haven't had the time".

That said, I could not resist the opportunity to brag about my Palm Watch (see upthread).

Nice. Where did you get it at?

As I noted..."$60 on eBay". There's still bunches of them available there; just search for "Palm watch". 8mb will store a surprising amount of data on PalmOS. Probably a lot more than you're willing to read on a screen of that size. :-)

http://tinyurl.com/8kkel links to a nerd discussion that identifies said watch as "either a Casio AX-510, AX-250, or AX-210"

I wore a Casio DBC-1500 for years until the Abacus WristPDA (Palm Watch) displaced it. Still have the Casio, of course, and it's still running.
http://www.watchzworld.com/cgi-bin/i...s/DBC15001.gif

Oh, here's a pic of the WristPDA:http://www.makezine.com/blog/FX2008.jpg

ML- Can you give me a run down on your likes/dislikes on your Fossil?

I know, I have a Handspring Visor. I did get an 8mb extension card for it. Too bad it won't fit on the watch.

Mobipocket has a free digital reader for Palm. They also have some public domain books as free downloads for the reader as well as scientific and financial calculator and conversion software (angles, radiation, electronics, calories, etc). Sort by "book" size to have the calculators show up at the top. They may still have free publishing software that would convert any text document into an e-book with a table of contents. If the book isn't too large, it can fit into the 8mb.

Free books I downloaded from them included Alice in Wonderland, The Oz books, Sherlock Holmes, Sun Tzu, and the Eightfold Path.

It would be interesting to read it on a 180x180 screen, but some books like Sun Tzu and the Eightfold Path can be broken into paragraphs and still retain their meaning.

I did put a bix in on an FX2008. From what I can see, the Palm watches go from AU2005-AU2008 and FX2005-FX2008. Looking at the technical specs, I can't see any difference. Is it only style issues or are there technical features that are different?

8MB was the same amount of memory that I had on my Palm IIIxe, which was an impossibly huge amount in those days ... my boss has an original USRobotics Palm Pilot that still mostly works and he wont' replace, probably because his wife wants something more than he does, and he's well, pretty much whipped. If the wife hadn't gotten addicted to the internet he'd still have a 486 computer. Whoops. The original USR PalmPilot had 1 MB.

Avantgo has a Classic Books page now. I am rereading Alice in Wonderland. They do a book of the month thing, but you can read stuff from their back-catalog as well.

Of course Docs-to-Go lets you read anything from the Gutenburg Project, so you're not really limited.

Alright, fine fine. But hear me out, here. I think the watch is the last vestige of dressing to look good, even in everyday situations. We really don't need watches -- we can tell what time it is through all of the other devices we interact with on a daily basis, so a watch is really nothing more than jewellery. I'm always confused to see people wearing digital watches a-la 1984 or people buying into the pda-combo idea. Most digital watches, being plastic, have the appearance of a cereal box freebie and a PDA on your wrist is just another unneeded, junky piece of electronic excess. Imagine if other pieces of jewellery worked the same way: Would you give a woman an engagement ring that lights up and flashes different colors? Should a man's ring scroll the time and play music when it is time for him to go to a meeting?

Well, okay, don't answer those questions. Still, I don't wear anything more dressy than khakis and a polo on a daily basis, but I wouldn't be caught wearing a watch with a black plastic band or something that connects to a computer. The wristwatch, aside from a ring, is the last piece of decent looking substance men wear these days. Digital displays are okay if you're five and know it is time to go when "the little hand being on the eight" and watches with calculators and computer displays haven't been acceptable since 1986. Some of the watches you guys are suggesting are proof that the last thread of fashion decency is dead.

The next thing you know, straight guys will take to wearing pink shirts and acting as if it were normal. :bawling:

LCD to LED
What a difference a letter makes.

Yes, doc readers are almost as numerous as doc formats for PalmOS. Currently in the watch I'm carrying eReader for the "Aportis" doc format and Plucker for anything else, with conversion being done with an aging copy of JPluck.
So far the models I've seen are all the same gutswise. Mine claims to be an AU5005.


To be honest; it's a bit of a Talking Dog. ("It's not that the dog says anything interesting, but that he can talk at all.")

It's certainly suboptimal that it needs to be allowed to charge fairly often (I do it every night)...although the fact that it will do so from any USB port takes some of the sting out. And since I have an unreasonable fetish about precise time, a watch trhat automatically keeps it self synched to the NBS standard (through my Ubuntu Linux box) is kinda fun. Calendar alarms *always* launch simultaneously if I'm wearing the watch at my desk.

I find it tricky to do any but the briefest text input on it, but that's partly because my full-size Palm III XE (in my purse) uses a different gesture language, to which I long ago became adjusted. If I have to take notes I know I'll want in digital form I'll use the XE and beam them to the watch.

My personal schedule has moved to the watch though.

It's been an odd pleasure that I now see an analog watch face (sometimes the one this fellow is demonstrating)
http://www.geek.com/hwswrev/pda/wristpda/wristpda4.jpg
when I look at my wristwatch...it subtly influneces how you think about time in ways I can't quite put my finger on. Yet when the geek impulse strikes, there's always Cesuim a button-push away...

http://www.seanet.com/~aball/clock.gif

Which is a twist on the usual "if he hadn't gotten addicted to the Internet, he'd still have a wife". My own Palm III XE is still a permanent part of my purse-stuff...along with a Leatherman Wave and a cute little video/still/audio recorder that uses SD cards. http://img.shopping.com/cctool/PrdIm...9/24681641.JPG

My lifepartner Gwen has a Sony Clie TJ25...for a while it was her only WiFi device, and it has a MemoryStick slot. Makes a decent portable media player...and for Yule I gifted her with a Neuros MPEG4 Recorder 2...essentially a PVR that uses MemSticks or CF cards as storage. ( http://tinyurl.com/82nms ) The plans Neuros has for the model 3 are quite ambitious. ( http://tinyurl.com/agvk6 )

I don't consider a watch to be "nothing more than jewelry"...it had bloody well do more than just "tell time" (with some feeble level of precision, no doubt) to justify a place on my body.

And *my* USB thumb is carried in my purse next to my Swiss Army Knife, not *on* it, which I do agree is lame. My SAK is the Space Shuttle crew-issue model...a classic, now unobtainable, and not to be trifled with.

Between the USB thumb and the DV cam, there's a gig of storage in my purse.

Well, my FX2008 is on the way. It appears that 2008 was the last model in the series, so I hope this means the 'least buggy'.

Here you go, Tony.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/dec05/380272.asp
(via Fark)

Pulsar is coming! ;)

But wait seven years and you can have an HP-01!
http://www.hpmuseum.org/01cldi.jpg

Arrrgh! I'd get hit that.

Where's the "enter" key? Shouldn't an HP calculator watch use RPN?

Wow! $1500 for the Pulsar digital in 1970. Today at work a co-worker gave me a digital tic-tac watch/stopwatch. He has been getting them free in six packs of Tic Tac mints. At this point he has given about a dozen away.

It probably has more features than the Pulsar.