Science Meets Style In This Cathode Tube Watch

scope-n-SHOUT writes "The Nixie Watch displays the time on nixie tubes, a cold-cathode tube filled with neon, a little mercury and argon at a small fraction of atmospheric pressure. Nixies were used in many early electronic desktop calculators, including the first: the vacuum tube-based Sumlock-Comptometer Anita Mk VII in 1961. This two-digit wristwatch is designed for everyday use, being water-resistant and rugged, not to mention looking really retro-future cool. The watch requires no button pushing to operate - it shows the hours, minutes and seconds in sequence at the flick of the wrist. For the hardcore code tweaker, a programming adapter allows the GPL'd PIC firmware running the watch to be hacked up at will. The Nixie Watch is being sold in very limited edition, with each piece individually numbered and engraved."

Why a watch?

[avalys]

It seems like a watch is the wrong form factor for this thing. The idea is really cool, and I think I might actually buy one if it was made as a desk clock, but I wouldn't want that enormous hockey-puck-sized-thing strapped to my wrist all day.

Not

[DumbSwede]

"...really retro-future cool" -- NOT

Maybe 4 smaller nixie tubes, but this first hours then minutes then seconds display on two digits looks more like a bad high school science project than a must have geek item.

So when did /. become such an ad pusher?

[Fallen Kell]

Just wondering. Did you get any decent amount of money for that huge ad? I sure hope you did since this probably sent more traffic their way then anything else has in the past.

This actually is a pretty cool watch...

[John Miles]

... if only for its homebrew-deco appeal. According to the .PDF copy of the user manual on the site, the software that runs it is GPL'ed and fully user-compilable/modifiable. The complete schematic is provided with a nifty discussion of the underlying circuit theory.

Aesthetically, yeah, it's hard to argue that it's not a piece of junk. The first thing you notice -- because your eye expects to see two more Nixie tubes -- is the huge battery next to the two that are present. That should have been a stack of heavy-duty lithium coin cells mounted out of sight. If they'd gone that route, then the housing could have accommodated three tubes... which 85% of the time is all you need, right?

It doesn't deserve the bashing it's getting on a "News for Nerds" site, at any rate. Everybody reading Slashdot has scarier stuff than this in their (psychic?) basements.

Re:So when did /. become such an ad pusher?

[Anonymous Coward]

Just wondering. Did you get any decent amount of money for that huge ad?

OMG!!!! SLASHDOT is linking to an item FOR SALE!!!!
LIES CORRUPTION END OF THE WORLD!!!!

... or maybe it's just a link to a small company with a cool product. Stop acting so self-righteous and get over yourself.
Are you really suggesting that slashdot shouldn't link to any product or service that is offered for sale?

Re:Thank you, Johnny Olsen.

[redheaded_stepchild]

At 395 bucks I think I can say for sure, the price is not even close to right.

Re:So when did /. become such an ad pusher?

[Total_Wimp]

Just wondering. Did you get any decent amount of money for that huge ad? I sure hope you did since this probably sent more traffic their way then anything else has in the past.

I don't understand how this got modded +5 "Insightful." I mean, were all the XBOX 360 articles somehow enlightening to geeks, but this one is all of a sudden an "advertisement" because some dude will (gasp!) make money off of the product?

I just checked the front page (3:35 am EST) and found that 4 of the 10 articles are about either for-profit companies or the products they sell. Until geeks stop liking to buy stuff, maybe you should save this kind of comment for Mother Jones magazine or something.

I don't mean to crack on you so hard but, damn, the product is nerdy ("news for nerds"). I might buy into your logic if the article was about scrub brushes or something.

TW