Technabob » words

QLOCKTWO W Wristwatch Puts Time into Words

Range — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:30:24 +0000

Remember that awesome wall clock that told the time with words instead of numbers? The QLOCKTWO was then offered as an alarm clock as well. Now, Biegert & Funk have announced the QLOCKTWO W, a wristwatch version of their famous wordy design.

The QLOCKTWO W wristwatch measures 35 × 35 × 7 mm and has a 110-letter grid, which remains blank until a stainless steel button is pressed. As soon as this happens, the case lights up to describe in words the time. Initially, I thought that this watch would fetch a premium price, but after thinking about the kind of watches that Tokyoflash releases, it shouldn’t be that expensive. Still, the alarm clock sold for about $650 USD, so the watch will probably be expensive too.

The QLOCKTWO W will be released this autumn, but you can leave your information with Biegert & Funk to receive the latest updates. At launch, it will be available with a stainless steel or black case, in either English or German.

[via designboom]

Four-Letter Word Generator Might Swear at You

Technabob — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:57:36 +0000

This unusual gadget does one thing, and one thing only. It generates random four-letter words.

Peter Hand’s IV-17 Four Letter Word Generator kit comes pre-loaded with a dictionary of 5,400 words (there are some acronyms, and proper nouns in there too). Actually, I lied. It does more than one thing. It can also tell the time – but that’s not nearly as much fun as the seemingly endless list of words like BITS, LOFT, LAVA, and MAPS which rotate on the four Russian IV-17 VFD tubes.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

And if you’re wondering if it knows profanities, indeed it does. But there is a setting which lets you disable or enable an NSFW filter (I wonder if “NSFW” is one of the words on the list).

You can get your hands on a pre-assembled version of the kit for $120 (USD), and details on how to order one should be available over at WongAttitude “real soon now.”

[via Tube Clock DB (thanks for the tip, Brian!)]

Mom, What’S a Gerbil?: Oxford Junior Dictionary Omits “Nature Words”, Puts in More Tech Ones

Lambert Varias — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:46:52 +0000

The assimilation has begun. The latest edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary will be missing numerous words that pertain to natural things like animals, flowers & birds. A few fantasy and religious terms will also be removed. And what will replace these words? Tech words, like “chatroom”. A word that everyone, even cats, already knows. I hear that the publisher of the dictionary is headed by a certain Mr. Locutus.

The reason for this change? According to Vineeta Gupta of the Skynet Oxford University Press, “the decision to remove nature words is due to the reduced presence of nature in children’s lives.” Hmm. So if a student is weak at math, we should stop teaching him math altogether? And why put already popular words in a dictionary? Why would kids refer to a dictionary for things which they’ll probably know about through their daily activities? Mom and Dad, don’t you want your kids to know the names of the animals in Happy Tree Friends?

Read Dan Gould’s article at PFSK for the complete list of words removed and words added. Mrs. Connor are you listening? Teach John to love nature okay? Nature!

Lebedev Tells the Time in Words

Technabob — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 05:11:08 +0000

Russian industrial designer, Art Lebedev has introduced his latest creation, a clock that displays time using words rather than numbers or hands.

Lebedev’s Verbarius clock spells out the time using phrases like “fifteen minutes to five.” The clock is multi-lingual and can tell time in Russian, English, German, Spanish or French and is being offered at an preorder price of $158.25, with an expected release date of November 2007.

[via Gizmodo]