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Timex Datalink
Timex Datalink or Timex Data Link is a line of early smartwatches manufactured by Timex and is considered a wristwatch computer. It is the first watch capable of downloading information wirelessly from a computer. As the name implies, datalink watches are capable of data transfer through linking with a computer. The Datalink line was introduced in 1994 and it was co-developed with Microsoft as a wearable alternative to mainstream PDAs with additional attributes such as water resistance, that PDAs lacked, and easy programmability. The watch was demonstrated by Bill Gates on 21 June 1994 in a presentation where he downloaded information from a computer monitor using bars of light and then showed to the audience the downloaded appointments and other data. The early models included models 50, 70, 150 and model 150s (small size). The model numbers indicated the approximate number of phone numbers that could be stored in the watch memory. These early models were, at the time of their introduction, the only watches to bear the Microsoft logo.[citation needed] The watches have been certified by NASA for space travel and have been used by astronauts and cosmonauts in space missions. There had been an evolution over the years as to the number and type of entries that can be stored in the various watch models as well as the mode of data transfer between computer and watch. At the time of its introduction the watch was considered high-tech.
There is also the Timex Beepwear Datalink series, featuring wearable pagers using the Timex datalink platform which also function as electronic organisers.
Although there are other watches capable of storing all kinds of data, most had either a small keyboard or buttons, which could be used to input data. In most cases data was lost when the battery expired. Upon introduction of the Timex Datalink models, "data watches" such as those from Casio were noted as selling for "between a third and a half the price" of such models, but the "fiddly little buttons" (having to be pressed repeatedly to select letters from the alphabet) were regarded as less convenient and largely only appealing to those used to "doing things the hard way". The Datalink models also offered water resistance to a depth of 100 metres, Timex's Indiglo backlighting, and "the build quality that helped make Timex a household name", although this robustness was reported as making the product more like "the kind of "chunky, clunky watches that divers prefer", being around one-and-a-half inches in diameter and standing "over half an inch proud of the wrist".
The Timex Datalink watches downloaded data wirelessly by illuminating a computer screen with a changing display encoding information to transfer, which was detected by the watch's sensor. Data to be transferred to Datalink watches was held in a database maintained by the Datalink software running on a Windows-based host computer, with alarms, appointments, anniversaries, phone numbers, reminders (or to-do items) being the supported categories of data for transfer. Textual labels for various categories could be up to 15 characters in length, with such text scrolling across an eight character display. Although the time could be set through normal use of the watch, the software also permitted the time to be updated using the transfer mechanism. Selecting the "Send to Watch" option in the Datalink software and pointing the watch face towards the screen at a distance of between six and twelve inches, guided by beeping sounds from the watch, resulted in the transfer of data at a rate that permitted around 1 KB or 70 entries to be sent in less than a minute. However, the mechanism required the use of a cathode-ray tube monitor, as opposed to a liquid-crystal or other kind of display. Transfer of data from the watch to the computer was also not permitted by this mechanism, but entries could be deleted on the watch or, in the case of to-do items, marked as done. When the watch's battery expired the data would be transferred again after replacement of the battery.
The watch had a small lens at the top of its face used for data transmission by visible light. Data was transmitted from the CRT of the computer through a series of pulsating horizontal bars, that were focused by the lens and written to the watch EEPROM memory through an optoelectronic transducer operating in the visible light spectrum and employing optical scanning technology.
The original Timex Datalink software with CRT synchronization support is compatible with Windows versions Windows 3.1 to Windows XP. The watch was compatible with Microsoft's Schedule+ time management software. For the Datalink 70 model, the time needed to download seventy phone numbers was about twenty seconds.
On the resin strap of the Timex Datalink 50 model 70301, there is a print with binary numbers which are actually ASCII. The numbers on one half of the strap encode, including capitalization, the text 'Listen To The Light'. The numbers on other half of the strap encode the text 'If You [ASCII-24] See', which, given that ASCII-24 is the 'Cancel' character or just 'CAN', makes the complete message 'Listen To The Light If You Can See'.[citation needed]
The earlier models were the Datalink 50, Datalink 70, Datalink 150 and Datalink 150s, where the "s" was for small and it was intended to be a lady's watch. The 150 and 150s models are essentially the same, except that the 150s, having a smaller display, has different display addresses from the 150, and thus it needs its own programming code.[citation needed]
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Timex Datalink AI simulator
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Timex Datalink
Timex Datalink or Timex Data Link is a line of early smartwatches manufactured by Timex and is considered a wristwatch computer. It is the first watch capable of downloading information wirelessly from a computer. As the name implies, datalink watches are capable of data transfer through linking with a computer. The Datalink line was introduced in 1994 and it was co-developed with Microsoft as a wearable alternative to mainstream PDAs with additional attributes such as water resistance, that PDAs lacked, and easy programmability. The watch was demonstrated by Bill Gates on 21 June 1994 in a presentation where he downloaded information from a computer monitor using bars of light and then showed to the audience the downloaded appointments and other data. The early models included models 50, 70, 150 and model 150s (small size). The model numbers indicated the approximate number of phone numbers that could be stored in the watch memory. These early models were, at the time of their introduction, the only watches to bear the Microsoft logo.[citation needed] The watches have been certified by NASA for space travel and have been used by astronauts and cosmonauts in space missions. There had been an evolution over the years as to the number and type of entries that can be stored in the various watch models as well as the mode of data transfer between computer and watch. At the time of its introduction the watch was considered high-tech.
There is also the Timex Beepwear Datalink series, featuring wearable pagers using the Timex datalink platform which also function as electronic organisers.
Although there are other watches capable of storing all kinds of data, most had either a small keyboard or buttons, which could be used to input data. In most cases data was lost when the battery expired. Upon introduction of the Timex Datalink models, "data watches" such as those from Casio were noted as selling for "between a third and a half the price" of such models, but the "fiddly little buttons" (having to be pressed repeatedly to select letters from the alphabet) were regarded as less convenient and largely only appealing to those used to "doing things the hard way". The Datalink models also offered water resistance to a depth of 100 metres, Timex's Indiglo backlighting, and "the build quality that helped make Timex a household name", although this robustness was reported as making the product more like "the kind of "chunky, clunky watches that divers prefer", being around one-and-a-half inches in diameter and standing "over half an inch proud of the wrist".
The Timex Datalink watches downloaded data wirelessly by illuminating a computer screen with a changing display encoding information to transfer, which was detected by the watch's sensor. Data to be transferred to Datalink watches was held in a database maintained by the Datalink software running on a Windows-based host computer, with alarms, appointments, anniversaries, phone numbers, reminders (or to-do items) being the supported categories of data for transfer. Textual labels for various categories could be up to 15 characters in length, with such text scrolling across an eight character display. Although the time could be set through normal use of the watch, the software also permitted the time to be updated using the transfer mechanism. Selecting the "Send to Watch" option in the Datalink software and pointing the watch face towards the screen at a distance of between six and twelve inches, guided by beeping sounds from the watch, resulted in the transfer of data at a rate that permitted around 1 KB or 70 entries to be sent in less than a minute. However, the mechanism required the use of a cathode-ray tube monitor, as opposed to a liquid-crystal or other kind of display. Transfer of data from the watch to the computer was also not permitted by this mechanism, but entries could be deleted on the watch or, in the case of to-do items, marked as done. When the watch's battery expired the data would be transferred again after replacement of the battery.
The watch had a small lens at the top of its face used for data transmission by visible light. Data was transmitted from the CRT of the computer through a series of pulsating horizontal bars, that were focused by the lens and written to the watch EEPROM memory through an optoelectronic transducer operating in the visible light spectrum and employing optical scanning technology.
The original Timex Datalink software with CRT synchronization support is compatible with Windows versions Windows 3.1 to Windows XP. The watch was compatible with Microsoft's Schedule+ time management software. For the Datalink 70 model, the time needed to download seventy phone numbers was about twenty seconds.
On the resin strap of the Timex Datalink 50 model 70301, there is a print with binary numbers which are actually ASCII. The numbers on one half of the strap encode, including capitalization, the text 'Listen To The Light'. The numbers on other half of the strap encode the text 'If You [ASCII-24] See', which, given that ASCII-24 is the 'Cancel' character or just 'CAN', makes the complete message 'Listen To The Light If You Can See'.[citation needed]
The earlier models were the Datalink 50, Datalink 70, Datalink 150 and Datalink 150s, where the "s" was for small and it was intended to be a lady's watch. The 150 and 150s models are essentially the same, except that the 150s, having a smaller display, has different display addresses from the 150, and thus it needs its own programming code.[citation needed]