Adding a realtime clock chip to an embedded device is incredibly cheap. You can buy a five-pack of realtime clock/calendar chips for a buck fifty on eBay. Surface mount chips purchased in bulk would be even cheaper.
No one needs “good” time. Losing or gaining even a whole second a day is irrelevant to anyone’s biking. Once in a blue moon, you fix the clock. It’d be no worse than the clock in your car.
I really don’t know what you mean by “quite a level of extra hardware.” It’s totally not. The computers already have a battery. All it needs is one tiny extra chip.
First, in most embedded systems, “a buck fifty” is a lot of money. Then you need to have an interface free on the main controller. You need an extra 32768Hz quarz. And you usually use a seperate battery (usually a mercury cell) to feed it to avoid complicated power routing issues.
That was for a five pack at retail. Surface mount chips would be much cheaper. Even if it were $1 per chip, that would not be a lot of money. I don’t know how you can say that with a straight face.
Then you need to have an interface free on the main controller
OK. The ones pictured in the article had large, full color screens. A UI designer can surely squeeze a clock in there.
But that’s moot. We were talking about price.
avoid complicated power routing issues
You’re just making up problems to sound smart to defend your ridiculous claim that a realtime clock component is expensive. Stop changing the subject and just admit that your original comment was incorrect. Adding a clock to a device like a bicycle computer is very inexpensive.
The only reason not to include one is because making products under capitalism is a race to the bottom. Removing $1 per unit when selling a million units is a savings of $1M. If most people don’t care about a clock, then that’s just money in the bank. But you saying that would be “surprisingly expensive” and a “lot of extra hardware” is just nonsense. And your other arguments against adding a clock are also spurious.
Adding a realtime clock chip to an embedded device is incredibly cheap. You can buy a five-pack of realtime clock/calendar chips for a buck fifty on eBay. Surface mount chips purchased in bulk would be even cheaper.
No one needs “good” time. Losing or gaining even a whole second a day is irrelevant to anyone’s biking. Once in a blue moon, you fix the clock. It’d be no worse than the clock in your car.
I really don’t know what you mean by “quite a level of extra hardware.” It’s totally not. The computers already have a battery. All it needs is one tiny extra chip.
First, in most embedded systems, “a buck fifty” is a lot of money. Then you need to have an interface free on the main controller. You need an extra 32768Hz quarz. And you usually use a seperate battery (usually a mercury cell) to feed it to avoid complicated power routing issues.
That was for a five pack at retail. Surface mount chips would be much cheaper. Even if it were $1 per chip, that would not be a lot of money. I don’t know how you can say that with a straight face.
OK. The ones pictured in the article had large, full color screens. A UI designer can surely squeeze a clock in there.
But that’s moot. We were talking about price.
You’re just making up problems to sound smart to defend your ridiculous claim that a realtime clock component is expensive. Stop changing the subject and just admit that your original comment was incorrect. Adding a clock to a device like a bicycle computer is very inexpensive.
The only reason not to include one is because making products under capitalism is a race to the bottom. Removing $1 per unit when selling a million units is a savings of $1M. If most people don’t care about a clock, then that’s just money in the bank. But you saying that would be “surprisingly expensive” and a “lot of extra hardware” is just nonsense. And your other arguments against adding a clock are also spurious.