Thursday, August 14, 2008

Not that the world needs more protocols...

But how about something like the Home Network Time Protocol (HNTP)? I just walked between three rooms in our place, and between five digital clocks, they all show different times. All our Macs are perfectly synchronized to the second thanks to NTP. I wish every digital clock had the capability to similarly sync.

I vaguely recall a technology a while back which offered RF synchronization with some kind of baseline clock (the terms "NIST" and "cesium atomic" come to mind), but I guess that never went anywhere. I'd love to see it come back...

2 comments:

  1. The RF synchronization from a centrally located atomic clock is really common in Europe. It's hard to find a clock without one. Too bad it isn't more popular in the US.

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  2. http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/search.do?searchtype=simple&catg=535&simplesearchfor=atomic+clock&simpleitemtype=0

    There are tons of them out there. And if I had them at home, my wife couldn't set the clocks five minutes fast... (A huge pet peeve.)

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