(???) =====================================================================
(???) Swatch Internet Time =
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(???) Introduction
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(TN3) ime
(PHO) 4-hour time (UTC)
(???) .beat time (BMT)
(???) {nobreak|@{{#expr:{{#expr:{{#expr:++}}/86.4}} round 2}}}}
(???) watch Internet Time (or ) is a decimal time system introduced in 1998
(???) y the Swatch corporation as part of their marketing campaign for
(???) heir line of ".beat" watches. Those without a watch can use the
(IMG) nternet to view the current time on the watchmaker's website. The
(???) oncept is similar to decimal minutes in French Revolutionary decimal
(???) ime.
(IMG) nstead of hours and minutes, the mean solar day is divided into 1,000
(PNG) arts called 's. Each lasts in standard time. The time of day begins
(???) t midnight, for example, @248 BEATS would indicate a time 248 after
(???) idnight, representing of a day, just over 5 hours and 57 minutes.
(TN3) here are no time zones in Swatch Internet Time; it is globally based
(???) n the time zone of Biel, Switzerland, where Swatch's headquarters is
(???) ocated, what is conventionally known as Central European Time (UTC+1
(???) r West Africa Time). Swatch calls this "Biel Mean Time" (BMT),
(???) lthough it is not actually mean solar time as measured in Biel. And,
(???) nlike civil time in Switzerland and many other countries, Swatch
(IMG) nternet Time does not observe daylight saving time (DST).
(???) History
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(???) watch Internet Time was announced on 23 October 1998, in a ceremony
(???) t the Junior Summit '98, attended by Nicolas G. Hayek, President and
(???) EO of the Swatch Group, G.N. Hayek, President of Swatch Ltd., and
(???) icholas Negroponte, founder and then-director of the MIT Media Lab.
(???) uring the Summit, Swatch Internet Time became the official time
(SND) ystem for Nation.1, an online country (supposedly) created and run by
(???) hildren.
(???) Uses
(???) =====
(???) uring 1999, Swatch produced several models of watch, branded "Swatch
(???) , that displayed Swatch Internet Time as well as standard time, and
(???) ven convinced a few websites (such as CNN.com) to use the new format.
(???) HP's date() function has a format specifier, 'B', which returns the
(???) watch Internet Time notation for a given time stamp. It is also used
(???) s a time reference on ICQ, and the online role-playing game 'Phantasy
(???) tar Online' used it since its launch on the Dreamcast in 2000 to try
(???) o facilitate cross-continent gaming (as the game allowed Japanese,
(???) merican and European players to mingle on the same servers). In March
(PHO) 001, Ericsson released the T20e, a mobile phone which gave the user
(???) he option of displaying Internet Time. Outside these areas, it is
nfrequently used. While Swatch still offers the concept on its
(???) ebsite, it no longer markets Beat watches. In July 2016, Swatch
(???) eleased Touch Zero Two, its second wirelessly connected watch, with
(???) watch Internet Time function.
(???) Beatnik satellite controversy
(???) ==============================
(IMG) n early 1999, Swatch began a marketing campaign about the launch of
(???) heir Beatnik satellite, intended to service a set of Internet Time
(???) atches. They were criticized for planning to use an amateur radio
(???) requency for broadcasting a commercial message (an act banned by
nternational treaties). The satellite was intended to be deployed by
(HTM) and from the 'Mir' space station. Swatch instead donated the
(???) ransmitter batteries for use in normal 'Mir' functions, and the
(SND) atellite never broadcast.
(???) Description
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(TN3) he concept was touted as an alternative, decimal measure of time. One
(???) f the supposed goals was to simplify the way people in different time
(???) ones communicate about time, mostly by eliminating time zones
(???) ltogether. It also does away with the division of the day into 12 or
(PHO) 4 parts (hours), then 60 parts (minutes), then 60 parts (seconds),
(???) hen 1000 parts (milliseconds). Furthermore, there is no confusion
(???) etween the AM/PM system and 24-hour time.
(???) Beats
(???) ======
(PNG) er unit of time
(DIR) day
(DIR) hour
(DIR) min 26.4 s
(DIR) min
(DIR) s
(IMG) nstead of hours and minutes, the mean solar day is divided into 1,000
(PNG) arts called '. Each lasts 1 minute and 26.4 seconds. One is equal
(???) o one decimal minute in French decimal time.
(???) lthough Swatch does not specify units smaller than one , third party
mplementations have extended the standard by adding "centibeats" or
(???) sub-beats", for extended precision: @248.00. Each "centibeat" is a
(HTM) undredth of a and is therefore equal to one French decimal second
(???) 0.864 seconds).
(???) Time zones
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(TN3) here are no time zones; instead, the new time scale of Biel Mean Time
(???) BMT) is used, based on the company's headquarters in Biel,
(???) witzerland. Despite the name, BMT does not refer to mean solar time
(???) t the Biel meridian (7°15′E), but to the standard time there. It is
(???) quivalent to Central European Time and West Africa Time, or UTC+1.
(???) ike UTC, Swatch Internet Time is the same throughout the world. For
(???) xample, when the time is 875 , or @875, in New York, it is also @875
n Tokyo. Unlike civil time in most European countries, Internet Time
(DOC) oes not observe daylight saving time, and thus it matches Central
(???) uropean Time during (European) winter and Western European Summer
(TN3) ime, which is observed by the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal and
(???) pain's Canary Islands during summer.
(???) Notation
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(TN3) he most distinctive aspect of Swatch Internet Time is its notation;
(???) s an example, "@248" would indicate a time 248 after midnight,
(???) quivalent to a fractional day of 0.248 CET, or 04:57:07.2 UTC. No
(???) xplicit format was provided for dates, although the Swatch website
(???) ormerly displayed the Gregorian calendar date in the order
(DOC) ay-month-year, separated by periods and prefixed by the letter 'd'
(???) e.g. d31.01.99).
(???) Calculation from UTC+1
(???) =======================
(TN3) he formula for calculating the time in from UTC+1 is:
(???) here 'h' is UTC+1 hours and 'm' is UTC+1 minutes. The result is
(???) ounded down.
(???) When does the day begin?
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(???) xample cities across the globe @1000 BEATS midnight:
(???) 1000 BEATS
(???) City
(???) San Francisco
(???) New York
(???) London
(???) Biel
(???) Tokyo
(???) Sydney
(???) See also
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(???) Traditional Chinese timekeeping - 1 = 10 'beats'
(???) Metric time
(???) New Earth Time
(???) Unix time
(???) External links
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(???)
(???) [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/internettime.html A short
(DOC) escription of Internet time]
(???) License
(???) ========
(???) ll content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
(???) icense URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
(???) riginal Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatch_Internet_Time