Quote:
Originally Posted by thinkxingu
They've had atomic clocks for years, which set themselves without the need for a complex network, so if it were important I'd think that'd be a much simpler option.
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Most of these clocks use a RADIO signal ("La Crosse technology?") to get their time from. That's great if the radio signal is strong enough where you are, think cell phones and dead areas. I've owned one. It didn't work where I was at the time because the radio signal wasn't strong enough. Plus, the radio signal is often unavailable 24/7. Many systems that use this tech only update at night when the signal is stronger because of atmospheric issues during the day.
BTW, the name of "atomic clock" is a marketing misnomer. A real atomic clock is one that uses a hyper precise time base that "deviates only 1 second in up to 100 million years". La Crosse snazzed up the name because it had better buzz than "Radio clock".
I proposed wi-fi because it is becoming ubiquitous in homes. HOW you get your wifi varies, cable, phone lines, broadband, satellite but almost everyone is getting it somehow. If the clocks all linked to it for their time base, problem solved with no drop out areas. Obviously, if you don't have wifi, you wouldn't buy one of these clocks.
Beyond that, once you have the wifi connection, the clocks can get smarter to tell you things like the day's weather, flag alerts, etc.