Half computer, half world radio

By Gary Krakow
MSNBC
April 9

This is an excerpt from an MSNBC article titled Half computer, half world radio originally posted at http://www.msnbc.com/news/257630.asp and no longer available online.

ON ANOTHER SUBJECT

This nugget comes thanks to Ed and Kim Mitchell, who wrote to tell me about a raging controversy with overtones of international intrigue and heated charges coming from everywhere. It concerns Swatch, the Swiss watch people, and their plans to broadcast some 5,000 written and voice messages via the Russian Space Flight Command Center and a mini-Sputnik satellite. They plan on using a set of amateur radio frequencies to do so. Needless tosay, amateur radio groups like the ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League) are veryupset. Other opponents are asking them to call off "Project Beatnik" and the April 16 satellite launch (from the Mir Space Station). They want a commercial satellite used instead. Swatch reportedly doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. All they're doing is trying to sell watches that display a new world time standard (which centers on the central European time zone, and splits the day into 1,000 equal parts!)

Right now, it's "@ 865 beats" Swatch Internet Time (or 3:45pm EDT). Confused? Join the club. More details in the near future.