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The only watch better than the Casio F91W is the Casio F-105. They are nearly identical, except the F-105 has a backlight that is usable. The backlight on the F

The only watch better than the Casio F91W is the Casio F-105. They are nearly identical, except the F-105 has a backlight that is usable. The backlight on the F91W is worthless, and there are quite a few mods out there showing you how to replace it. Source: I’ve been wearing both of these models for decades, although I haven’t touched the F91W in years and never will again.

tyingq 5y ago
Perhaps true, but the interesting bit in the linked article is that some al-Qaida bomb-making training course in Afghanistan gave you a free F91W to be used as a detonator. And apparently the US then decided that meant possession of an F91W on its own was reasonable evidence of terrorism. Despite 90+ million of them being sold over the years.
- freeflight 5y ago
  > Despite 90+ million of them being sold over the years. It’s a feature not a bug, wouldn’t want to run out of “terrorist suspects” or else the war on terror would be difficult to sell.
  - AnthonyMouse 5y ago
    Plus, what if you suspect someone for illegitimate reasons and then you need some alternative pretext? I think it was the TSA manual that classified as "suspicious" both looking at law enforcement personnel and not looking at law enforcement personnel.
  - afarrell 5y ago
    I've had many conversations with people with anxiety. I think you're attributing more intentionality than existed here. Scared people make stupid choices.
    - burkaman 5y ago
      I've been scared before, but I've never tortured someone and imprisoned them for 20 years on a hunch.
      - afarrell 5y ago
        Have you ever been in a position where you had either the power or the responsibility to imprison someone?
        burkaman 5y ago
        No I haven't, I was illustrating the absurdity of being so frightened by 9/11 that 4 years later you make the "stupid decision" of ordering your subordinates to torture prisoners. Note also that the people in charge of Guantanamo didn't have the power or responsibility to torture anyone, but they did it anyway. Remember that the people making decisions about looking for a certain watch or using torture are not scared soldiers in Afghanistan, they're career officers and politicians who face no personal risk.
        afarrell 5y ago
        Okay, you've successfully illustrated that it is absurd. That only shows it would be out-of-place in a work of fiction. However, we are talking about reality. Which is more realistic: 1. People twirling their moustaches and intentionally deciding to lie to give themselves a supply of prisoners to torture to the benefit of... 2. People deceiving themselves into justifying a course of action because they are scared and their self-image as a stalwart protector is under threat.
        burkaman 5y ago
        Obviously number 1, do you really need me to lay out the history of documented intentional lies for you? The logic is "torture might not work, but I don't give a shit about these people so there's no downside, and it'll give the guards a way to relieve some stress." Or "yeah the watch isn't good evidence, but all these people are guilty of something, right? I mean they're all Muslim, they all hate us, it doesn't matter which ones we arrest or kill". You're right that part of it is protecting an image, but that's driven by career ambition and social pressure, not fear. And you're right that they deceive themselves to justify their actions, but again it's not fear driven, it's just the natural "I'm not a bad person" mental protections that we all have all the time. They tell themselves the prisoners deserve it, or that anyone in their position would do the same, or that they're just following orders.
cnlevy 5y ago
So, you shoud be interned as a terrorist in Guantanamo with Obama https://iknowwatches.com/casio-f-91w-classic-watch-review/ https://iknowwatches.com/casio-f-91w-classic-watch-review/
squarefoot 5y ago
I'm sure I've had a watch like that in the past, they were pretty common back then. I also know how to build timers without using watches. Does this make me a suspect terrorist? Or maybe by not being muslim (or of any other religion) I don't qualify as a person of interest? That is crazy. Moreover, any watch can be converted to be a timer, not just that one. The internal buzzer all watches contain is a piezo transducer driven by square waves generated by the processor, and is much simpler to reach than the backlight led; a simple circuit made by a bunch of parts recycled from any old pocket radio can be used to drive a relay, hence to trigger anything, from a coffee machine to a missile launcher. The point is that having the tools doesn't make one a terrorist; detaining someone on these premises reveals lack of intelligence and probably the need to fabricate some "results" to justify the enormous spending behind Gitmo and other facilities and keep the money flowing.
- actually_a_dog 5y ago
  Be careful! If your timer is attached to a circuit board, you could be labeled a terrorist. https://agoodmantoknow.com/2015/09/22/ahmeds-clockbomb/ https://agoodmantoknow.com/2015/09/22/ahmeds-clockbomb/
mmaunder 5y ago
Thanks. F91W user here and you’re absolutely right. I’ll try the 105.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
  The 105 uses EL for its backlight. It’s really great stuff: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroluminescent_wire https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroluminescent_wire
tephra 5y ago
The problem with my F91W is that it doesn't sport a calculator, had to get myself a DBC32 for that.
philihp 5y ago
The backlight comes in really handy when you’re in a low light situation and want to see how much time is left on your bomb.

tyingq 5y ago

Perhaps true, but the interesting bit in the linked article is that some al-Qaida bomb-making training course in Afghanistan gave you a free F91W to be used as a detonator. And apparently the US then decided that meant possession of an F91W on its own was reasonable evidence of terrorism. Despite 90+ million of them being sold over the years.

freeflight 5y ago
> Despite 90+ million of them being sold over the years. It’s a feature not a bug, wouldn’t want to run out of “terrorist suspects” or else the war on terror would be difficult to sell.
- AnthonyMouse 5y ago
  Plus, what if you suspect someone for illegitimate reasons and then you need some alternative pretext? I think it was the TSA manual that classified as "suspicious" both looking at law enforcement personnel and not looking at law enforcement personnel.
- afarrell 5y ago
  I've had many conversations with people with anxiety. I think you're attributing more intentionality than existed here. Scared people make stupid choices.
  - burkaman 5y ago
    I've been scared before, but I've never tortured someone and imprisoned them for 20 years on a hunch.
    - afarrell 5y ago
      Have you ever been in a position where you had either the power or the responsibility to imprison someone?
      - burkaman 5y ago
        No I haven't, I was illustrating the absurdity of being so frightened by 9/11 that 4 years later you make the "stupid decision" of ordering your subordinates to torture prisoners. Note also that the people in charge of Guantanamo didn't have the power or responsibility to torture anyone, but they did it anyway. Remember that the people making decisions about looking for a certain watch or using torture are not scared soldiers in Afghanistan, they're career officers and politicians who face no personal risk.
        afarrell 5y ago
        Okay, you've successfully illustrated that it is absurd. That only shows it would be out-of-place in a work of fiction. However, we are talking about reality. Which is more realistic: 1. People twirling their moustaches and intentionally deciding to lie to give themselves a supply of prisoners to torture to the benefit of... 2. People deceiving themselves into justifying a course of action because they are scared and their self-image as a stalwart protector is under threat.
        burkaman 5y ago
        Obviously number 1, do you really need me to lay out the history of documented intentional lies for you? The logic is "torture might not work, but I don't give a shit about these people so there's no downside, and it'll give the guards a way to relieve some stress." Or "yeah the watch isn't good evidence, but all these people are guilty of something, right? I mean they're all Muslim, they all hate us, it doesn't matter which ones we arrest or kill". You're right that part of it is protecting an image, but that's driven by career ambition and social pressure, not fear. And you're right that they deceive themselves to justify their actions, but again it's not fear driven, it's just the natural "I'm not a bad person" mental protections that we all have all the time. They tell themselves the prisoners deserve it, or that anyone in their position would do the same, or that they're just following orders.

cnlevy 5y ago

So, you shoud be interned as a terrorist in Guantanamo with Obama https://iknowwatches.com/casio-f-91w-classic-watch-review/ https://iknowwatches.com/casio-f-91w-classic-watch-review/

squarefoot 5y ago

I'm sure I've had a watch like that in the past, they were pretty common back then. I also know how to build timers without using watches. Does this make me a suspect terrorist? Or maybe by not being muslim (or of any other religion) I don't qualify as a person of interest? That is crazy. Moreover, any watch can be converted to be a timer, not just that one. The internal buzzer all watches contain is a piezo transducer driven by square waves generated by the processor, and is much simpler to reach than the backlight led; a simple circuit made by a bunch of parts recycled from any old pocket radio can be used to drive a relay, hence to trigger anything, from a coffee machine to a missile launcher. The point is that having the tools doesn't make one a terrorist; detaining someone on these premises reveals lack of intelligence and probably the need to fabricate some "results" to justify the enormous spending behind Gitmo and other facilities and keep the money flowing.

actually_a_dog 5y ago
Be careful! If your timer is attached to a circuit board, you could be labeled a terrorist. https://agoodmantoknow.com/2015/09/22/ahmeds-clockbomb/ https://agoodmantoknow.com/2015/09/22/ahmeds-clockbomb/

mmaunder 5y ago

Thanks. F91W user here and you’re absolutely right. I’ll try the 105.

TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
The 105 uses EL for its backlight. It’s really great stuff: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroluminescent_wire https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroluminescent_wire

tephra 5y ago

The problem with my F91W is that it doesn't sport a calculator, had to get myself a DBC32 for that.

philihp 5y ago

The backlight comes in really handy when you’re in a low light situation and want to see how much time is left on your bomb.