3 ms·

I had a Timex Data Watch over 30 years ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timex_Datalink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timex_Datalink It'd transfer phone numb

by bigiain 2mo ago

I had a Timex Data Watch over 30 years ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timex_Datalink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timex_Datalink It'd transfer phone numbers and calendar entries to the watch by blinking the screen of your computer. Kinda a 1 pixel version of this. (I wonder where that ended up? From memory I threw it in a drawer when I finished the Windows 95 project I'd been working on, and switched to Mac. There was no Mac software to talk to it.)

atoav 2mo ago
I have seen digital audio gear that solved firmware transfer like that. You basically go to a website on your phone and it flickers the screen and you hold it in front of a photosensitive bit of the device that needs to be updated for 20 seconds and done. If your firmware is small enough to fit that model, it isn't a bad variant. Beats downloading a file, transferring it to a USB drive, sticking that in,...
- krautsauer 2mo ago
  That'd be a few 100 bytes at best… what firmware fits into that?
  - account42 2mo ago
    100 bytes in 20 seconds would only be 40 bps. Surely you can do better than that even using only one bit symbols (off/on).
    - krautsauer 2mo ago
      With a flashing phone screen? 120Hz tops, right?
- _joel 2mo ago
  If only they had a clean digital way of getting data into the system.
  - inigyou 2mo ago
    Listen, you do not want your firmware to be updated by playing a FLAC file.
    - _joel 2mo ago
      FLAC? That shows some degree of advanced technology that I would assume the original device in question does not have.
      - inigyou 2mo ago
        It's "digital audio gear". It receives uncompressed PCM, which could come from your computer playing a FLAC.
        _joel 2mo ago
        right, so a very specific case of playing FLAC via an external device, not on the system itself. Ok, that makes more sense. Still don't get what the issue is. Put the device in the correct mode and play from whatever digital input or playback (CD, DAT etc) the system already has.
        inigyou 2mo ago
        Okay, if there's a button you have to hold to enable firmware update then it's more sensible. Probably still wouldn't want to use digital audio input though. Although it's a perfect digital stream, it's been processed in analog-like ways before it gets to the device - such as filtering and volume changes. So you'd still want to use a modem protocol over it.
    - sunrunner 2mo ago
      Especially if it's a recording of Rhythm Nation.
ninjalanternshk 2mo ago
[dead]
jodrellblank 2mo ago
Psion Series 5 and other PDAs had infra red (IrDA) ports for 'beam'ing contacts, transferring files, printing, etc. 1998 - https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.psion.misc/c/oFtTHyx6IRw https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.psion.misc/c/oFtTHyx6IR... 1994 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IrDA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IrDA

by bigiain 2mo ago

atoav 2mo ago

I have seen digital audio gear that solved firmware transfer like that. You basically go to a website on your phone and it flickers the screen and you hold it in front of a photosensitive bit of the device that needs to be updated for 20 seconds and done. If your firmware is small enough to fit that model, it isn't a bad variant. Beats downloading a file, transferring it to a USB drive, sticking that in,...

krautsauer 2mo ago
That'd be a few 100 bytes at best… what firmware fits into that?
- account42 2mo ago
  100 bytes in 20 seconds would only be 40 bps. Surely you can do better than that even using only one bit symbols (off/on).
  - krautsauer 2mo ago
    With a flashing phone screen? 120Hz tops, right?
_joel 2mo ago
If only they had a clean digital way of getting data into the system.
- inigyou 2mo ago
  Listen, you do not want your firmware to be updated by playing a FLAC file.
  - _joel 2mo ago
    FLAC? That shows some degree of advanced technology that I would assume the original device in question does not have.
    - inigyou 2mo ago
      It's "digital audio gear". It receives uncompressed PCM, which could come from your computer playing a FLAC.
      - _joel 2mo ago
        right, so a very specific case of playing FLAC via an external device, not on the system itself. Ok, that makes more sense. Still don't get what the issue is. Put the device in the correct mode and play from whatever digital input or playback (CD, DAT etc) the system already has.
        inigyou 2mo ago
        Okay, if there's a button you have to hold to enable firmware update then it's more sensible. Probably still wouldn't want to use digital audio input though. Although it's a perfect digital stream, it's been processed in analog-like ways before it gets to the device - such as filtering and volume changes. So you'd still want to use a modem protocol over it.
  - sunrunner 2mo ago
    Especially if it's a recording of Rhythm Nation.

ninjalanternshk 2mo ago

[dead]

jodrellblank 2mo ago

Psion Series 5 and other PDAs had infra red (IrDA) ports for 'beam'ing contacts, transferring files, printing, etc. 1998 - https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.psion.misc/c/oFtTHyx6IRw https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.psion.misc/c/oFtTHyx6IR... 1994 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IrDA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IrDA