User Profile for J.W.Q.

JIKANKEI 1.4.2.0 (Mac OS X)

A Daimyo Clock for Your Desktop  

Jikankei is a stylised clock which shows the time in the traditional Japanese time system. Anyone who finds the developer's explanation difficult to understand might find the WikiPedia entry The Traditional Japanese Time System easier to read. Before Japan switched to the Western system mechanical clocks showing the time were so expensive that only the Daimyo (feudal lords) could afford them. From the time I read of the Daimyo clocks, I've wanted an app which would show the time in the traditional Japanese system. Now I have one! It's not very useful, but then neither are SunClock and MoonTool.

This version only has a limited number of cities available and, alas, mine isn't one of them - the nearest listed city is two hours behind. It would be great if Jikankei was able to read the time zone setting from System Preferences as the default location. After sunset, the marker for the sun returns to the centre of the screen and doesn't trace the time. I'd like it to show the evening hours as well. The documentation is somewhat difficult to understand if you aren't familiar with the traditional Japanese clock.

Other than those drawbacks, Jikankei provides exactly what I want - a different view of the time of day. [alert admin]

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Sunday, June 25 2006 @ 12:28 AM PDT

Griffin PowerMate X 1.6 (Mac OS X)

Great Hardware, Disappointing Software  

In general the driver has worked in a satisfactory manner for me up to Mac OS 10.3.9. The only problem I've encountered is an annoying conflict with Fast User Switching which causes the GUI to stop responding to other input devices, such as the mouse and keyboard, when the PowerMate is used and more than one user is logged-in. [alert admin]

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Thursday, January 05 2006 @ 10:04 PM PST

No user comments.