Japanese gizmo maker Casio rolled out a number of new high-tech digital watches at JCK 2006, a jewelry and timepiece convention held in Las Vegas last week. The ugly-as-a-plantar-wart-yet-feature-rich G-Shock line welcomed its newest member, the GW800-1AV, which synchs itself with the U.S. government's big atomic clock in Fort Collins, Colorado (as well as several others worldwide). There's an obvious upside to having your watch kept accurate via a connection with an atomic clock, being able to tell exactly how late you are down to the nanosecond, but that's likely offset by the fact that you'll have one less excuse for being late--the watch don't lie.

Other new Casio chronometers (that's fancy-talk for "watch") making a debut at JCK 2006 included the Pathfinder PAW1100T-7V, which features the same atomic-whosifudge powers as the GW800-1AV and adds a mini digital weather station including an altimeter, compass, thermometer and barometer. What, no laser beams? More info at www.casio.com.