Prolixium dot com: News >> Blog >> Unit and Time Selection Inconstencies

Unlike most people in the United States, I like the metric system. I prefer to use it instead of imperial units as much as possible and change the settings on my electronic equipment to display metric units. Unfortunately, some equipment is fairly inconsistent with its support of the metric system and even 12 vs. 24-hour time. Here's what I've got:

Carrier Thermostat

This thing tricked me into thinking it supports both 24-hour time and Celsius by showing "options: 24 hours" in the manual. Unfortunately, it only supports changing the temperature unit. The time must stay in 12-hour mode.

DSC Power Series Alarm Keypad

I successfully changed this to 24-hour mode. There appears to be a thermal diode in the unit but there is no way to actually display the current temperature to the user so there is no way to set the scale.

Acura TSX

My car is a bit odd. The navigation system can successfully be changed to use the metric system but the outside temperature and fuel level appear to be hard-coded to use imperial units. The clock must stay in 12-hour mode, too. Sadly, I do believe there is a "switch" for this but it's inaccessible to the user; the Canadian version of the car displays everything in metric.

Whirlpool Oven

This thing lives in the world of Fahrenheit and has a permanent 12-hour clock.

Whirlpool Microwave

There is no way to change the clock to 24-hour mode.

Motorola HD-DVR

I rent this thing from Comcast. It displays time in 12-hour mode, only.

Brookstone Alarm Clock

I can switch this thing to 24-hour mode and Celsius, since it features a temperature sensor.

Samsung Clock / Radio

No 24-hour mode for this thing, even though the display is digital.

La Crosse Technology Atomic Wall Clock

This also features a local and remote temperature sensor. I can switch this to Celsius and 24-hour mode easily.

If I were like one of those people who think we should have a law for everything, I'd say "there should be a law requiring all electronics companies to include support for the metric system in their products." Thankfully, I'm not one of those people, so I think the best thing to do is vote with your wallet. The next car I buy will support metric units in every feature!