nixon mission parts free sample

We hope you’re stoked with your gear but if you need to return something, we offer returns within 30 days of the delivery date for most items purchased on nixon.com. Returns must be unused, unworn, in original packaging with all tags attached. See our return policy for details.

Sign up to become a Nixon Insider to get 15% off your first order and receive updates on upcoming nixon.com promotions. We always offer a 15% discount for military, first responders, and medical personnel. See our promotions page for more details.

So stoked you want to rock a Nixon sticker on your gear. Let’s hook you up! Submit a sticker request on our contact us form, follow the instructions, and we’ll send stickers your way asap. Want a pack of stickers? Keep your eye on nixon.com, we sell them there too sometimes.

Go to our Online Repair Center and tell us about your watch, what’s wrong with it, and we’ll provide you with a repair estimate. If you agree to the estimate, we’ll send you an authorized service order number with shipping instructions. When we receive your watch(es), a Nixon technician will determine the repairs needed. An email will be sent to you for repair cost approval or input required to process and close your service order. You will not be charged if the repair is covered under Nixon’s Warranty Policy.

For sure. If we have the parts, our Nixon Service Center can service your watch. And if you don"t have a receipt, we can still help. Simply go to our Online Repair Center and tell us about your watch, what’s wrong with it, and we’ll provide you with a repair estimate. If you agree to the estimate, we’ll send you an authorized service order number with shipping instructions.

You don"t need to register your Nixon watch to validate a warranty claim, but hold on to your sales receipt; we may ask for original proof of purchase from an authorized Nixon seller.

Absolutely. We’ll do our best to keep your Nixon on your wrist. Go to our Online Repair Center and tell us about your watch, what’s wrong with it, and we’ll provide you with a repair estimate. For warranty claims, you’re required to provide proof of purchase from an authorized Nixon seller.

Love your Nixon? Don’t let just anyone repair it. Watches will not be covered by warranty if someone other than an authorized Nixon service technician opens the case back during the 2-year warranty period. If your watch is outside of the 2-year warranty period, feel free to take it to a certified jeweler at your discretion. If you would like to service your watch, visit our Online Repair Center and tell us about your watch, what’s wrong with it, and we’ll provide you with a repair estimate.

We don"t cover normal wear and tear of Nixon watch bands or bracelets. We do sell a line of watch bands in a variety of colors and materials that fit most of our watches. You can buy more than one to change up your look!

We love that you love your Nixon, and we will do our best to service all of our watch models, including the oldies but goodies. Unfortunately, some technology used in watches produced 5+ years ago is now obsolete and is no longer supported. Good news is that most models can still be rocked in a basic mode. Example watches are the Lodown, Ultratide, Supertide, and Mission. Want more information? Contact us.

For our classic designs, and when we say classic, we mean 5+ years, parts can be limited. A good local jeweler can usually resolve your watch issue with a creative solution or contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

We love that you love your Mission and Ultratide. Unfortunately, the applications used in these oldies but goodies are now obsolete and are no longer supported. Good news is that these models can still be rocked in a basic mode. If you need quick help on how to set your watch to basic mode, you can reference the watch manual here. Also, be sure to check out our latest digital models.

The coating on your watch is not covered under warranty. The Nixon Service Center can replace coated parts for a minimal charge. Simply go to our online Repair Center and tell us about your watch, what’s wrong with it, and we’ll provide you with a repair estimate.

The coating on your Nixon watch is part of the exclusivity of its design. The coating gives your Nixon watch a unique color. Like all fine watches, your Nixon watch needs to be treated with care. Hard scratches and abrasion will scratch the coating off your watch.

Sorry, we do not currently sell cases or stands to display your rad Nixon collection. Keep your eye on Nixon.com, we sometimes sell accessories for watches.

Properly caring for your Nixon Surf watch is the best way to keep it out of our Service Center. Check out our blog on Surf Watch Care Tips for a breakdown on best practice.

Nixon offers a limited warranty on defects in materials and workmanship for a period of two (2) years after original purchase from an authorized Nixon dealer. This means that if the materials in your watch are defective or if the watch isn"t put together correctly, we"ll repair or replace it, at our option. We don"t cover normal wear and tear, or batteries, crystal, watch case, strap, bracelet, loss or theft. Heads up: You will void your warranty if you open your case back, push the buttons underwater, or forget to screw down or push in the crown and expose your watch to moisture. Proof of purchase is required for all warranty claims.

Nixon engraved and custom watches cannot be exchanged or refunded. Custom watches can be returned as a warranty claim for defects in materials or workmanship, under the Nixon Warranty Policy.

Automatic watches are handmade with hundreds of moving mechanical parts, which typically makes them less accurate than a quartz movement. Each watch movement is slightly different with different accuracy levels. The tolerance specifications for the automatic movement range from +40 to -10 seconds a day (Or +20 minutes to -5 minutes per month). If the watch gets out of these tolerances, the movement can be adjusted by the Nixon Repair Center or a certified watch technician.

We live active lifestyles, so knowing if you can take your watch in the water is key. Many, but not all, Nixon watches can get wet. The water resistance indicated on the chart below is the amount of water the watch can withstand, in meters. If your watch has a leather band, avoid getting it wet.

Nixon offers a premium battery service that includes a battery replacement, a gasket check and lubrication, case back re-seal, and a pressure test to ensure water resistance of the watch seal. Visit our Online Repair Center and we’ll provide you with a repair estimate and an authorized service order number with shipping instructions.

Visit this Nixon Watch Battery Chart to see what battery your watch uses. You can also contact us and we will help you determine which battery your watch uses.

Nixon sells replacement bands in a variety of sizes, styles, and materials to fit most of our watches. If you can’t find a band to fit your watch, we can still help! Please visit our Online Repair Center to set up an order to send your watch in for a band replacement.

We can send some small parts out individually, depending on the watch model, for a minimal charge. Some watches will need to be sent in for repair. Please contact us with a picture of your watch face and case back. We"ll check our inventory and get back to you.

The name Nixon may mean Watergate and scandal to older Americans, but a younger crowd may be more familiar with the California watchmaker partly owned by Billabong. The company’s latest is one of the biggest Android Wear releases to date — and comes at a time when Android Wear is more than a little forgotten.

This watch isn’t just another showpiece for Android Wear, however: Android Wear is an operating system for this watch. The difference? The software is secondary here. But just how does The Mission compare to other devices? And is it worth the premium price? We put this Nixon to the test to find out.

The Mission is unashamedly a sports watch, and you’re not going to forget it – it’s huge. You may as well strap a dinner plate to your wrist. Okay, maybe it’s not that big, but the point is to prepare yourself for a big device if you purchase The Mission. The case of the watch is a huge 48mm, and it’s made with 316L surgical grade steel. That means it’s not just big but heavy too, and, if you’re a surfer, it should be able to withstand some pretty big waves.

The watch isn’t just wide, it’s also pretty thick — around half an inch thick, in fact. Safe to say, this isn’t a device you’re going to strap on and forget about. Considering how big it is, those with smaller wrists probably aren’t going to be fans. The size isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however; the device could be described as rugged, which is kind of the point here. That’s because Nixon targets skiers, surfers, and other athletes, so The Mission has to be able to withstand a few knocks.

There’s another reason The Mission’s size is a good thing: The watch doesn’t suffer from the flat-tire look other circular devices have, so the AMOLED display (it has a resolution of 400 × 400) is perfectly round.

Nixon has clearly put time and effort into engineering, and the result is top-notch waterproofing. In fact, the device has 10ATM waterproofing, which equates to around 100m, much deeper than any surfer will ever go. Heck, you could scuba dive with it. Watergate? Fuhgeddaboudit. You’ll have no issues no matter how the surf is pounding.

When it comes to color options, The Mission has a range of options including custom ones. The process was extremely simple, which is good news for those that want to give their watch a personal touch. In fact, according to Nixon, the device offers a massive 44,000 design variations, if you include color options for the strap, bezel, and main body.

To use the feature, you start by setting up a location for where you’re going to be surfing or skiing, something you can do through the Nixon app. Then the watch will be able to tell you the conditions of your chosen location, including things like wind speed and the weather.

The Mission smartwatch has a range of sensors, but not everything you would expect from a sports watch – notably, it’s forgetting the heart rate monitor. Apart from that, however, it’s a pretty packed device. Inside, you’ll find a thermometer, altimeter, barometer, gyrometer, humidity sensor, and accelerometer. That’s a lot of ometers, on top of the GPS radio.

All these sensors come with a cost: battery life. After a run that lasted around an hour, The Mission lost almost half of its battery life. That may not be a big deal for some, but don’t expect to wear this watch to work all day and then take it out for a run.

Looking for a dedicated surfing or skiing device? Nixon has built your best option, and thrown in a slew of sensors and 10ATM waterproofing. This is an excellent device for its intended market. And we like the attention to detail, including the little cover for the microphone port.

The watch is extremely durable and should last years without breaking. With 10ATM waterproofing and a very strong build, the device should last a very long time. How long will Android Wear itself last? That’s a different question entirely, and lack of support from the market sounds a sour note for its long-term prospects. Still, we’re bullish on the overall space and expect to see continued improvements to the platform that should be reflected in Nixon’s offerings.

For those dedicated skiers, surfers, or other extreme sports enthusiasts, this may be the smartwatch for you. With a ruggedized impact-resistant case and an impressive water resistance rating of 10 ATM, the Mission by Nixon is all set to accompany you on your ski or surf trips. Unfortunately, this all comes at a premium price — the most expensive of our test — and earned a rather mediocre score overall, though it does have plenty of bells and whistles. It"s up to you to decide if these extra features are something you would use or if they are needlessly boosting the cost.

To come up with the final score and crown a winner in our test for the best smartwatch, we pitted the top models currently available against each other in an exhaustive array of side-by-side tests. In total, we spent in excess of 160 hours ranking, researching, and testing these products to assign a final score. The Nixon Mission earned a somewhat average score, meriting a 54 out of 100.

Our extensive testing process — totaling over 25 head-to-head tests — was divided into five separate rating metrics: Battery Life, Ease of Use, Fitness Impact, Smart Functions, and Display. Each weighted metric made up a portion of the overall score, with the next sections detailing exactly how the Mission did, where it excelled, where it fell flat, and any other noteworthy features that pertained to the test.

The metric that made up the most of the total score — 30% — was Ease of Use, consisting of comparing and evaluating the screen responsiveness, interface, and charging methods, water resistance, ease of capturing a screenshot, as well as the ability to swap the wristband. The Nixon delivered an average performance, netting a 5 out of 10 for its efforts.

This watch is running on the Android Wear operating system, similar to many other models — the Huawei Watch, Asus ZenWatch 3, and the Fossil Q Marshall, just to name a few. These watches rely on the Android Wear app to capture a screenshot, and altogether unintuitive and finicky experience that takes a few tries to figure out — much, much more difficult than other models. However, this model does have unmatched water resistance, rated to 10 ATM or 100m of depth. Nixon states on their site that this means it is suitable for rain, splashes, shallow swimming, submersion, and even snorkeling or surfing — rightfully so, for a watch that is marketed directly to surfers. An important note: This rating only applies when the microphone door is closed, something worth checking if you plan on taking your Nixon Mission in the water, as forgetting to close it could turn into a very expensive ($400) mistake with a dead smartwatch.

This model does allow you to swap wristbands, but it does require specialized tools (small hex wrench) and is only really compatible with bands from the manufacturer, which does offer an impressive array of additional bands and bezels to customize your watch. The Nixon does lack a crown scroll or rotating bezel input method, leaving only the touchscreen and the single side button as an input method.

Contributing 20% to the overall score, our Smart Functions metric consisted of testing the ability to take a phone call on the watch, use it as a payment method, how the watch could control music, if it had a built-in GPS, and its compatibility with popular apps. The Mission delivered an average performance, earning it a 5 out of 10.

This model has a standalone GPS module, but lacks NFC technology, meaning that it is not usable as a payment method with Android Pay. The Mission does have music controls that will pop up automatically when necessary, identical to the other Android Wear models. You can play/pause, or skip tracks — even thumbing a song up or down from the watch screen when using Pandora. You also can load up music directly on the watch to listen to offline. The Mission lacks a speaker, but can pair directly with a pair of Bluetooth headphones for listening to music.

To test popular app compatibility, we took a sample set of 10 common apps and attempted to install them on each model, seeing if the app was even compatible and if it was fully-functioning. The Nixon worked with Spotify, IFTTT, Strava, and Shazam, with more app compatibility coming with the Android Wear 2.0 rollout. You can receive the push notifications from other apps through your phone, but you can"t perform any actions with the apps.

The Display rating metric also contributed 20% to the final score, based on comparing the screen quality, its various adjustment modes, and its visibility. The Nixon did fairly well, meriting a 6 out of 10 for its display.

The Nixon fell a little short in our visibility test, being reasonably difficult to see in bright outdoor light — quite a conundrum for a watch primarily marketed for avid outdoor athletes. It did redeem itself slightly by having both an automatic brightness adjustment mode and an always on mode.

Rather than requiring you to wear both a smartwatch and a fitness tracker, all of the watches in this test have some amount of fitness tracking capabilities. Our Fitness Impact rating metric made up 15% of the overall score, consisting of heart rate monitor and step counter accuracy testing, as well as stair and workout tracking ability. The Nixon delivered an average performance, meriting it a 5 out of 10.

The Nixon uses the Google Fit app — like the other Android Wear watches — to track workouts and your basic fitness stats. You can choose between walking, running, and cycling, or select from one of the three challenges: push-up, squats, or sit-ups. This watch is also set up with the Trace apps to monitor your skiing or surfing session, as well as providing a summary of the current conditions.

The last rating metric, Battery Life, accounted for the remaining 15% of the overall score. We based this on how long each watch lasted during normal use, how long it took to charge to 50% and the time to completely charge. The Nixon scored slightly above average, earning a 6 out of 10 for this metric.

To simulate normal use, we woke up each watch on a set schedule, as well as sent it a prescribed set of texts, call, and notifications. The Mission lasted for 31.5 hours of this, putting it squarely in the middle of the pack. It did distinguish itself slightly by charging rather rapidly, taking only 32 minutes to hit 50% and 80 minutes to completely top off.

The Mission by Nixon is a rugged, outdoor watch that is the perfect match for the skiing or surfing enthusiast. This watch can take a beating, but unfortunately, might deliver quite a beating to your budget with it exceptionally high list price. For the avid surfer, skier, or rider, it may well be worth it to get such detailed data on your performance, as well as remain connected, but for many people, this watch"s performance and price just don"t add up.

Civics for All of US is the new national civic education initiative from theRichard Nixon Presidential Library and Museumand the National Archives. Our mission is to build civic literacy and engagement by providing exemplary civic education resources and programs for all ages using the records of the U.S. Government.Civics for All of US deliversthought-provoking educational programs and powerful educational resources to the public, regardless of their proximity to a National Archives facility. Each program is led by one of our educators located at National Archives sites, the Center for Legislative Archives, and Presidential Libraries across the country. Visithttps://civics.archives.gov/to learn more!

For die-hard surfers and skiers, The Mission has the power to delight. The Mission app is thoughtful and useful, and features such as the microphone, 10ATM of waterproofing and Trace app mean it’s not just a superficial smartwatch – you can go out there and get it dirty. However, as a general outdoors watch, it’s no competition to the likes of Garmin and Suunto. Poor battery life and mediocre Android Wear apps means the Nixon feels lukewarm, and the enormous size means careful consideration is required before investing.

The release of Nixon The Mission was the moment Android Wear got serious. Its inclusion on Nixon"s surf and skiing smartwatch shows that Android Wear can be more than just another operating system on the wrist.

It"s an unashamed monster outdoor smartwatch. Hot on the heels of the Casio WSD-F10 Outdoor Smartwatch, it boasts a killer spec sheet, aggressive design and will pique the interest of surfers and skiers. Nixon is also a cool brand – perhaps the most so of all the smartwatches to date.

Headline features include the 100 metres of water resistance and built-in GPS, but like Casio, Nixon has also placed an emphasis on bespoke apps, enriching the experience for its surf and ski-obsessed user base.

But for those looking to fork out on the best outdoor smartwatch, can it match up to the likes of Garmin and Suunto"s formidable array of devices? And can Nixon add the dose of edgy cool that"s made its fashion watch lineup such a barnstorming success? Read on to find out.

We shoot straight here at Wareable, so understand us when we say that the Nixon is bloody massive. The 48mm case dwarves most G-Shock timepieces and it"s every bit as large as the Casio WSD-F10. The rugged design is water-resistant to 10 ATM (roughly 100m) and adorned in 316L surgical grade stainless steel. That means you can take it surfing and it will withstand even the most spectacular wipe-out.

But clearly, it"s also a big fashion statement. Unless you"re in the position that you can afford a $400 smartwatch and only use it for the odd weekend surf, it"s going to be part of your daily look – in this case Oakley sunglasses, board shorts, a beady necklace and a massive Nixon smartwatch.

We don"t like to gender categorise either, but we can"t see The Mission being a huge hit with the ladies, just due to the size. Feel free to let us know if we"re wrong on that point.

In terms of colour, The Mission comes with a host of options – 44,000 according to Nixon, if you include all the colour, bezel and strap choices. That"s a moot point currently, as we can only spy options for black, orange and grey available to pre-order, with a single strap choice. Hopefully, the other 43,997 variations will be out when the device goes live on 10 October.

Nixon has also put a lot of engineering time into the microphone, which uses a neat clip and a Gore-Tex membrane to ensure top notch waterproofing. That means you can bark commands while you"re on the slopes, take calls from the office while shredding the black run, or summon apps to monitor your progress. This isn"t to be underestimated. Getting your phone out on a ski lift in sub-zero conditions is a good way to lose it/batter the battery with the temperature change – with The Mission, there"s no need.

There"s a button on the side of The Mission, which toggles the device in and out of its low power state and will return you to the main watch face from within an app.

The strap itself is a replaceable ultra-tough and rugged rubber number that you almost need to crank onto your arm to tighten. It"s actually pretty comfortable, even if, like The Mission, it"s huge.

Under the hood is a brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, which is about as good as it gets in terms of smartwatch internals right now. We don"t get too hung up on processor speeds here, but it"s the power-saving that Qualcomm touts as one of its headline benefits. And the Nixon will need it. With GPS built in, the battery will be under serious pressure – more on that later.

Well, it"s worth kicking off with its party piece: The Mission app. This Android-only app tracks surfing and skiing locations, offering up data on the conditions, weather and suitability for getting outdoors. You can view this on your smartphone and via The Mission app, which appears within the Android Wear apps list.

Aside from this, there"s a special The Mission watch face, which permanently displays the current conditions in your favourite surf or ski spot. That means you can grab your board and head down to the beach should you see that the surf"s up, for example.

In the same vein, there are also the Trace Snow and Trace Surf apps. These are actual trackers for your water and on-piste activities, although essentially just third-party Android Wear apps pre-installed onto The Mission.

Elsewhere, there"s little that differentiates The Nixon from any other Android Wear watch. It delivers notifications from the wrist, Google Now and all that jazz. We won"t list every facet of Android Wear here, read our full guide if you want to know more.

Android Wear watches are compatible with iOS, but this wasn"t a pleasant experience in our testing. Things were fraught due to iOS 10, which should be ironed out by launch, but there"s no timescale for The Mission app to hit the App Store, and it"s nowhere near as powerful without its official companion app.

In terms of sensors, The Mission is packed. There"s a thermometer, altimeter, barometer, e-compass, gyrometer, accelerometer, and humidity sensors all on board.

With GPS built into The Mission it scores a big one-up on the Casio, which can only borrow from a connected smartphone. That will make it the target of outdoors types, who might be looking to the likes of the Fenix 3 – another powerful outdoor wrist-beast.

Unfortunately, the GPS performance is slightly mixed. We have no problems with the accuracy of The Nixon, and on our test runs distances were more or less inline with our TomTom Spark running watch. What"s more, with so much location aware data populating the ecosystem, such as surf and snow activity, the GPS represents much more than just outdoor runs.

However, its impact on battery life is a big issue. One time, we went for a run with 24% of the Nixon"s battery remaining and it was dead within 40 minutes. On another occasion, after wearing The Mission all day (from a full charge at 7.30am) we went for an hour"s run in the evening with GPS turned on, from a starting position of 50%. It survived the run but was at around 7% and in power saving mode before we"d finished our warm down. That means about 3 hours of running, which sounds okay – but if you"re out all day at work, you"ll struggle for more than an hour"s jog when you get home.

The bigger issue is for hikers and outdoor types. There"s no way the Nixon"s GPS can handle a day out in the hills, even on a fresh charge – Garmin can rest easy for now.

Battery life is actually one area it unexpectedly falls down against the Casio. A big part of Casio"s proposition is the power-saving mode which enables it to operate as a watch for a month(!) at the push of a button. For those who are camping and surfing, The Mission"s power-hungry nature is going to be an absolute nightmare.

Android Wear"s app ecosystem is still fairly sparse in terms of titles that can take advantage of built-in GPS. It"s something that perhaps Nixon should have designed within The Mission"s app.

Battery life wasn"t spectacular across The Mission as a whole. Two days is achievable but if we were conservative we"d place it at a day and a half – not brilliant given the size and potential for battery space. What"s more the charger is awful. The weak magnet sometimes came loose if not on a perfectly flat surface, and early in the review period we often returned to find The Mission partially charged.

So, you’re considering a new medical apparel and linens vendor for your outpatient center? At Nixon Medical, we understand the mission-critical role that your medical apparel and linens vendor has on the day-to-day operations of your outpatient center.

Managing a medical office has many moving parts—and your medical apparel and linens vendor should make managing those parts easier, not harder. For example, your office shouldn’t pay for unused products, be beholden to inflexible agreements, take on extra work, or worry about lost or missing linens. If you’ve experienced any of these scenarios, it’s likely time to consider switching vendors.

Nixon Medical, founded in 1967, is a leading medical apparel and linens vendor trusted by 10,000+ medical centers nationwide. We offer laundry, product fulfillment, and inventory management, and have a customer satisfaction score that is 50% higher than other vendors in the industry.

All medical offices have different patient volumes and inventory needs. When you partner with Nixon Medical, we customize a routine schedule and inventory level based on your medical office’s needs. Watch this video to see what a typical scenario looks like for a customer we service one day per week.

We’re a leading medical apparel and linens vendor trusted by 10,000+ medical centers nationwide. We provide fully managed HLAC-accredited laundry, product fulfillment, and inventory management services, delivered with our industry-recognized Nixon Medical Service Difference™. We’re proud to have a satisfaction score that is 50% higher than other vendors and attribute this rating to:

Contact us for a deeper dive into any of these questions or topics. We offer FREE vendor-switch consultations for outpatient centers considering a move to Nixon Medical. In this complimentary consultation with our experts, we’ll discuss your current experience and what we can do for you:

President Nixon has to address the nation, the whole world in fact. He already has his speech ready, right next to the speech congratulating the Apollo 11 crew if they were successful.

Nixon sits in front of the cameras in the White House, and reads his speech. “Good evening, my fellow Americans. Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace.”

It’s already difficult enough to follow political events and international events with any degree of certainty. Competing nations and politicians want people to believe certain versions of reality that benefit them. Think of Russia interfering in elections, and United States influencing political outcomes in other parts of the world. That kind of manipulation is as old as history itself.

What about corporations? Some of them have been willing to obfuscate the truth, if not outright lie, to protect their profits. Volkswagen lied about their vehicle emissions, and the tobacco industry knew they were harming people but fought that conclusion tooth and nail. And those are just a couple that we know about.

The Mission by Nixon is “built tough”. It’s a beast of the smartwatch. It’s for outdoor enthusiasts and extreme sports. While I haven’t tried, I suspect this thing could handle some serious blows. This is for the rugged outdoor adventurist.

Operating System: Android Wear. There’s a Nixion Mission app you can also install for additional functionality (i.e. choose to ski and surf spots to monitor).

Not interchangeable with other brands: I love Fossil and Samsung Gear watches because the straps can easily be changed. They have this simple pin system that makes changing straps a breeze. While you can get different band colors via Nixon, you need a screwdriver to remove the band and you can only wear bands by Nixon.

While some smartwatches don’t really offer anything unique, Nixon’s Mission actually does. While it’s not earth-shattering, it does have some unique features. They are:

Despite my overall speed issues, it’s certainly not a dealbreaker. Wear works and it definitely has its advantages over Samsung Gear. I love the fact Wear is widely used and so all my watches are set up in much the same way… all syncing to my Google Fit account. The Mission is no exception here.

Nixon’s Mission app offers key information for ski hills and surf spots. It’s actually really cool because it auto-populates options near you. We have many ski areas and they all showed up. Now I’ll always know how the conditions are.

Because I like this watch so much for outdoor pursuits, I went out and bought a new one… this time an orange one (because I can swap out the black bezel and strap from my broken Nixon. Here’s my new Nixon:

This is almost $200 more than the Samsung Gear S3, which doesn’t make sense. It costs more than Casio but not by much. However, the Mission’s $480 or thereabouts is much less than the Garmin Fenix 3.

What can former U.S. president Richard Nixon possibly teach us about artificial intelligence today and the future of misinformation online? Nothing. The real Nixon died 26 years ago.

But an AI-generated likeness of him shines new light on a quickly evolving technology with sizable implications, both creative and destructive, for our current digital information ecosystem. Starting in 2019, media artists Francesca Panetta and Halsey Burgund at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology teamed up with two AI companies, Canny AI and Respeecher, to create a posthumous deepfake. The synthetic video shows Nixon giving a speech he never intended to deliver—half a century after the subject it addresses.

Here’s the (real) backstory: In July 1969, as the Apollo 11 astronauts glided through space on their trajectory toward the moon, William Safire, then one of Nixon’s speechwriters, wrote “In Event of Moon Disaster” as a contingency. The speech is a beautiful homage to Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, the two astronauts who descended to the lunar surface—never to return in this version of history. It ends by saying, “For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.”

To accomplish the visual part of the fake, Canny AI employed a technique called “video dialogue replacement.” Instead of face swapping, an AI system was trained to transfer facial movements for the “In Event of Moon Disaster” speech to a realistic reconstruction of Nixon’s visage and its surroundings.

For the sound portion, Respeecher processed training audio of an actor reading the speech, as well as recordings of Nixon’s many televised appearances from the White House. The company then used a “voice conversion system” to synthesize Nixon delivering the speech from the actor’s performance.(Both Canny AI’s and Respeecher’s techniques are proprietary, and the companies say they have never been used to make illegal fakes.)

Apollo 13 (April 11–17, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank in the service module (SM) failed two days into the mission. The crew instead looped around the Moon and returned safely to Earth on April 17. The mission was commanded by Jim Lovell, with Jack Swigert as command module (CM) pilot and Fred Haise as Lunar Module (LM) pilot. Swigert was a late replacement for Ken Mattingly, who was grounded after exposure to rubella.

A routine stir of an oxygen tank ignited damaged wire insulation inside it, causing an explosion that vented the contents of both of the SM"s oxygen tanks to space. Without oxygen, needed for breathing and for generating electric power, the SM"s propulsion and life support systems could not operate. The CM"s systems had to be shut down to conserve its remaining resources for reentry, forcing the crew to transfer to the LM as a lifeboat. With the lunar landing canceled, mission controllers worked to bring the crew home alive.

Although the LM was designed to support two men on the lunar surface for two days, Mission Control in Houston improvised new procedures so it could support three men for four days. The crew experienced great hardship, caused by limited power, a chilly and wet cabin and a shortage of potable water. There was a critical need to adapt the CM"s cartridges for the carbon dioxide scrubber system to work in the LM; the crew and mission controllers were successful in improvising a solution. The astronauts" peril briefly renewed public interest in the Apollo program; tens of millions watched the splashdown in the South Pacific Ocean on television.

In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy challenged his nation to land an astronaut on the Moon by the end of the decade, with a safe return to Earth.NASA worked towards this goal incrementally, sending astronauts into space during Project Mercury and Project Gemini, leading up to the Apollo program.Apollo 11, which landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface while Michael Collins orbited the Moon in Command Module Columbia. The mission returned to Earth on July 24, 1969, fulfilling Kennedy"s challenge.

NASA had contracted for fifteen Saturn V rockets to achieve the goal; at the time no one knew how many missions this would require.V on Apollo 11, nine rockets remained available for a hoped-for total of ten landings. After the excitement of Apollo 11, the general public grew apathetic towards the space program and Congress continued to cut NASA"s budget; Apollo 20 was canceled.

In 1965, Houston"s Mission Control Center opened, in part designed by Kraft and now named for him.telemetry from the spacecraft, was in communication via voice loop to specialists in a Staff Support Room (or "back room"), who focused on specific spacecraft systems.

Apollo 13 was to be the second H mission, meant to demonstrate precision lunar landings and explore specific sites on the Moon.Apollo 12 demonstrating that the astronauts could perform a precision landing, mission planners were able to focus on more than just landing safely and having astronauts minimally trained in geology gather lunar samples to take home to Earth. There was a greater role for science on Apollo 13, especially for geology, something emphasized by the mission"s motto, Ex luna, scientia (From the Moon, knowledge).

Apollo 13"s mission commander, Jim Lovell, was 42 years old at the time of the spaceflight. He was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and had been a naval aviator and test pilot before being selected for the second group of astronauts in 1962; he flew with Frank Borman in Gemini 7 in 1965 and Buzz Aldrin in Gemini 12 the following year before flying in Apollo 8 in 1968, the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon.

For Apollo, a third crew of astronauts, known as the support crew, was designated in addition to the prime and backup crews used on projects Mercury and Gemini. Slayton created the support crews because James McDivitt, who would command Apollo 9, believed that, with preparation going on in facilities across the US, meetings that needed a member of the flight crew would be missed. Support crew members were to assist as directed by the mission commander.flight plan, and checklists, and kept them updated;Vance D. Brand, Jack Lousma and either William Pogue or Joseph Kerwin.

For Apollo 13, flight directors were Gene Kranz, White teamGlynn Lunney, Black team; Milton Windler, Maroon team and Gerry Griffin, Gold team.CAPCOMs (the person in Mission Control, during the Apollo program an astronaut, who was responsible for voice communications with the crew)

The Apollo 13 mission insignia depicts the Greek god of the Sun, Apollo, with three horses pulling his chariot across the face of the Moon, and the Earth seen in the distance. This is meant to symbolize the Apollo flights bringing the light of knowledge to all people. The mission motto, Ex luna, scientia ("From the Moon, knowledge"), appears. In choosing it, Lovell adapted the motto of his alma mater, the Naval Academy, Ex scientia, tridens ("From knowledge, sea power").

On the patch, the mission number appeared in Roman numerals as Apollo XIII. It did not have to be modified after Swigert replaced Mattingly, as it is one of only two Apollo mission insignia – the other being Apollo 11 – not to include the names of the crew. It was designed by artist Lumen Martin Winter, who based it on a mural he had painted for the St. Regis Hotel in New York City.Tom Hanks,Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Illinois.

The mission"s motto was in Lovell"s mind when he chose the call sign Aquarius for the lunar module, taken from Aquarius, the bringer of water.a song by that name from the musical Odyssey, was chosen not only for its Homeric association but to refer to the recent movie, a short story by science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke.Odyssey because he liked the word and its definition: a long voyage with many changes of fortune.

The Saturn V rocket used to carry Apollo 13 to the Moon was numbered SA-508, and was almost identical to those used on Apollo8 through 12.S-IC first stage"s engines were rated to generate 440,000 newtons (100,000 lbf) less total thrust than Apollo 12"s, though they remained within specifications.liquid hydrogen propellent cold, the S-II second stage"s cryogenic tanks were insulated; on earlier Apollo missions this came in the form of panels that were affixed, but beginning with Apollo 13, insulation was sprayed onto the exterior of the tanks.J missions to the Moon would require more propellant for their heavier payloads. This made the vehicle the heaviest yet flown by NASA, and Apollo 13 was visibly slower to clear the launch tower than earlier missions.

The Apollo 13 spacecraft consisted of Command Module 109 and Service Module 109 (together CSM-109), called Odyssey, and Lunar Module7 (LM-7), called Aquarius. Also considered part of the spacecraft was the launch escape system, which would propel the command module (CM) to safety in the event of a problem during liftoff, and the Spacecraft–LM Adapter, numbered as SLA-16, which housed the lunar module (LM) during the first hours of the mission.

The Apollo 13 prime crew undertook over 1,000 hours of mission-specific training, more than five hours for every hour of the mission"s ten-day planned duration. Each member of the prime crew spent over 400 hours in simulators of the CM and (for Lovell and Haise) of the LM at KSC and at Houston, some of which involved the flight controllers at Mission Control.

Concerned about how close Apollo 11"s LM, Eagle, had come to running out of propellant during its lunar descent, mission planners decided that beginning with Apollo 13, the CSM would bring the LM to the low orbit from which the landing attempt would commence. This was a change from Apollo 11 and 12, on which the LM made the burn to bring it to the lower orbit. The change was part of an effort to increase the amount of hover time available to the astronauts as the missions headed into rougher terrain.

To power the ALSEP, the SNAP-27 radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) was flown. Developed by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, SNAP-27 was first flown on Apollo 12. The fuel capsule contained about 3.79 kilograms (8.36 lb) of plutonium oxide. The cask placed around the capsule for transport to the Moon was built with heat shields of graphite and of beryllium, and with structural parts of titanium and of Inconel materials. Thus, it was built to withstand the heat of reentry into the Earth"s atmosphere rather than pollute the air with plutonium in the event of an aborted mission.

Apollo 13"s primary mission objectives were to: "Perform selenological inspection, survey, and sampling of materials in a preselected region of the Fra Mauro Formation. Deploy and activate an Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package. Develop man"s capability to work in the lunar environment. Obtain photographs of candidate exploration sites."Gegenschein from lunar orbit, and of the Moon itself on the journey back to Earth. Some of this photography was to be performed by Swigert as Lovell and Haise walked on the Moon.Lagrangian points of the Earth-Moon system. Apollo 13 had twelve cameras on board, including those for television and moving pictures.bistatic radar observations of the Moon. None of these was attempted because of the accident.

The mission was launched at the planned time, 2:13:00 pm EST (19:13:00 UTC) on April 11. An anomaly occurred when the second-stage, center (inboard) engine shut down about two minutes early.pogo oscillations. Starting with Apollo 10, the vehicle"s guidance system was designed to shut the engine down in response to chamber pressure excursions.Titan rockets (used during the Gemini program) and on previous Apollo missions,cavitation.S-IVB third stage burned longer to compensate, and the vehicle achieved very close to the planned circular 190 kilometers (100 nmi) parking orbit, followed by a translunar injection (TLI) about two hours later, setting the mission on course for the Moon.

The crew settled in for the three-day trip to Fra Mauro. At 30:40:50 into the mission, with the TV camera running, the crew performed a burn to place Apollo 13 on a hybrid trajectory. The departure from a free-return trajectory meant that if no further burns were performed, Apollo 13 would miss Earth on its return trajectory, rather than intercept it, as with a free return.federal income tax return (due April 15), and amid laughter from mission controllers, asked how he could get an extension. He was found to be entitled to a 60-day extension for being out of the country at the deadline.

Entry into the LM to test its systems had been scheduled for 58:00:00; when the crew awoke on the third day of the mission, they were informed it had been moved up three hours and was later moved up again by another hour. A television broadcast was scheduled for 55:00:00; Lovell, acting as emcee, showed the audience the interiors of Odyssey and Aquarius.

Lovell"s initial thought on hearing the noise was that Haise had activated the LM"s cabin-repressurization valve, which also produced a bang (Haise enjoyed doing so to startle his crewmates), but Lovell could see that Haise had no idea what had happened. Swigert initially thought that a meteoroid might have struck the LM, but he and Lovell quickly realized there was no leak.voltage produced by the SM"s three fuel cells (fueled by hydrogen and oxygen piped from their respective tanks) to the second of the SM"s two electric power distribution systems. Almost everything in the CSM required power. Although the bus momentarily returned to normal status, soon both buses A and B were short on voltage. Haise checked the status of the fuel cells and found that two of them were dead. Mission rules forbade entering lunar orbit unless all fuel cells were operational.

Since the fuel cells needed oxygen to operate, when Oxygen Tank1 ran dry, the remaining fuel cell would shut down, meaning the CSM"s only significant sources of power and oxygen would be the CM"s batteries and its oxygen "surge tank". These would be needed for the final hours of the mission, but the remaining fuel cell, already starved for oxygen, was drawing from the surge tank. Kranz ordered the surge tank isolated, saving its oxygen, but this meant that the remaining fuel cell would die within two hours, as the oxygen in tank1 was consumed or leaked away.

This depiction of a direct abort (from a 1966 planning report) contemplates returning from a point much earlier in the mission, and closer to Earth, than where the Apollo 13 accident occurred.

A key decision was the choice of return path. A "direct abort" would use the SM"s main engine (the Service Propulsion System or SPS) to return before reaching the Moon. However, the accident could have damaged the SPS, and the fuel cells would have to last at least another hour to meet its power requirements, so Kranz instead decided on a longer route: the spacecraft would swing around the Moon before heading back to Earth. Apollo 13 was on the hybrid trajectory which was to take it to Fra Mauro; it now needed to be brought back to a free return. The LM"s Descent Propulsion System (DPS), although not as powerful as the SPS, could do this, but new software for Mission Control"s computers needed to be written by technicians as it had never been contemplated that the CSM/LM spacecraft would have to be maneuvered from the LM. As the CM was being shut down, Lovell copied down its guidance system"s orientation information and performed hand calculations to transfer it to the LM"s guidance system, which had been turned off; at his request Mission Control checked his figures.

Recognizing that the cold conditions combined with insufficient rest would hinder the time critical startup of the command module prior to reentry, at 133 hours into flight Mission Control gave Lovell the okay to fully power up the LM to raise the cabin temperature, which included restarting the LM"s guidance computer. Having the LM"s computer running enabled Lovell to perform a navigational sighting and calibrate the LM"s IMU. With the lunar module"s computer aware of its location and orientation, the command module"s computer was later calibrated in a reverse of the normal procedures used to set up the LM, shaving steps from the restart process and increasing the accuracy of the PGNCS-controlled reentry.

Despite the accuracy of the transearth injection, the spacecraft slowly drifted off course, necessitating a correction. As the LM"s guidance system had been shut down following the PC+2 burn, the crew was told to use the line between night and day on the Earth to guide them, a technique used on NASA"s Earth-orbit missions but never on the way back from the Moon.reaction control system (RCS) thrusters, for 21.5 seconds. The SM was jettisoned less than half an hour later, allowing the crew to see the damage for the first time, and photograph it. They reported that an entire panel was missing from the SM"s exterior, the fuel cells above the oxygen tank shelf were tilted, that the high-gain antenna was damaged, and there was a considerable amount of debris elsewhere.

Ionization of the air around the command module during reentry would typically cause a four-minute communications blackout. Apollo 13"s shallow reentry path lengthened this to six minutes, longer than had been expected; controllers feared that the CM"s heat shield had failed.Odyssey regained radio contact and splashed down safely in the South Pacific Ocean, American Samoa and 6.5 km (3.5 nmi) from the recovery ship, USS Iwo Jima.Pago Pago, American Samoa, the next day. They flew to Hawaii, where President Richard Nixon awarded them the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.

En route to Honolulu, President Nixon stopped at Houston to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team.Thomas O. Paine, but Paine recommended the mission operations team.

Nobody believes me, but during this six-day odyssey, we had no idea what an impression Apollo13 made on the people of Earth. We never dreamed a billion people were following us on television and radio, and reading about us in banner headlines of every newspaper published. We still missed the point on board the carrier Iwo Jima, which picked us up, because the sailors had been as remote from the media as we were. Only when we reached Honolulu did we comprehend our impact: there we found President Nixon and [NASA Administrator] Dr. Paine to meet us, along with my wife Marilyn, Fred"s wife Mary (who, being pregnant, also had a doctor along just in case), and bachelor Jack"s parents, in lieu of his usual airline stewardesses.

Mechanical shock forced the oxygen valves closed on the number1 and number3 fuel cells, putting them out of commission.2 compromised Oxygen Tank1, causing its contents to leak out, possibly through a damaged line or valve, over the next 130 minutes, entirely depleting the SM"s oxygen supply.

The Countdown Demonstration Test took place with SM-109 in its place near the top of the Saturn V and began on March 16, 1970. During the test, the cryogenic tanks were filled, but Oxygen Tank 2 could not be emptied through the normal drain line, and a report was written documenting the problem. After discussion among NASA and the contractors, attempts to empty the tank resumed on March 27. When it would not empty normally, the heaters in the tank were turned on to boil off the oxygen. The thermostatic switches were designed to prevent the heaters from raising the temperature higher than 27 °C (80 °F), but they failed under the 65-volt power supply applied. Temperatures on the heater tube within the tank may have reached 540 °C (1,000 °F), most likely damaging the Teflon insulation.2 fan at the request of Mission Control caused an electric arc that set the tank on fire.

For Apollo 14 and subsequent missions, the oxygen tank was redesigned, the thermostats being upgraded to handle the proper voltage. The heaters were retained since they were necessary to maintain oxygen pressure. The stirring fans, with their unsealed motors, were removed, which meant the oxygen quantity gauge was no longer accurate. This required adding a third tank so that no tank would go below half full.1 of the SM, on the side opposite the other two, and was given an isolation valve that could isolate it from the fuel cells and from the other two oxygen tanks in an emergency and allow it to feed the CM"s environmental system only. The quantity probe was upgraded from aluminum to stainless steel.

All electrical wiring in Bay4 was sheathed in stainless steel. The fuel cell oxygen supply valves were redesigned to isolate the Teflon-coated wiring from the oxygen. The spacecraft and Mission Control monitoring systems were modified to give more immediate and visible warnings of anomalies.

None of the Apollo 13 astronauts flew in space again. Lovell retired from NASA and the Navy in 1973, entering the private sector.Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (the first joint mission with the Soviet Union) but was removed as part of the fallout from the Apollo 15 postal covers incident. He took a leave of absence from NASA in 1973 and left the agency to enter politics, being elected to the House of Representatives in 1982, but died of cancer before he could be sworn in.Apollo 19 mission, and flew the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests before retiring from NASA in 1979.

Several experiments were completed during Apollo 13, even though the mission did not land on the Moon.S-IVB (the Saturn V"s third stage), which on prior missions had been sent into solar orbit once detached. The seismometer left by Apollo 12 had detected frequent impacts of small objects onto the Moon, but larger impacts would yield more information about the Moon"s crust, so it was decided that, beginning with Apollo 13, the S-IVB would be crashed into the Moon.synchronous satellites, achieved the desired results.

The CM was disassembled for testing and parts remained in storage for years; some were used for a trainer for the Skylab Rescue Mission. That trainer was subsequently displayed at the Kentucky Science Center. Max Ary of the Cosmosphere made it a project to restore Odyssey; it is on display there, in Hutchinson, Kansas.

William R. Compton, in his book about the Apollo Program, said of Apollo 13, "Only a heroic effort of real-time improvisation by mission operations teams saved the crew."Milt Heflin, in their history of Mission Control, stated, "Apollo 13 proved mission control could bring those space voyagers back home again when their lives were on the line."Roger D. Launius wrote, "More than any other incident in the history of spaceflight, recovery from this accident solidified the world"s belief in NASA"s capabilities".Apollo 17 in December 1972.

Following the flight, the crew planned to write a book, but they all left NASA without starting it. After Lovell retired in 1991, he was approached by journalist Jeffrey Kluger about writing a non-fiction account of the mission. Swigert died in 1982 and Haise was no longer interested in such a project. The resultant book,

The next year, in 1995, a film adaptation of the book, Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks as Lovell, Bill Paxton as Haise, Kevin Bacon as Swigert, Gary Sinise as Mattingly, Ed Harris as Kranz, and Kathleen Quinlan as Marilyn Lovell. James Lovell, Kranz, and other principals have stated that this film depicted the events of the mission with reasonable accuracy, given that some dramatic license was taken. For example, the film changes the tense of Lovell"s famous follow-up to Swigert"s original words from, "Houston, we"ve had a problem" to "Houston, we have a problem".Failure is not an option", uttered by Harris as Kranz in the film; the phrase became so closely associated with Kranz that he used it for the title of his 2000 autobiography.

In 2020, the BBC World Service began airing 13 Minutes to the Moon, radio programs which draw on NASA audio from the mission, as well as archival and recent interviews with participants. Episodes began airing for Season 2 starting on March 8, 2020, with episode 1, "Time bomb: Apollo 13", explaining the launch and the explosion. Episode 2 details Mission Control"s denial and disbelief of the accident, with other episodes covering other aspects of the mission. The seventh and final episode was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In "Delay to Episode 7", the BBC explained that the presenter of the series, medical doctor Kevin Fong, had been called into service.

In advance of the 50th anniversary of the mission in 2020, an Apollo in Real Time site for the mission went online, allowing viewers to follow along as the mission unfolds, view photographs and video, and listen to audio of conversations between Houston and the astronauts as well as between mission controllers.Apollo 13: Home Safe on April 10, 2020.

The record was set because the Moon was nearly at its furthest from Earth during the mission. Apollo 13"s unique free return trajectory caused it to go approximately 100 kilometers (60 mi) further from the lunar far side than other Apollo lunar missions, but this was a minor contribution to the record.

Howell, Elizabeth; Hickok, Kimberly (March 31, 2020). "Apollo 13: The moon-mission that dodged disaster". Space.com. Future US. Retrieved April 1, 2020.

Burgess, Colin (2019). Shattered Dreams: The Lost and Canceled Space Missions (eBook ed.). Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-1-4962-1422-5.

Compton, William David (1989). Where No Man has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration Missions. NASA History Series. Washington, D.C.: NASA. OCLC 1045558568. SP-4214.

Flight Control Division (April 1970). Mission Operations Report (PDF). Houston, Texas: NASA Manned Spacecraft Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022.

Houston, Rick; Heflin, J. Milt; Aaron, John (2015). Go, Flight!: the Unsung Heroes of Mission Control, 1965–1992 (eBook ed.). Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-8494-4.

Mission Evaluation Team (September 1970). Apollo 13 Mission Report (PDF). Houston, Texas: NASA Manned Spacecraft Center. MSC-02680. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022.

Nixon partnered with Snocountry to bring real-time reports to your wrist. Program your favorite resorts and ideal conditions, and the watch will let you know when to drop everything and head for the hills. Want to know when Mammoth gets six inches of fresh? The Mission will gladly do that for you. Do you surf? Want to know when waves will be four-to-six feet with winds blowing offshore? Nixon also partnered with Surfline to send alerts to your watch when the surfs up and hitting the beach is mandatory.

It lacks a heart rate monitor, so should you want to count beats youll need to pair it with a chest strap. The chest often gives a more accurate reading than the wrist, anyway. For those who enjoy tracking things like speed and distance traveled on the mountain, the Mission works with the Trace Snow app. As long as the small Trace sensor is on your body or board, its accurate enough to report airtime, even turn radius. Going into a zone with no cell signal? Download topographic maps to your watch before you leave and track your progress.

Scott Cole, Product Developer of Digital and Advanced Concepts at Nixon, gave me more examples of just how smart this watch is. Want to know who won the World Series in 1982? Ask your watch and prove your friend wrong in an instant, he said. Need to remember to feed the cat when you get home? Tell your watch to remind you, he continued. Although websites cant be browsed on the watch itself, it will open sites on your phone when asked to, and since many apps being developed nowadays are compatible with wearable devices, it works with more apps each daylike a golf app, which can tell you how far your ball is from the hole by simply looking at your wrist.

Another cool feature, which I use often, is the Missions ability to change the face display. Just press a finger on the face for less than a second and swipe sideways to choose whichever face you desire depending on occasion. For workouts, choose the Google Fit Analog or Digital display. For a military-style face, choose Ranger, and for nights on the town, choose Player or Sentry. For snow and surf reports, choose The Mission, or The Mission Pro when paired with the Android Wear app. The Mission option also displays battery level without having to swipealthough swiping is pretty effortless.

All this talk of the Android Wear app might have you thinking the Mission doesnt work with iPhones. Think again. iPhones can download Android Wear, and after the holiday season (exact date TBD) the Android Wear 2.0 app will bring iPhone users up to the same pace as current Android users. I use an iPhone so Ive been missing out on some features but for now, its still the coolest thing to touch my wrist since the last time I was in a snowstorm.

The watch is on pre-order until the October 10th release date and costs $400. Thats about $100 more than the Apple Watch, but the Apple Watch isnt a rugged sports watch with a solid stainless steel bezel and Gorilla Glass crystal face. Casio also makes a smartwatch for sports, but it cant go as deep under water or connect to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi like the Mission can. Neither look as good, either, in my opinion.

Every few years, there is occasion to commemorate a date related to the checkered life of Richard M. Nixon. Last year marked the 40th anniversary of Nixon"s resignation as president; the year before was the centennial of Nixon"s birth.

Pity the remaining pockets of Nixon defenders. Fewer and fewer Americans even have memories of this sad historic figure. And among those of us who still have an interest in (and vividly recall) our nation"s most controversial and inglorious presidency, the stream of White House tapes, new documents and h