What time is it, darling?, Mrs gadgetshop asked me this morning. "Oh, why, it's 011010100", I replied. Naturally, she understood completely and laughed in that PhD's laugh of hers. Of course I was able to perform a calculation into binary time in my head, but you may not be so lucky. And that is why the binary clock has been invented; a brilliantly trendsetting timepiece that looks not unlike R2-D2 but is, in fact, a clock. Using the beautifully pure language of digital electronics, the clock displays the time using rows of illuminated LEDs. Simply add the values of the lit LEDs to tell the time. Bingo (or should I say, 1101000).

A few minutes of simple introduction is all that's required to master the art of binary timeliness. Even though you may already have a degree in quantum theory, it's about as much use as GCSE Geography when it comes to life.

This clever little clock goes further still, and is able to interpret old father time in true binary as well as its default BCD mode, just in case you thought than 'ten past two' couldn't be made any more complex. The handy little unit comes complete with a dim function to take the edge off the stark blue beauty of the LEDs. There you have it. The time, told in a sequence of ones and zeroes.