beatChan | Internet Time Companion

@BEAT TIME NOW

Your Location

@000.00

--:--

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Convert

TradTime → @beat

@500

@beat → TradTime

12:00 PM

Minutes → Beats

min

≈ 42 beats

Beats → Minutes

beats

≈ 144 min

Explore

Simulation

@500

@000@250@500@750@999

Code Samples

Drop these into your projects.

Web

Shell

Systems

JavaScript

function getSwatchBeats() {
  const now = new Date();
  const bmt = new Date(now.getTime() + 3600000); // UTC+1
  const ms = bmt.getUTCHours() * 3600000
           + bmt.getUTCMinutes() * 60000
           + bmt.getUTCSeconds() * 1000
           + bmt.getUTCMilliseconds();
  return (ms / 86400000) * 1000;
}

// Display: @XXX.XX
console.log('@' + getSwatchBeats().toFixed(2).padStart(6, '0'));

PHP

<?php
// PHP has native support!
echo '@' . date('B'); // Current beat time

// With decimals (centibeats)
$now = new DateTime('now', new DateTimeZone('Europe/Zurich'));
$midnight = clone $now;
$midnight->setTime(0, 0);
$seconds = $now->getTimestamp() - $midnight->getTimestamp();
$beats = $seconds / 86.4;
echo '@' . number_format($beats, 2);
?>

Bash

#!/bin/bash
# Calculate Swatch Internet Time
MIDNIGHT=$(TZ='Etc/GMT-1' date -d "12:00 am" +%s)
BEATS=$(( (($EPOCHSECONDS - $MIDNIGHT) * 1000) / 86400 ))
echo "@$BEATS"

Python

from datetime import datetime, timezone, timedelta

def get_beats():
    bmt = datetime.now(timezone(timedelta(hours=1)))
    midnight = bmt.replace(hour=0, minute=0, second=0, microsecond=0)
    seconds = (bmt - midnight).total_seconds()
    return (seconds / 86.4) % 1000

print(f"@{get_beats():06.2f}")

#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>

int main() {
    time_t now = time(NULL) + 3600; // UTC+1
    struct tm *bmt = gmtime(&now);
    int seconds = bmt->tm_hour * 3600
                + bmt->tm_min * 60
                + bmt->tm_sec;
    double beats = (seconds / 86.4);
    printf("@%06.2f\n", beats);
    return 0;
}

Time Shrine

WELCOME TO THE INTERNET @BEAT TIME SHRINE

~ EST. 1998 ~ BIEL, SWITZERLAND ~

@000

THE SAME MOMENT, EVERYWHERE ON EARTH

NOW PLAYING: time_zone_free.mid

ONE WORLD * ONE TIME * NO TIMEZONES * SINCE 1998 * BIEL MEAN TIME * 1000 BEATS PER DAY * SWATCH DID NOTHING WRONG * ONE WORLD * ONE TIME * REJECT TRAD-TIME MODERNITY EMBRACE BEATS * ONE WORLD * ONE TIME * NO TIMEZONES * SINCE 1998 * BIEL MEAN TIME * 1000 BEATS PER DAY * SWATCH DID NOTHING WRONG * ONE WORLD * ONE TIME * REJECT TRAD-TIME MODERNITY EMBRACE BEATS *

. * . * . * . * . * @BEATS * @BEATS * . * . * . * . * . ╔══════════════════════════════╗ ║ TIME ZONES ARE A CONSTRUCT ║ ║ EMBRACE THE BEAT ║ ╚══════════════════════════════╝ . * . * . * . * .

So back in 1998, Swatch (yes, the watch company) decided that time zones were stupid (they were right) and invented Internet Time. The whole day is 1000 beats. No AM/PM. No "wait, are you EST or EDT?" No mental math. Just the same time, globally.

CNN put it on their website. ICQ had it built in. Phantasy Star Online used it to coordinate raids across the globe. It was genuinely ahead of its Time.

It never really caught on, and we're here to survive its legacy. Beat Time is alive and well in some of the far corners of the internet.