SharePoint web part: Countdown Timer added to roadmap

That is interesting, and it was confirmed here (the original link is broken).  This timer web part apparently lets the designer pick a date/time and makes the countdown visible for all visitors to the page.  That goes part of the way, and the rest should be easy.  Much more useful would be an o-o-b count-UP timer that each page visitor can start.  When stopped, the final time value would be copied to a selected column in a list item.  Timekeeping made simple.