I was always confused about the date, but now I don't have an excuse since it's the first thing I see when I walk into my den every morning.  It was ready to go right out of the box and easy to set up.  The one drawback is it doesn't have a batter back up though it doesn't lose time when the powers goes out, so maybe it has a small back up built in.  I already had a friend buy one too.  Some people may think it's a little too big, but it doesn't what I need it too and I think it looks pretty cool. 

Pros: Easy set up right out of the box, bright and a conversation piece.
Cons: No battery backup though it seems to maintain time when the power goes out.