First of all, the Zoop runs the same Suunto RGBM algorithm as other Suunto computers. People reading this who aren't familiar with Suunto shouldn't get the impression that the Zoop is somehow different in this respect from most other computers in the Suunto line. My wife's Zoop always matched my Suunto D6 exactly.
Second, I have not heard that the algorithm treats "one hour" as any sort of black-and-white threshold. It's reasonable to believe that the longer the surface interval, the greater the NDL the Suunto will compute for the next dive, that's all.
That said, Suunto's RGBM algorithm does seem to give more weight to the length of the surface interval than some other algorithms. As for ascent rate, Suunto's own literature confirms that the algorithm gives ascent rate significant weight, and the computer will recommend a stop if you continuously exceed the recommended ascent rate for more than a few seconds.
Lastly, I believe "dinged" is a loaded word. We similarly hear people use the word "penalized." The risk-tolerant person's "dinged"/"penalized" is the risk-averse person's "buffered." It's not like the folks at Suunto believe you are being deprived of a right to more bottom time; they clearly take the position that their computer is just trying to help keep you safer by giving weight to behaviors that they in their scientific wisdom have judged to add risk. Whether a Suunto really does keep one safer than some other computer is open to debate, and for what it's worth I would not want to have to argue Suunto's side.
