All it has more is the geek factore 
It also has a slightly different register layout. This mostly affected the stop/start functions. Also the ds1337 come in a (C) version which has a built in xtal, which can be practical.
As for setting it, sure that's what I though to, but you can't really send bytes through screen. As for epoch, I have some plan on adding NTP... which will deliver the time using an epoch stamp. What ever, that's all just playing with numbers 
Here's what the port looks like.
extern "C" {
#include <Wire/Wire.h>
#include <avr/pgmspace.h>
}
#include "DS1337.h"
#include "programStrings.h"
DS1337::DS1337()
{
Wire.begin();
}
DS1337 RTC=DS1337();
// PRIVATE FUNCTIONS
// Aquire data from the RTC chip in BCD format
// refresh the buffer
void DS1337::read(void)
{
// use the Wire lib to connect to tho rtc
// reset the resgiter pointer to zero
Wire.beginTransmission(DS1337_CTRL_ID);
Wire.send(0x00);
Wire.endTransmission();
// request the 7 bytes of data (secs, min, hr, dow, date. mth, yr)
Wire.requestFrom(DS1337_CTRL_ID, 7);
for(int i=0; i<7; i++)
{
// store data in raw bcd format
if (Wire.available())
rtc_bcd[i]=Wire.receive();
}
}
// update the data on the IC from the bcd formatted data in the buffer
void DS1337::save(void)
{
Wire.beginTransmission(DS1337_CTRL_ID);
Wire.send(0x00); // reset register pointer
for(int i=0; i<7; i++)
{
Wire.send(rtc_bcd[i]);
}
Wire.endTransmission();
}
unsigned char DS1337::getRegister(unsigned char registerNumber)
{
Wire.beginTransmission(DS1337_CTRL_ID);
Wire.send(registerNumber);
Wire.endTransmission();
Wire.requestFrom(DS1337_CTRL_ID, 1);
return Wire.receive();
}
void DS1337::setRegister(unsigned char registerNumber, unsigned char registerMask)
{
Wire.beginTransmission(DS1337_CTRL_ID);
Wire.send(registerNumber); // reset register pointer
Wire.send(registerMask);
Wire.endTransmission();
}
void DS1337::unsetRegister(unsigned char registerNumber, unsigned char registerMask)
{
setRegister(registerNumber, (getRegister(registerNumber) & ~registerNumber));
}
// PUBLIC FUNCTIONS
void DS1337::get(int *rtc, boolean refresh) // Aquire data from buffer and convert to int, refresh buffer if required
{
if(refresh) read();
for(int i=0;i<7;i++) // cycle through each component, create array of data
{
rtc[i]=get(i, 0);
}
}
int DS1337::get(int c, boolean refresh) // aquire individual RTC item from buffer, return as int, refresh buffer if required
{
if(refresh) read();
int v=-1;
switch(c)
{
case DS1337_SEC:
v=(10*((rtc_bcd[DS1337_SEC] & DS1337_HI_SEC)>>4))+(rtc_bcd[DS1337_SEC] & DS1337_LO_BCD);
break;
case DS1337_MIN:
v=(10*((rtc_bcd[DS1337_MIN] & DS1337_HI_MIN)>>4))+(rtc_bcd[DS1337_MIN] & DS1337_LO_BCD);
break;
case DS1337_HR:
v=(10*((rtc_bcd[DS1337_HR] & DS1337_HI_HR)>>4))+(rtc_bcd[DS1337_HR] & DS1337_LO_BCD);
break;
case DS1337_DOW:
v=rtc_bcd[DS1337_DOW] & DS1337_LO_DOW;
break;
case DS1337_DATE:
v=(10*((rtc_bcd[DS1337_DATE] & DS1337_HI_DATE)>>4))+(rtc_bcd[DS1337_DATE] & DS1337_LO_BCD);
break;
case DS1337_MTH:
v=(10*((rtc_bcd[DS1337_MTH] & DS1337_HI_MTH)>>4))+(rtc_bcd[DS1337_MTH] & DS1337_LO_BCD);
break;
case DS1337_YR:
v=(10*((rtc_bcd[DS1337_YR] & DS1337_HI_YR)>>4))+(rtc_bcd[DS1337_YR] & DS1337_LO_BCD)+DS1337_BASE_YR;
break;
} // end switch
return v;
}
void DS1337::set(int c, int v) // Update buffer, then update the chip
{
switch(c)
{
case DS1337_SEC:
if(v<60 && v>-1)
{
//preserve existing clock state (running/stopped)
int state=rtc_bcd[DS1337_SEC] & DS1337_CLOCKHALT;
rtc_bcd[DS1337_SEC]=state | ((v / 10)<<4) + (v % 10);
}
break;
case DS1337_MIN:
if(v<60 && v>-1)
{
rtc_bcd[DS1337_MIN]=((v / 10)<<4) + (v % 10);
}
break;
case DS1337_HR:
// TODO : AM/PM 12HR/24HR
if(v<24 && v>-1)
{
rtc_bcd[DS1337_HR]=((v / 10)<<4) + (v % 10);
}
break;
case DS1337_DOW:
if(v<8 && v>-1)
{
rtc_bcd[DS1337_DOW]=v;
}
break;
case DS1337_DATE:
if(v<31 && v>-1)
{
rtc_bcd[DS1337_DATE]=((v / 10)<<4) + (v % 10);
}
break;
case DS1337_MTH:
if(v<13 && v>-1)
{
rtc_bcd[DS1337_MTH]=((v / 10)<<4) + (v % 10);
}
break;
case DS1337_YR:
if(v<13 && v>-1)
{
rtc_bcd[DS1337_YR]=((v / 10)<<4) + (v % 10);
}
break;
} // end switch
save();
}
void DS1337::stop(void)
{
setRegister(DS1337_SP, DS1337_SP_EOSC);
}
void DS1337::start(void)
{
unsetRegister(DS1337_SP, DS1337_SP_EOSC);
}