What do you think about Google Glass?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

The demo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7TB8b2t3QE

I think the product itself looks stupid on people and don’t think anyone would want to wear their computer around all the time. Even if/when they polish it up in a consumer version later down the road, it’ll still be this thing sitting on your face. It’ll be like Bluetooth headsets, only bigger and douchier.

Now, if they can somehow inject the internet into my eyeballs, that’s another story. Or contacts. I’ve always wanted to record what my eyes see in real-time.

#2

I hope it doesn’t become commonplace. I could see something like having a head up display while you’re doing something, but they are touting it as augmented reality, and I do not like that. That’s getting to close to the singularity from the human side–making us more machine than man.

#3

About 18-20 years ago I was working in the virtual reality industry trying to make stereoscopic headsets. The joke was that the technology was eternally in search of a purpose, and augmented reality, which is what the Google Glasses are for, was one of them. But that long ago it wasn’t possible to get anything nearly as small and unobtrusive as this thing is. So for me, it’s amazing to see how far things have come.

As for “somehow injecting the internet into your eyeballs”, there was a company called Microvision that was trying to develop a technology in which a laser would be used to draw an image directly on the retina, so your comment is not that far off from reality.

#4

It seems cool, but the demo was dumb because it didn’t show what the technology looks like for the user. My attitude is pretty much summed up by a Youtube comment:

#5

I would buy a pair of those glasses.
Not that I would wander through Walmart wearing them, but I can imagine there would be some cool things to see “as if you were there”.

The article I read the other day mentioned they were opening up this technology to see what others would suggest using it for - I could envision viewing the Amazon as someone walked through, seeing exactly what they were seeing from their perspective. Or for training purposes for students learning how to do surgery? Even something like fixing the engine of a car - to get that close up experience and see what the technician is doing; or perhaps showing someone close up how to repair any smaller device.

It could also be fun to sit at home and ride a roller coaster, or do extreme skiing off mountain tops, or hang glide off a Swiss mountain…

And of course, there is always porn. There is always porn.
I can imagine many might like to get that one-on-one experience and get up close and personal.

Yeah, I could see owning a pair of those glasses.

#6

I read an interview a little while ago with Sergey Brin which I cannot find while googling due to the lack of search terms and the rash of more recent interviews with him :slight_smile:

However the interviewer commented that while he had the glasses on the entire time and was able to pull up information to answer questions he felt more engaged than the interviewer himself who was using something to record the interview, notes on an iPhone with questions etc. Basically the goal is to take the tech and make it invisible.

I like the idea and once they’re available I’ll probably own a pair.

#7

What do they do besides allow you to take pictures and record videos from a more accurate and realistic point of view?

EDIT: I’ve seen multiple videos with Brin and other people since these were teased a few months ago and I’ve not seen them do much more than that.

#8

Gargoyles!

#9

It may not have shown off all the features of the glasses, but that was still a pretty goddamn cool stunt.

#10

If it’s the price of a high-end smartphone or below I will probably buy one. I find the technology very exciting and I would love to see what Google and other developers can create for it. I admit I was blown apart by the skydiving stunt which I was watching on a live video feed. I don’t think anyone at Google pretends that Glass is anything other than a very early prototype and understandably they are being fairly cagy. We didn’t get to see what the UI on Glass looks like. However I think the demo does seem to show that Glass works in testing conditions and produces decent video feeds which can be sent online. Along with spontaneous photos which they showed, I think this is definitely a use case which ordinary people will be interested in: just sharing fun moments with your friends and family when it’s not possible to take out a camera, maybe on a roller-coaster or while you are playing a sport.

The really big use though will be the information you can see on Glass depending on your location and requirements. They didn’t show any of that but I am sure Google has lots of ideas they are trying out. We will probably get a better idea next year when people who placed pre-orders at I/O will receive their prototypes.

#11

Yeah, that would be cool, especially if while they were doing that you were standing in a shuttered Borders. OMG! Books! On shelves!

I’d buy a second or third generation pair after the app market explodes. Cyborg or not, something that frees me from looking down at a phone while walking (and dodgeing bears) yet with all the abilities of the internet is going to be awesome. There’s a lot that needs to be worked out, but twenty years ago the thought of everyone carrying a brick phone was ludicrous. I think there was even a bit of hesitation about smart phones too. I have the internet on my phone already, and text messages too. Why would I need a whole standalone OS? kind of thing.