Google Glass

[Deckard]

What no thread for the biggest new thing tech wise this year ? I quite like the idea if implemented correctly but do agree that wearing glasses isnt a natural thing and that some people might have a problem with the privacy aspect. Do we know if the bone transducer sound is going to be in ? Plus Sergey lecturing me about how emasulating a mobile phone is compared to a pair of his glasses ? Have you seen him with them on ?

[random_dave]

aside from not being able to afford them i'm kinda tempted, especially with the amount of time i spend walking dogs, which in the winter is invredibly annoying to keep getting a phone out of a tight winter coat pocket and take cosy gloves off to check for texts etc, instead they could just pop up in my vision.

There's gonna be a lot of offices drawing up some rules on using them, both from a confidentiality standpoint, depending on the recording functions and possibly more importantly for a "sure boss, I'm working on this excel sheet that you can see on my pc, and totally not wasting time browsing porn on my face"

[Deckard]

I think if they work in any sort of decent capacity then they will cause a major social shift but they need to "just work" - Will they be connected to a permanent 3g/4g connection via bluetooth to your smartphone ?

[RiK]

I think if they work in any sort of decent capacity then they will cause a major social shift but they need to "just work"

I'd imagine for a good while yet they'll only be toys for affluent geeks. Longer term when (if) they gain any significant mainstream use I think it'll be interesting to see how they're perceived by others. Imagine having a conversation with someone wearing them, you'd be wondering if they're recording you or taking pics etc. I'm not sure many people would be happy with that. What about the security aspect of someone recording you keying in a pin number or password etc?

[Cloudane]

I would say that people who want to secretly take pics of your pin number / company secrets / kids / tits / etc would surely be doing so already in a more hidden form. Something like one of those little pinhole cameras that peeks through your shirt button hole like you see on hidden camera things on TV. Rather than having a camera across their face in plain view.

However I can indeed imagine it'd just basically be socially unacceptable because either way despite the reality, you're still making it obvious you have a camera strapped to your eye (which I guess is also an internet device etc? The video I saw was kind of vague about its capabilities aside from the camera) and people would take offence to that.
From what I saw, it's voice activated so you have to say something like "okay, take a picture" and so people would actually know when you're doing so (useful privacy feature like the red light on the front of a camera that you often can't disable for the same reason) however the more 'smart' it is the more likely it can be jailbroken so you can have a bluetooth button in your pocket or something.

- Wouldn't be able to use it at work because you could too easily steal data, be surfing on it instead of working etc
- Nor in many public places like shopping centres where cameras are banned
- Walking around in public random people would probably object especially if there are kids around
- When socialising it'd be considered rude (much like having your phone out on the table, to say nothing of texting while you chat) because the other person(s) can't be sure that you're giving them your undivided attention
- It'd be swiftly banned for drivers because the cops can't be sure you're not driving along watching a movie instead of the road (and people would definitely do this)

It doesn't really leave many situations where it'd actually be acceptable to use

That and you'd look like a twat

[pogo]

I think they will be banned outright in many places. Think of all the places phones are banned or at least frowned on: schools, gyms, cinemas, the quiet car of trains. These will be excluded in many more places, for privacy reasons, as you don't know when someone is filming you and for politeness sake: wearing them while talking is akin to holding a phone or even a book in front of your face, hardly a sign that you're giving someone your undivided attention. Even if they're not banned they may become socially unacceptable.

This is a particular problem for those who require glasses anyway. If you get prescription lenses fitted you'll also expensively and inconveniently need to get a regular pair of glasses, and carry them with you at all times, to swap with the Google ones. Or there will be a 'clip on' version but that simply won't work with most glasses; there's not the space around the lens for it.

The other problem is yes, they don't have their own 3G/4G, they need a phone which they talk to over Bluetooth. But there are two problems with that. First the contract of many phone companies bars you sharing the internet connection with other devices, i.e. tethering, or you need to pay a lot more for it. Second if you need to take your smartphone with you why not use that?

[Deckard]

I think they will be banned outright in many places. Think of all the places phones are banned or at least frowned on: schools, gyms, cinemas, the quiet car of trains. These will be excluded in many more places, for privacy reasons, as you don't know when someone is filming you and for politeness sake: wearing them while talking is akin to holding a phone or even a book in front of your face, hardly a sign that you're giving someone your undivided attention. Even if they're not banned they may become socially unacceptable.

This is a particular problem for those who require glasses anyway. If you get prescription lenses fitted you'll also expensively and inconveniently need to get a regular pair of glasses, and carry them with you at all times, to swap with the Google ones. Or there will be a 'clip on' version but that simply won't work with most glasses; there's not the space around the lens for it.

The other problem is yes, they don't have their own 3G/4G, they need a phone which they talk to over Bluetooth. But there are two problems with that. First the contract of many phone companies bars you sharing the internet connection with other devices, i.e. tethering, or you need to pay a lot more for it. Second if you need to take your smartphone with you why not use that?

Your smartphone isnt "seeing" the world like the glasses will ? Do they have any kind of awareness that doesnt come from the gps from the camera ?

[pogo]

My point was that everything that can be done with these can be done with a phone. You might need to hold the phone up to see it but it's got cameras, a screen, voice activation and commands. So why not use the phone? The glasses make much more sense as a phone replacement but if you're always going to need a phone, and to have it on and maintaining both connections (3G/4G + Bluetooth). That will deplete the battery very quickly and you'd be at the mercy of the charges of both devices.

I struggle to think when these would be used. I think many social situations will be ruled out, so if you're going out with friends, to a show, or restaurant, you won't wear them. Crowded environments will be a problem; it would only take one concerned parent or boyfriend to kick up a fuss and you'll stop wearing them on the high street. Driving ? There are hands-free, dashboard mounting solutions for regular phones already. At home or work you just use a regular PC. So maybe it's only extreme sports and outdoor activities as in the promo video. But then you'd be worried about losing or breaking them.

[carolen]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/09 ... gle_glass/

Nuff said.

[Deckard]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/09 ... gle_glass/

Nuff said.

Some dive bar wanted the publicity...... I think we should knock up a few lookalikes and send a few speccy wearing hells angels in

[pogo]

I should have thought of this: many countries already have laws prohibiting phone use while driving, including hands free phones. If such laws don't cover such devices already (they may have been framed broadly enough to do so) then surely the laws will be changed. These are perfect for distracting you, precisely the issue with using a mobile when driving.

A bigger concern though is another privacy one. This is Google, whose entire business model is based on knowing more about you than you realise so they can share that information with advertisers. This is Google who were just hit with a $7m fine for collecting private information (names, e-mail addresses, web histories, passwords) over Wifi with their street view vans. Their whole approach seems to be to gather as much information as they can until there's some resistance or someone takes them to court. So what do they plan to do with this data?

[(o)(o)]

Food for thought.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/20 ... ov-extract

[Darkflame]

Id simply assume, like all cameras, theres a little red light when recording and a shutter sound for a photo.
These things arnt a big deal - just a new display for a phone.
Things get more interesting when we have models able to give true AR. Then we will have dedicated new uses, rather then just hands free what we can do right now.

A bigger concern though is another privacy one. This is Google, whose entire business model is based on knowing more about you than you realise so they can share that information with advertisers. This is Google who were just hit with a $7m fine for collecting private information (names, e-mail addresses, web histories, passwords) over Wifi with their street view vans.

a) Google dont share the data with advertisers - they use it themselves to place adverts.
Their business model is people paying them to place adverts where google thinks they stand the biggest chance of a sale. Sharing user data, aside from being illegal and against googles EULAs, would also not make any buisness sense.

b) They collected everything that was being broadcast by unsecured routers. They just didnt filter to just pick up the SIDDs or Mac Addresss. They shouldn't have recorded it, but theres no evidence of conspiracy or that they somehow planned to use the data in some way.

Finally, if this thing runs Android - everyone can check exactly what its recording and sending by looking at the source.

[Cloudane]

Come to think of it, I have a feeling a clear indication like a red light and maybe a shutter sound, may well end up an EU regulation (if it isn't already). They tend to be quite heavy handed in our favour with regulations (see also things like insisting all phones charge over microUSB) so it may not be an issue in that sense.

[toxibunny]

- Wouldn't be able to use it [...] in many public places like shopping centres where cameras are banned

Shopping centres are packed full of cameras, right? I think it's about time for a turnaround.