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Permalink Reply by Kevin J Baird on February 20, 2013 at 2:15pm

Well, a more realistic representation of what they are actually like is here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYdVpNWc30g

Given that, they may make more sense if they can integrate them into regular glasses.  I'm not wearing some dorky view-finder on my face.  But if they were inside my sun glasses or whatever, that would be fine.  I wouldn't mind being able to utilize such a screen without looking at my phone all the time.

I do think, however, that technology like this is removing much of our human interaction and replacing it with electronic middle-men.  On one hand it's much more efficient.  On the other hand, it creates rooms of people who do not converse because they are buried in their tech.  I'm as guilty of it as anyone.

I advocate some system to which non emergency features on phones and other devices can be switched off in certain areas.  (Such as movie theaters or in church or schools)  Otherwise we're going to become nothing more than facilitators of information passed between machines.

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Permalink Reply by kolop1 on February 20, 2013 at 2:29pm

Yeah, but how many people are going to want to wear glasses all day if they don't have to. I have to because I'm blind without them. I would not if I had the option.

I like my phone because I can put it away. I don't want to be tied into the internet all day. If these do become popular, I think people are going to kill themselves being stupid.

I don't know. I just don't think anyone needs to be this connected.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin J Baird on February 20, 2013 at 3:00pm

I think it's a progression.  This is infant technology.  It'll eventually be improved and take a different form.  I can see real world uses for it.  Like when I'm mowing the lawn or on the treadmill.  That's some boring shit that having the phone in hand is useless because I'm in motion.  

Also, it would be a much better improvement while driving because I won't have to look at the GPS or the phone or the music player.  It'll all just be in the corner of my eye.  Safer.  Maybe not safer than having none of that shit in your car, but everyone does.  So this is a better alternative.

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Permalink Reply by Hawksprite on February 20, 2013 at 3:05pm

I'm with you on it being an infant technology.  I have very little use for answering text's with these glasses but they're are some amazing applications you could develop for them.

Face matching with facebook for instance.   So you could figured out who you were talking to and GPS like you were saying could be vastly improved with them.

I have more to post I just can't write up a full post write now later today i'll add onto it.

Kevin J Baird said:

I think it's a progression.  This is infant technology.  It'll eventually be improved and take a different form.  I can see real world uses for it.  Like when I'm mowing the lawn or on the treadmill.  That's some boring shit that having the phone in hand is useless because I'm in motion.  

Also, it would be a much better improvement while driving because I won't have to look at the GPS or the phone or the music player.  It'll all just be in the corner of my eye.  Safer.  Maybe not safer than having none of that shit in your car, but everyone does.  So this is a better alternative.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin J Baird on February 21, 2013 at 11:38am

NPR had a story on the Google Glasses now being available for $1500.  Apparently a guy is going to use them for emergency responders.  Makes total sense.  If you're a fireman, you don't have hands free to mess with a phone.  I see this technology being adopted by businesses like this first.

For instance, in Cleveland we had this recent incident where 62 police cars chased after one suspect.  When they cornered him, they unloaded something like 115 bullets into his car.  They later found no gun in the car.

This has caused quite an uproar.  And Cleveland is one of few major cities that doesn't currently have cameras in the police cars.  So now the city is going to use body cameras instead.  So the police will wear a camera that records their entire shift even if they are out of the car.  It's in a trial phase right now, so not every officer has them.  But they are actually cheaper than car cameras.

It makes sense that the Google glasses will be the next evolution of this kind of thing for police.  Facial recognition while talking to suspects.  Pulling up their info.  Recording.  

The future is here Mr. Burton

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Permalink Reply by Robert B on February 27, 2013 at 6:30pm

The big guys think wearable computing is the next thing. Glasses, watches coming back. We'll see.

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Permalink Reply by FlatBot on February 27, 2013 at 11:20pm

People are on their cell phones constantly.  If Google Glasses gives them a screen they can passively monitor and actively use when they need to it's going to be a success.

In order for this to be widely popular, a couple of things need to happen:

• The glasses need to be more fashionable.  At least symmetrical
• There has to be a hand-operated interface so people could type text without having to blabber it audibly.
• The display needs to appear in more ways than a square in the upper right hand corner.  There needs to be a way to Maximize the view so it overlays your complete vision, operate more like a HUD from Terminator, where your main field of vision remains in the center, and the extra data shows up on the sides and bottom of the display.
• Also the processing has to be fast and smooth.  Lag will be even more intolerable if you can't look away form it while you wait.  (you know you do this with your cell phone from time to time)

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Permalink Reply by Dylan on March 8, 2013 at 12:09am

I think it'd be interesting (I don't how this would work) to show how exactly the HUD looks — besides the stylized promo video.  Also, $1,500/pair doesn't help with them being widely popular, either.  

FlatBot said:

People are on their cell phones constantly.  If Google Glasses gives them a screen they can passively monitor and actively use when they need to it's going to be a success.

In order for this to be widely popular, a couple of things need to happen:

• The glasses need to be more fashionable.  At least symmetrical
• There has to be a hand-operated interface so people could type text without having to blabber it audibly.
• The display needs to appear in more ways than a square in the upper right hand corner.  There needs to be a way to Maximize the view so it overlays your complete vision, operate more like a HUD from Terminator, where your main field of vision remains in the center, and the extra data shows up on the sides and bottom of the display.
• Also the processing has to be fast and smooth.  Lag will be even more intolerable if you can't look away form it while you wait.  (you know you do this with your cell phone from time to time)

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Permalink Reply by FlatBot on March 8, 2013 at 1:44pm

The price will fall rapidly.  They'll start at $1,500 and probably be half that in a year, half again in another year.  Once they hit $200 everyone will have them (if they perfect some of the UI controls).

Apple will say how dumb they are, until about 3 years from now when they release Apple iVision (or some shit that does the same thing, but worse, for twice the price)

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Permalink Reply by Kevin J Baird on March 11, 2013 at 9:58am

That's true.  When Apple does it, it'll be considered revolutionary.

Speech recognition needs to get better.  Really, if I can talk and have it understand me correctly, I think it will make all the difference.  Right now, things like Siri and other speech products feel more like novelty items or for the crippled.  I've rarely ever used them in a practical way.  

For instance, I needed to find a Chinese place close to my location yesterday.  I said, "Find Chinese restaurant" and it gave me results a city over.  So then I said, "Find Chinese restaurant in Brunswick" and it gave me something in England.  Then I had to say, "Find Chinese restaurant in Brunswick, Ohio" and it still gave me the results a city over.

Finally, I got on Google and typed in Chinese Brunswick Ohio, and it gave me 5 places nearby.

Until they get that shit worked out, I'm not buying the glasses.

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Permalink Reply by kolop1 on March 11, 2013 at 2:55pm

I don't want google glasses at all. I don't need to be that connected. My phone can do all I of this and it's not on my head. I may be in the minority here, but I am more than happy with my phone.

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