^^interesting, kind of like a xbox kinect for a pc and other devices

I used Google Glass: the future, but with monthly updates

Source: The Verge
Up close and personal with Google's visionary new computer
By Joshua Topolsky on February 22, 2013 11:39 am



Finding Glass
The Glass project was started "about three years ago" by an engineer named Babak Parviz as part of Google’s X Lab initiative, the lab also responsible for — amongst other things — self-driving cars and neural networks. Unlike those epic, sci-fi R&D projects at Google, Glass is getting real much sooner than anyone expected. The company offered developers an option to buy into an early adopter strategy called the Explorer Program during its I/O conference last year, and just this week it extended that opportunity to people in the US in a Twitter campaign which asks potential users to explain how they would put the new technology to use. Think of it as a really aggressive beta — something Google is known for.

I was about to beta test Glass myself. But first, I had questions.

Seated in a surprisingly bland room — by Google’s whimsical office standards — I find myself opposite two of the most important players in the development of Glass, product director Steve Lee and lead industrial designer Isabelle Olsson. Steve and Isabelle make for a convincing pair of spokespeople for the product. He’s excitable, bouncy even, with big bright eyes that spark up every time he makes a point about Glass. Isabelle is more reserved, but speaks with incredible fervency about the product. And she has extremely red hair. Before we can even start talking about Glass, Isabelle and I are in a heated conversation about how you define the color navy blue. She’s passionate about design — a condition that seems to be rather contagious at Google these days — and it shows.

Though the question of design is at the front of my mind, a picture of why Glass exists at all begins to emerge as we talk, and it’s clearly not about making a new fashion accessory. Steve tries to explain it to me.

"Why are we even working on Glass? We all know that people love to be connected. Families message each other all the time, sports fanatics are checking live scores for their favorite teams. If you’re a frequent traveler you have to stay up to date on flight status or if your gate changes. Technology allows us to connect in that way. A big problem right now are the distractions that technology causes. If you’re a parent — let’s say your child’s performance, watching them do a soccer game or a musical. Often friends will be holding a camera to capture that moment. Guess what? It’s gone. You just missed that amazing game." Isabelle chimes in, "Did you see that Louis C.K. stand up when he was telling parents, ‘your kids are better resolution in real life?’" Everyone laughs, but the point is made.



Human beings have developed a new problem since the advent of the iPhone and the following mobile revolution: no one is paying attention to anything they’re actually doing. Everyone seems to be looking down at something or through something. Those perfect moments watching your favorite band play or your kid’s recital are either being captured via the lens of a device that sits between you and the actual experience, or being interrupted by constant notifications. Pings from the outside world, breaking into what used to be whole, personal moments.

Steve goes on. "We wondered, what if we brought technology closer to your senses? Would that allow you to more quickly get information and connect with other people but do so in a way — with a design — that gets out of your way when you’re not interacting with technology? That’s sort of what led us to Glass." I can’t stop looking at the lens above his right eye. "It’s a new wearable technology. It’s a very ambitious way to tackle this problem, but that’s really sort of the underpinning of why we worked on Glass."

I get it. We’re all distracted. No one can pay attention. We’re missing all of life’s moments. Sure, it’s a problem, but it’s a new problem, and this isn’t the first time we’ve been distracted by a new technology. Hell, they used to think car radios would send drivers careening off of the highways. We’ll figure out how to manage our distraction, right?

Maybe, but obviously the Glass team doesn’t want to wait to find out. Isabelle tells me about the moment the concept clicked for her. "One day, I went to work — I live in SF and I have to commute to Mountain View and there are these shuttles — I went to the shuttle stop and I saw a line of not 10 people but 15 people standing in a row like this," she puts her head down and mimics someone poking at a smartphone. "I don’t want to do that, you know? I don’t want to be that person. That’s when it dawned on me that, OK, we have to make this work. It’s bold. It’s crazy. But we think that we can do something cool with it."

Bold and crazy sounds right, especially after Steve tells me that the company expects to have Glass on the market as a consumer device by the end of this year.

Google-level design
Forget about normal eyeglasses for a moment. Forget about chunky hipster glasses. Forget about John Lennon’s circle sunglasses. Forget The Boys of Summer; forget how she looks with her hair slicked back and her Wayfarers on. Pretend that stuff doesn’t exist. Just humor me.



The design of Glass is actually really beautiful. Elegant, sophisticated. They look human and a little bit alien all at once. Futuristic but not out of time — like an artifact from the 1960’s, someone trying to imagine what 2013 would be like. This is Apple-level design. No, in some ways it’s beyond what Apple has been doing recently. It’s daring, inventive, playful, and yet somehow still ultimately simple. The materials feel good in your hand and on your head, solid but surprisingly light. Comfortable. If Google keeps this up, soon we’ll be saying things like "this is Google-level design."

The system itself is made up of only a few basic pieces. The main body of Glass is a soft-touch plastic that houses the brains, battery, and counterweight (which sits behind your ear). There’s a thin metal strip that creates the arc of the glasses, with a set of rather typical pad arms and nose pads which allow the device to rest on your face.

Google is making the first version of the device in a variety of colors. If you didn’t want to get creative, those colors are: gray, orange, black, white, and light blue. I joke around with Steve and Isabelle about what I think the more creative names would be. "Is the gray one Graphite? Hold on, don’t tell me. I’m going to guess." I go down the list. "Tomato? Onyx? Powder — no Avalanche, and Seabreeze." Steve and Isabelle laugh. "That’s good," Isabelle says.

But seriously. Shale. Tangerine. Charcoal. Cotton. Sky. So close.



That conversation leads into discussion of the importance of color in a product that you wear every day. "It’s one of those things, you think like, ‘oh, whatever, it is important,’ but it’s a secondary thing. But we started to realize how people get attached to the device… a lot of it is due to the color," Isabelle tells me.

And there is something to it. When I saw the devices in the different colors, and when I tried on Tangerine and Sky, I started to get emotional about which one was more "me." It’s not like how you feel about a favorite pair of sunglasses, but it evokes a similar response. They’re supposed to feel like yours.

Isabelle came to the project and Google from Yves Behar’s design studio. She joined the Glass team when their product was little more than a bizarre pair of white eyeglass frames with comically large circuit boards glued to either side. She shows me — perhaps ironically — a Chanel box with the original prototype inside, its prism lens limply dangling from the right eye, a gray ribbon cable strewn from one side to the other. The breadboard version.

It was Isabelle’s job to make Glass into something that you could wear, even if maybe you still weren’t sure you wanted to wear it. She gets that there are still challenges.

The Explorer edition which the company will ship out has an interchangeable sunglass accessory which twists on or off easily, and I must admit makes Glass look slightly more sane. I also learn that the device actually comes apart, separating that center metal rim from the brains and lens attached on the right. The idea is that you could attach another frame fitted for Glass that would completely alter the look of the device while still allowing for the heads-up functionality. Steve and Isabelle won’t say if they’re working with partners like Ray-Ban or Tom Ford (the company that makes my glasses), but the New York Times just reported that Google is speaking to Warby Parker, and I’m inclined to believe that particular rumor. It’s obvious the company realizes the need for this thing to not just look wearable — Google needs people to want to wear it.

So yes, the Glass looks beautiful to me, but I still don’t want to wear it.



Finally I get a chance to put the device on and find out what using Glass in the real world actually feels like. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for all day. It’s really happening.

When you activate Glass, there’s supposed to be a small screen that floats in the upper right-hand of your field of vision, but I don’t see the whole thing right away. Instead I’m getting a ghost of the upper portion, and the bottom half seems to melt away at the corner of my eye.

Steve and Isabelle adjust the nose pad and suddenly I see the glowing box. Victory.

It takes a moment to adjust to this spectral screen in your vision, and it’s especially odd the first time you see it, it disappears, and you want it to reappear but don’t know how to make it happen. Luckily that really only happens once, at least for me.

Here’s what you see: the time is displayed, with a small amount of text underneath that reads "ok glass." That’s how you get Glass to wake up to your voice commands. Actually, it’s a two-step process. First you have to touch the side of the device (which is actually a touchpad), or tilt your head upward slowly, a gesture which tells Glass to wake up. Once you’ve done that, you start issuing commands by speaking "ok glass" first, or scroll through the options using your finger along the side of the device. You can scroll items by moving your finger backwards or forward along the strip, you select by tapping, and move "back" by swiping down. Most of the big interaction is done by voice, however.

The device gets data through Wi-Fi on its own, or it can tether via Bluetooth to an Android device or iPhone and use its 3G or 4G data while out and about. There’s no cellular radio in Glass, but it does have a GPS chip.

Let me start by saying that using it is actually nearly identical to what the company showed off in its newest demo video. That’s not CGI — it’s what Glass is actually like to use. It’s clean, elegant, and makes relative sense. The screen is not disruptive, you do not feel burdened by it. It is there and then it is gone. It’s not shocking. It’s not jarring. It’s just this new thing in your field of vision. And it’s actually pretty cool.

Google Glass Commercial

Thanks for the post Don Zadjali. Very surprised to hear they plan on releasing them this year! Would love to get a pair if they won't cost me an arm and a leg which I have a feeling they will. Keep us posted on any more developments on this product please!

I luv Google

TMZ had a piece today on a woman who was using Google Glass at the Academy Awards. Turns out she's the wife of Google cofounder Sergey Brin. lol

Article and video :

http://www.tmz.com/2013/02/26/google-glass-video-oscars-party/

I'm not a tech expert but just a couple questions for those in the know.

My church is having a E-waste program put on by the Boy Scouts on Saturday in which you can turn in any electronics (Stereos, laptops, etc) Anyway, I have had stored away an old Linsky's modem from when I had my dial-up. Is there any reason I'd ever use it again? I can't see saving it.

Also, how do you dispose of (properly) old VHS tapes. Would e-waste take those as well? I didn't see them on the list of things they accept. I have a lot of movies I recorded from the tv to video (editing out commercials and all)

Thanks


TIS

Out of curiosity.

Anybody here use an Android smartphone? If so, which one and on what carrier?

I use a Motorola Atrix 4G on AT&T. I plan on buying the new Google/LG Nexus 4 to use on T-Mobile when my contract is up in a few months.

I would either sell the modem or give it away. It is too old at this point (no offense) and most likely wouldnt perform well given the current level of internet speeds out there today and in the future.

Thanks DD,

I got rid of it yesterday. They took everything, even old VHS/cassette tapes, along with an old dvd player. Tjey even took my old portable stereo. Made some room in my storage area.



TIS

Btw, my next project is to purchase a dvd/vcr recorder where I can record vhs to a dvd. I have a few home movies, anniversaries, etc that where originally recorded on VHS and I'd like to transfer them. Anyone know of good deals, please let me know.

I use Privacy Mantra to delete autocomplete fields. I just ran it and looked at an autocomplete entry at one site that I go to from time to time. Privacy Mantra did not delete the autocomplete as it should have.

Are there some sites that won't let you delete your autocompletes? Any suggestions about software that will do a better job of deletions?

Which browser are you using? There should be an option to wipe all that stuff out...

IE 9.

IE is a HORRIBLE browser. Switch over to Chrome or FireFox they have a button for you to wipe that stuff off very easily. Even has a button to browse privately.

Okay, I downloaded a bunch of pics from a CD to a folder. I'm trying to send the folder (or individual pics) to someone as an e-mail attachment. However, when I select the folder as an attachment, it simply opens the folder to display all of the pics. I've also tried selecting all of the pics and attaching them, but the paste is grayed out. How do I attach them to a mail?

Has anyone ever jailbroken an IOS device? I was thinking of doing it to my iPad mini just to try it out.

^^nope, ive done it to HP Touchpad.

I would suggest checking out videos of it being done on youtube to see the complexity and get a feel if you really want to go through with it or not.

lol the seriousness just pay someone $50.00 to do it for you

...or NOT pay the $50 and just let it be. Apple isn't perfect, but, if you have a warranty, or even just enjoy trouble-free updates, then think to yourself what jailbreaking will accomplish (besides voiding what I mentioned)

I've seen videos and looks extremely easy now. I've never done it before and curious just to see how it's like.

And Geoff, I can always unjailbreak it and restore my a previous backup point or just erase everything all together and have it back to factor settings.

If this comes out, I want one!

Apple TV

Has anybody been having trouble with Firefox recently? Ever since I updated it to the latest version a few days ago, it's been loading slowly and crashing more than it has in the past. Just wondering if I'm the only one?

FF has been slow loading for me for years now, that's why I switched to Chrome long ago. Not perfect, either, but certainly infinitely faster.

If I buy one of those new HDMI laptops, can I hook it straight to a flat screen with a USB cable, then stream on it?

If so, is there a picture differential? Does the streaming look as good on the tv as it does on the laptop?

Probably a lame and dated question, but I'm a lame and dated dude .

It's been fine for me like I said until just recently. Spybot did fine something on there (I forgot the name which I know doesn't help) but it's suppose to attach to your browser and slow it down. It found 2 of them but removed them both. Since I did this it's still not running like it used to. I ever ran a Microsoft Security Essential and Malwarbytes scans and they came up with nothing.

Chrome help. I use Chrome from time to time. I imported favorites to it from IE. I use them. However, once I am at a favorites site, how do I get back to the favorites button without having to use the back arrow?

It's called bookmarks on Chrome just open a new tab and they'll be directly under the address bar. If the bar is full there's a button to the far right of the bar of two arrows click on that and the rest will come up.

Ok, I did that. However it only lists three of my bookmarks plus Chrome webstore and Google. There is an arrow button on the right which takes me to a new screen where it just lists another Chrome site. In IE, you can click on the favorites button and it will vertically list all of your favorites of which I have a ton.

Sorry then i don't know what's wrong i also have a ton of bookmarks, i just counted the top bar and it fits 12 with a further 30 or so when i click the arrows i was talking about. If you click on the three lines next to your address bar next to the star that's an alternative way to look at your bookmarks which also includes bookmark manager which may help. If not possibly something went wrong when you were importing them.

Okay, I think I got it now. Thanks.

No problem.