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Tag: Google Glass

  • Kuo: Apple’s Mixed Reality Glasses to Arrive in 2022

    Kuo: Apple’s Mixed Reality Glasses to Arrive in 2022

    Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is predicting Apple’s long-rumored mixed reality glasses will arrive next year, in 2022.

    Apple has been rumored to be working on mixed reality glasses for some time. Unlike a strict virtual reality environment, mixed reality combines virtual reality or augmented reality with a person’s surroundings — hence the “mixed reality” moniker. CEO Tim Cook has made no secret of his belief that augmented and mixed reality offer a more social and productive experience than straight virtual reality, one that keeps people connected to the world and people around them.

    Ming-Chi Kuo is one of the most respected Apple analysts, with a solid track record predicting the company’s next moves. According to a note seen by MacRumors, Kuo is expecting the mixed reality glasses in 2022.

    Apple is certainly not the first company to tackle augmented reality glasses. Google famously introduced one of the first, and most high-profile, entrants in the market — Google Glass.

    One of Apple’s greatest strengths, however, is taking a concept someone else has pioneered and refining it in a way that leads to mass adoption. The iPad is a perfect example, a far more refined and consumer-friendly tablet than Microsoft’s much earlier Tablet PC.

    If the company can deliver on its vision (pun intended) for mixed reality glasses, Apple may have an all-new category of devices to help drive its growth.

  • Google Glass Makes a Comeback with Focus on Enterprise Market

    Google Glass Makes a Comeback with Focus on Enterprise Market

    Many critics viewed Google Glass as an expensive failure in the consumer market soon after the product launched in February of 2013. The lack of practicality coupled with its hefty $1,500 price tag rendered it unfavorable to the public.

    In a sad 2015 announcement, Google shut down the Google Glass website, leaving users with a short thanks for “exploring with us” and later promised that “the journey doesn’t end here.” Since the product was taken off the market, Google Glass Explorers’ Edition remained low key.

    However, despite pulling the product from the public market, Alphabet continued to supply Google Glass to US companies including, GE, Boeing, DHL, and AGCO. The pair of trendy glasses slowly found its calling in the enterprise market.

    In the hands of AGCO, Google Glass was able to reduce production times by 25 percent, while healthcare professionals found that using the product reduced paperwork loads by 20 percent. As a result, doctors were able to spend 50 percent more time with patients. Meanwhile, DHL also shared their improved working experience with Google Glass, claiming that they were able to increase supply chain efficiency by 15 percent.

    After making improvements to the Glass design and hardware, Alphabet X–Google’s “Moonshot” research and development subsidiary– reintroduced the eyewear with the name Glass Enterprise Edition. This latest version of Glass is easy to detach which makes it more shareable and affordable when deployed to different industries. It includes an impressive updated camera module with an improved resolution from 5 megapixels to 8. The new device also boasts a longer battery life, coupled with a powerful processor and an improved user interface.

    With GEE, it seems that Google has learned from the short comings of its once experimental Glass product and invested in a field where the device isn’t a mere trendy accessory, but a tool representing innovation and advancement in many fields.

  • The New Google Glass Is Built for Enterprise

    In January, Google had a back to the drawing board moment with Google Glass. It shut down its Glass Explorer program, took the product off the market, and began to restructure the whole thing. Google gave the reins to Next CEO Tony Fadell, and moved the project of the Google X lab and gave it its own division. At the time, we all knew that Google Glass as we all knew it was dead, but everyone at Google was adamant that Glass itself was far from dead.

    “It is a big and very fundamental platform for Google,” said Google chairman Eric Schmidt. “We ended the Explorer program and the press conflated this into us canceling the whole project, which isn’t true. Google is about taking risks and there’s nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests we’re ending it. That’s like saying the self-driving car is a disappointment because it’s not driving me around now, These things take time.”

    If Google hasn’t given up on Glass, which it certainly doesn’t look like it has, the next question is this: what will Glass 2.0 look like? And who is Google’s most important market for Glass? Retail? Or enterprise?

    A new report from 9to5 Google suggests that Google is going all in on Glass as an enterprise venture.

    Apparently, Glass hasn’t been altered that much – except to make it make durable and fucntional in a workplace environment. From 9to5 Google:

    The device, similar to the Explorer Edition, has a band that stretches around the forehead, going back around the left ear. What’s most obviously new at first glance is a robust hinge mechanism that allows the computer and battery modules to fold down like a regular pair of glasses, and a hinge for folding down the left side of the band as well.

     

    The overall design of the computer side is more robust as well, built to withstand normal drops and bumps that could occur in less-than-ideal workplace environments. Sources have also said that the device is more water resistant, built with fewer places for water and other outside material to seep in. And, as to be expected from a device built for the workplace, Google has tweaked its visual aesthetic to better fit in a factory or a hospital than on a runway. It’s practical and industrial, with a focus on function over fashion.

    It looks like Google is finally accepting that Glass is never going to be high fashion.

    According to sources, Google is planning on distributing the new Glass exclusively through the Glass for Work program, which means it might not be available to the average Joe. The last time Google simply put a price tag on Glass and opened it up to the public at large, things didn’t go well.

    Image via Google Glass, Facebook

  • Google Glass Picture Taking Could Get Even Dweebier

    If you thought you looked cool wearing Google Glass before, wait till you see this.

    Google has been awarded a patent that allows “a computing device, such as a head-mountable device (HMD), to capture and process images in response to a user placing their hands in, and then withdrawing their hands from, a frame formation”

    In other words, Google wants you to be able snap pictures with Google Glass by doing that little frame thing with your fingers.

    Here’s the actual text of the patent:

    Embodiments described herein may help a computing device, such as a head-mountable device (HMD), to capture and process images in response to a user placing their hands in, and then withdrawing their hands from, a frame formation. For example, an HMD may analyze image data from a point-of-view camera on the HMD, and detect when a wearer holds their hands in front of their face to frame a subject in the wearer’s field of view. Further, the HMD may detect when the wearer withdraws their hands from such a frame formation and responsively capture an image. Further, the HMD may determine a selection area that is being framed, within the wearer’s field of view, by the frame formation. The HMD may then process the captured image based on the frame formation, such as by cropping, white-balancing, and/or adjusting exposure.

    Google isn’t limiting the cool gestures to finger frames. The company wants users to be able to take different-shaped photos by framing in different ways – make a rectangle frame and take a rectangular picture, or make a circle with your fingers and take a circular picture, and so on and so forth.

    Screen Shot 2015-07-09 at 11.49.11 AM

    More or less awkward than saying “OK Glass, take a picture” on the subway? You be the judge.

    Of course, this is just a patent. There’s no way to know if this will actually make it into the next generation of Google Glass – but it does show Google’s thought process.

    And Google wants to make you oh so cool.

    Images via USPTO, h/t Quartz

  • Google Glass ‘Version 2’ Is in the Works, Says Eyewear Maker

    Good news for those of you who shed a tear when Google took Glass off the market – an Italian eyewear company (who has a previous partnership with Google) says it’s working on Google Glass version 2.0.

    The Wall Street Journal reports that the CEO of Luxottica, Massimo Vian, confirmed the news during the company’s general meeting in Milan.

    “In Google, there are some second thoughts on how to interpret version 3 [of the eyewear],” Mr. Vian reportedly told shareholders. “What you saw was version 1. We’re now working on version 2, which is in preparation.”

    Luxottica and Google struck a deal in March of 2014, as Google looked to make its wearable device more fashionable. Google Glass always offered interesting technology, but getting people to strap one to their faces was always a problem. Google Glass is many things, but fashionable isn’t one of them.

    The Luxottica Group is the parent company of brands like Ray-Ban, Oakley, Vogue-Eyewear, Persol, Oliver Peoples, Alain Mikli and Arnette.

    “Luxottica understands how to build, distribute and sell great products that their clients and consumers love – something we care deeply about at Glass, too. They’ll bring design and manufacturing expertise to the mix, and, together, we’ll bring even more Glass style choices to our Explorers. In addition, Luxottica’s retail and wholesale distribution channels will serve us well when we make Glass available to more people down the road,” said Google at the time.

    Of course, we all know the Google Glass story from there. In January, Google yanked Glass off the market and shut down its Glass Explorer program.

    But the program wasn’t axed, just transferred out of the Google X experimental labs and given its own division under Nest CEO Tony Fadell.

    “It is a big and very fundamental platform for Google,” said Google chairman Eric Schmidt. “We ended the Explorer program and the press conflated this into us canceling the whole project, which isn’t true. Google is about taking risks and there’s nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests we’re ending it.” “That’s like saying the self-driving car is a disappointment because it’s not driving me around now, These things take time.”

    Fadell has said Glass will return to the market “when it’s perfect”.

    No word on when we might see the new and improved Glass, except for a vague “soon” from Vian.

    Image via Google

  • Google Glass Is Far from Dead, Says Eric Schmidt

    Google Glass Is Far from Dead, Says Eric Schmidt

    If you think Google Glass is dead, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt would like to tell you you’re wrong.

    “It is a big and very fundamental platform for Google,” Schmidt recently told the Wall Street Journal. “We ended the Explorer program and the press conflated this into us canceling the whole project, which isn’t true. Google is about taking risks and there’s nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests we’re ending it.”

    “That’s like saying the self-driving car is a disappointment because it’s not driving me around now, These things take time.”

    He added that Google Glass is being “made ready for users.”

    When Google made the decision to pull Glass off the market most realized that Google wasn’t going to can the whole thing. Google said that the whole program was being restructured. It moved out of the Google X “moonshot” lab and became its own department, led by Ivy Ross. The chain of command doesn’t end there, however, as the whole Glass unit reports to Nest CEO Tony Fadell.

    Glass as we knew it could be dead, but it’s clear Google has no intentions of abandoning the project.

    In fact, Glass will probably hit the market again when it’s perfect. And not a day before that.

    This is from a New York Times piece on Glass from last month:

    “Early Glass efforts have broken ground and allowed us to learn what’s important to consumers and enterprises alike,” Mr. Fadell said in a statement. “I’m excited to be working with Ivy to provide direction and support as she leads the team and we work together to integrate those learnings into future products.”

    Several people with knowledge of Mr. Fadell’s plans for Glass said he was going to redesign the product from scratch and would not release it until it was complete. “There will be no public experimentation,” one adviser to Mr. Fadell said. “Tony is a product guy and he’s not going to release something until it’s perfect.”

    Google X exec Astro Teller recently blamed Google Glass’ early failure on bad marketing – specifically inviting too much attention to a device that was pretty much still at prototype phase.

    Image via Google

  • Google Glass Will Be Back When It’s ‘Perfect’

    Last month, Google Glass Explorer Edition went off the market. While it’s been pretty clear that the device would be back in one capacity or another, a plethora of articles have been written about how the device is “dead”.

    Glass in the form which we’ve come to know it does pretty much appear to be dead, but Under Ivy Ross and Nest CEO Tony Fadell, Google is building a new version. We won’t see this one, however, until it’s really ready for prime time.

    The New York Times ran a big piece about the rise and fall of Glass, and towards the end, it shared this bit:

    “Early Glass efforts have broken ground and allowed us to learn what’s important to consumers and enterprises alike,” Mr. Fadell said in a statement. “I’m excited to be working with Ivy to provide direction and support as she leads the team and we work together to integrate those learnings into future products.”

    Several people with knowledge of Mr. Fadell’s plans for Glass said he was going to redesign the product from scratch and would not release it until it was complete. “There will be no public experimentation,” one adviser to Mr. Fadell said. “Tony is a product guy and he’s not going to release something until it’s perfect.”

    It’s going to be interesting to see what they come up with the next time around, and whether or not it will suffer from the same kind of ridicule the first edition did.

    Image via Google

  • Google Glass: If You Want One, You Better Get It Now

    As has been widely reported, Google Glass, at least in its current form, is going away. Google says it will continue to develop the technology, and we might see a different version somewhere down the line, but the Glass Explorer Edition that has been the focus of Google’s efforts since unveiling the device, is no more.

    According to TechCrunch, this is actually the last day you’ll be able to order the device from the Google Play Store, so if you want to own a piece of history (and wish to plunk down $1,500 for it), you better act fast. Of course, you’ll probably still be able to find the device for sale elsewhere (like eBay).

    Google is listing the device as “in stock” in five different colors. Be the only one on your block with an obsolete Glass Explorer Edition in tangerine.

    As others have noted, you’re not likely to be seeing any software updates for the device, so if you grab one, I hope you like it just the way it is.

    Google has restructured its Google Glass division, moving it over to the Google X “moonshot” lab, where it will be its own department led by Ivy Ross. Ross and the Glass unit will reportedly report to Nest CEO Tony Fadell.

    Take a look back at three years of ridicule Google has been the focus of with this fun compilation. Warning: there’s a lot of Robert Scoble in the shower.

    Image via Google Play

  • Google Glass: Looking Back On 3 Years Of Ridicule

    It was nearly three years ago that Google first unveiled its “crazy future glasses,” under the label Project Glass, which would go on to become known as simply “Google Glass”. Now, as you may have heard, Google is halting general sales, though the Glass at Work program will continue. The team and leadership of the Glass unit is making some changes, and they’ll continue to work on future versions apparently, but the Google Glass we’ve all come accustomed to is no more.

    I thought it might be fun to take a look back at some memorable Glass moments since launch that might have led to where it’s at now.

    Let’s start with the original introduction video:

    This was a concept video designed to introduce the world to Glass and the types of things it might be capable of. It wasn’t a representation of what was actually available, but more of a vision of how Google was approaching this new technology. While it certainly captured plenty of imagination, it also quickly became the subject of parody and ridicule.

    One of the first ones demonstrated Glass as a new way to hurt yourself:

    Here were a a few other first impressions:

    “Google’s transition into the new Microsoft is now complete: fancy-pants sci-fi concept video to promote stunningly awkward augmented reality glasses.” – John Gruber (Daring Fireball)

    “I fail to see how wearing this technology on your face means it’s out of the way.” – Joe Stracci

    And that was all within one day of the announcement. From the very beginning, many just couldn’t take the device seriously, and unfortunately for Google, that just never wore off.

    I’m not sure how much Sergey Brin wearing it around helped things.

    More parodies quickly flooded YouTube. Here’d the Windows version:

    And the version from Jimmy Kimmel Live:

    And of course the version that fills your eyes with ads:

    And the one where the guy gets hit by a car:

    And the one that ends with the guy unzipping his pants as he gets ready for a ChatRoulette session:

    And the “meme glasses” one:

    Here’s a picture of Google’s own Matt Cutts from mid-2012:


    Here’s one of Brin seemingly making those around him uncomfortable:

    Here’s a later story about a reporter from The Verge wearing Glass and making the Palins uncomfortable.

    Also in mid 2012, we looked at the short film Sight, which showed us a dark side of Glass-like technology:

    Google tried really hard to pitch Glass as fashionable.

    Remember the Fashion Week collaboration:



    Newt Gingrich did his part to up the cool factor, as did Michelle Bachmann:

    And Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan:

    …but the fashion thing never quite panned out. Even Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt recognized this obstacle two years before Project Glass was announced.

    “I’m not sure you really want to walk through town with these odd glasses on, you know, looking like an airforce jetfighter or something,” he said in an interview. “But I’m sure people will. I mean, as I was driving by here, I saw people riding their Segways, you know, looking like normal pedestrians.”

    That’s about sixteen minutes into the following video.

    And when has someone riding a Segway ever looked like a normal pedestrian?

    The great “White Men Wearing Google Glass” Tumblr emerged in 2013, and you could hardly look at anything Google Glass-related on the internet without running into the iconic Robert Scoble in the shower image.


    robert scoble google glass shower

    robert scoble google glass shower

    Even Scoble eventually came to a stunning realization about Glass:

    Post by Robert Scoble.

    The Ridicule Continues…

    Shortly after that, Saturday Night Live had a sketch making fun of Glass. That was also around the time when one CEO made headlines after saying that Google Glass would “definitely get someone punched in the face. Scott Heiferman from Meetup said:

    “It basically means that you’re gonna be an asshole. It’s easier and easier for you to ignore real people around you, and sometimes that’s totally fine, but on this relentless pursuit – the train is barreling down, and saying, distraction is just a fact of life. We have to consider what it means.”

    “And I’m not saying like, ‘Let’s sit back and ponder the nature of culture, and the future of society,’ in that way. I’m just saying, you gotta punch someone in the face wearing Google Glasses.”

    In fact, the term “Glasshole” became widely used. Google actually had to put out guidelines on how to not be one.

    Mid-2013 really saw a major revival of Google Glass ridicule. Here’s a video that came out showing how ridiculous people might look taking pictures with the device:

    Even by about six months later, Conan O’Brien was doing Glass bits.

    Other Problems

    Then there were the driving ban obstacles, not to mention the various venues that wouldn’t allow you to wear the devices (movie theaters, strip clubs, casinos, restaurants, bars, etc.).

    The bar thing even got so bad that one San Francisco bar decided to capitalize on it by giving free drinks to “outcast” glassholes.

    Here’s someone that got a ticket for wearing Glass while driving:


    Granted, the court did eventually dismiss the ticket, evan as lawmakers continued to push for driving bans.

    A guy who wore Glass at a movie was hassled by the feds.

    Of course many were always put off by the privacy implications of the device. In 2013, we saw the device jailbroken and used to remove all indication that the device was recording video. Congress eventually became concerned.

    Words like these from Google’s own Glass FAQ probably didn’t help anything either:

    Glass isn’t for everyone. Like when wearing glasses, some people may feel eye strain or get a headache. If you’ve had Lasik surgery, ask your doctor about risks of eye impact damage before using Glass. Don’t let children under 13 use Glass as it could harm developing vision. Also, kids might break Glass or hurt themselves, and Google’s terms of service don’t permit those under 13 to register a Google account.

    The Glass price tag should not be overlooked. A 2013 survey found that few were willing to fork over the $1,500 Google wanted. In fact, $500 was pushing it for a lot of people. Most who responded with interest in the device were willing to pay $200 to $300.

    That’s not even getting into the price of accessories:

    In May, 2014, Google finally started letting anyone in the U.S. buy Google Glass. How many people have you seen wearing the device around since then? Besides on the Internet. Zero? Yeah, me too.

    After that, Google hired a fashion marketer to once again try to up the cool factor. We see how well that’s worked.

    This past June, Glass became the object of ridicule once again in a Daily Show segment:

    Then the world got to watch old people be confused by the device.

    In July, Glass founder Babak Parviz went to go work for Amazon. In September, a study warned us over the dangers of texting and driving with Google Glass. In October, we learned that there is such a thing as Google Glass addiction, which can lead to involuntary temple tapping.

    By last month, the tech blogosphere was all but proclaiming Google Glass dead in its current form, but that the technology behind it could find new and useful applications, particularly in work settings. From the sound of it, that’s still likely the type of stuff we’re going to see from Glass in the future. Just what that entails remains to be seen.

    Despite all of the ridicule Glass has endured, you’ve got to give Google credit for trying something interesting and different. Even if it doesn’t catch on in the sense that people everywhere are wearing it all the time, we’ve seen plenty of interesting use cases across various industries. We’ve even seen it used in a brain surgery. Hate and laugh all you want, but Glass shouldn’t be considered a total bust, and Google is probably only just getting started with it. Don’t forget about the contact lenses.

    Lead image via YouTube

  • Google Glass Is Going Off the Market, but It’s Not Dead Yet

    Google Glass Is Going Off the Market, but It’s Not Dead Yet

    As of January 19, the average Joe will no longer be able to purchase Google Glass.

    Google is shutting down its Glass Explorer program, which first opened up in 2013. It wasn’t until May of 2014 that Google began selling the product to anyone – as long as they had $1,500 burning a hole in their pocket. Starting then, only developers and companies will be able to purchase Glass (the Google Glass at Work program will continue).

    In fact, the whole Google Glass program is being restructured. It’s moving out of the Google X “moonshot” lab and will become its own department, led by Ivy Ross. But the chain of command doesn’t end there. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ross and the whole Glass unit will report to Nest CEO Tony Fadell.

    Google bought Nest Labs, whose main claim to fame is the Nest Thermostat, for $3.2 billion back in January of last year.

    While this probably means Google Glass – at least in its current form – is dead, the Google Glass project is not. Fadell says that Google Glass had “broken ground and allowed us to learn what’s important to consumers and enterprises alike” and he would be working “to integrate those learnings into future products”

    It’ll just be a more private testing of the technology. The public beta, if you will, is now over.

    Google Glass faced its fair share of obstacles right out of the gate – privacy concerns, questions about its design and even whether or not it really had a market, and of course, the whole Glasshole thing. Google will continue to work on Glass, and likely come back with something new. Whether it resembles what we’ve all come to know as Google Glass remains to be seen.

    Image via Google

  • Could Google Glass Find Success After All?

    While Google Glass hasn’t even had a proper consumer launch yet, many have already written of its impending demise. People seem to have already lost interest in a product that you still have to be part of the Explorer Program to purchase. But the book on Glass may not be closed just yet.

    Do you think Google Glass has a chance of becoming a successful product? Do you envision a significant number of people wearing the device? Let us know what you think in the comments.

    Last week, the Blogosphere had essentially written the epitaph for Google Glass, but a new report indicates that Google is just getting started with the device.

    The Wall Street Journal reports that Google has entered into a deal with Intel, which will see the latter replacing Texas Instruments as the chipmaker for Glass. There will reportedly be a new version of Glass, which features a chip from Intel, and Intel will help market the device for workplace purposes.

    According to the Journal, it will specifically focus on hospital networks and manufacturers, but will also develop new workplace uses. Google reportedly uses Intel chips in some or its other devices including its self-driving cars and Nexus Player.

    The device is of course already in use by some healthcare facilities and manufacturers. BMW, for example, is using it to help evaluate vehicle quality.

    MIT’s Technology Review recently proclaimed Google Glass dead. Here’s an excerpt from that piece, giving some explanation of this reasoning:

    It’s not even close to being something people yearn for, at least not beyond the Glass Explorers who each paid $1,500 for early access.

    Although Google says it’s still committed to Glass, several companies, including Twitter, have stopped working on apps for it. Babak Parviz, the creator of Glass, left Google in July for a job as a vice president at Amazon, where he’s looking into new areas of technology. Even some of the early adopters are getting weary of the device. “I found that it was not very useful for very much, and it tended to disturb people around me that I have this thing,” says James Katz, the director of emerging media studies at Boston University’s College of Communication.

    Wired says the only way to save the device is to kill it. This article basically makes the case that Google shouldn’t focus on the hardware of Glass, but should just let others make better products using the platform, not unlike the company’s approach to Android.

    Reuters discusses the decreased interest in Glass from developers.

    If you ask me, Google should fast track the contact lens version (they’ve already got one type of smart contacts), which automatically removes the element of people not wanting to look like dorks wearing the device. Of course that won’t do much to quell the privacy concerns.

    As far as Glass, the good thing for Google is that Google Glass addiction is already a thing.

    As my colleague Josh Wolford shared a couple months ago:

    The case comes from a study published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, where a man is said to have the first case of “internet addiction disorder involving the problematic use of Google Glass.”

    According to researchers, the man – who was being treated at the Navy’s Substance Abuse and Recovery Program – displayed alarming behavior when deprived of his beloved Google Glass. He’d been using the wearable tech for upwards of 18 hours a day.

    “The patient exhibited a notable, nearly involuntary movement of the right hand up to his temple area and tapping it with his forefinger. He reported that if he had been prevented from wearing the device while at work, he would become extremely irritable and argumentative,” says the study.

    That’s probably not a good thing for society, but it would seem to suggest that there as element of “getting hooked” that has been experienced by some.

    Does Google Glass stand a chance or is it destined to fail? Share your thoughts in the comments.

    Image via Google

  • Google Glass Is Now Officially Banned in Theaters, Shockingly

    In oh, no shit news, commonly out-of-touch organization the Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theatre Owners have updated their little rulebook, inserting language that specifically bans wearable tech like Google Glass.

    Since the MPAA and NATO have always banned possible recording devices (like cellphones) inside theaters, this can come as a shock to no one.

    Here’s the updated guideline:

    The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have a long history of welcoming technological advances and recognize the strong consumer interest in smart phones and wearable “intelligent” devices. As part of our continued efforts to ensure movies are not recorded in theaters, however, we maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward using any recording device while movies are being shown. As has been our long-standing policy, all phones must be silenced and other recording devices, including wearable devices, must be turned off and put away at show time. Individuals who fail or refuse to put the recording devices away may be asked to leave. If theater managers have indications that illegal recording activity is taking place, they will alert law enforcement authorities when appropriate, who will determine what further action should be taken.

    We’ll just ignore the the absurdity of that first sentence and move on to the next. Apparently, there’s an epidemic of people recording movies with Google Glass. Also, this includes all “wearable tech” … so … the Apple Watch? Would wearing a smartwatch get you kicked out of Gone Girl?

    What about a FitBit?

    Of course, the MPAA shouldn’t even have to say this. Taking off Google Glass during a movie shouldn’t be a regulation – that’s just something a normal human being should do.

    On the one hand, the MPAA’s policy is unlikely to be properly enforced, reactionary, and ultimately unnecessary. And on the other hand, well, on the other hand rests the world’s smallest violin playing the world’s saddest song for anyone who complains about being “harassed” for wearing a camera on their face in a movie theater.

    There are no winners here. Everybody is terrible.

    Image via The Daily Show video, screenshot

  • Google Glass Gets Android Notifications

    Google announced the launch of a new notification sync feature for Google Glass, enabling users to see Android app notifications on the device. The feature mirrors a similar one on Android Wear, the platform used by Android smart watches.

    Google sets the scene in a Google+ update: “Max sent you a WhatsApp message, marycam81 tagged you in a photo, your Lyft has arrived… these are just some of the reasons for pulling out your phone. You want to know about the things that matter to you, but you don’t want to be distracted by your phone when you could be enjoying the moment.”

    The feature will be available in a new Glass update rolling out this week. It requires the latest version of MyGlass (v3.3.0).

    In other Google Glass news, it would appear that you can actually develop an addiction by using the device. Don’t be that weird person with the Glass addiction. Just don’t.

    Image via YouTube

  • Google Glass Addiction Is Apparently a Thing Now, Leads to Involuntary Temple Tapping

    Google Glass Addiction Is Apparently a Thing Now, Leads to Involuntary Temple Tapping

    First, they were persecuted. Then, they were addicted.

    Yes, it appears that full-blown dependency is the next great tribulation of the Google Glass superuser. We now have a reported case of Google Glass addiction in the books.

    The case comes from a study published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, where a man is said to have the first case of “internet addiction disorder involving the problematic use of Google Glass.”

    According to researchers, the man – who was being treated at the Navy’s Substance Abuse and Recovery Program – displayed alarming behavior when deprived of his beloved Google Glass. He’d been using the wearable tech for upwards of 18 hours a day.

    “The patient exhibited a notable, nearly involuntary movement of the right hand up to his temple area and tapping it with his forefinger. He reported that if he had been prevented from wearing the device while at work, he would become extremely irritable and argumentative,” says the study.

    According to the the report, the subject had “a history of a mood disorder most consistent with a substance induced hypomania overlaying a depressive disorder, anxiety disorder with characteristics of social phobia and obsessive compulsive disorder, and severe alcohol and tobacco use disorders.” Doctors originally thought that the 31-year-old man’s withdrawl symptoms were entirely due to alcohol – but that wasn’t the whole story.

    According to NBC News, the “withdrawal symptoms from Glass were much worse than withdrawing from alcohol.”

    The story has a happy ending, I guess. After 35 days of treatment, the man “noted a reduction in irritability, reduction in motor movements to his temple to turn on the device, and improvements in his short-term memory and clarity of thought processes.”

    Apparently he still has dreams about wearing Glass.

    Image via Google Glass, YouTube

  • Google Glass Withdrawal Symptoms Worse Than Alcohol?

    Like drugs, technology is an addicting and highly sought after augmented reality that generates dependency. Google Glass is a wearable technology with an optical head-mounted display, allowing for digital applications to pop right up in front of you.

    For 18 hours a day, a 31-year-old unnamed US Navy serviceman used Google Glass, only taking the device off when sleeping and showering. When doctors in San Diego, California took the device away, he complained of feeling extremely irritable and argumentative.

    The man checked himself into the Navy’s Substance Abuse and Recovery Program (SARP) in September of 2013 for alcohol abuse. While there, he was suffering from involuntary movements, cravings, memory problems, and even experienced dreams as if viewed through Google Glass, according to The Guardian.

    Doctors wrote in the journal Addictive Behaviors that the patient compulsively tapped his right temple with his index finger – a gesture that is used with Google Glass’ function to switch to its heads-up display.

    Dr. Andrew Doan, head of the addictions research at Naval Medical Center, told The Guardian that the man, while in the SARP, was “going through withdrawal from his Google Glass.” The patient also told Dr. Doan that “Google Glass withdrawal was greater than the alcohol withdrawal he was experiencing.”

    One could read this and assume all weight of admission was on Google Glass, but the man also had other problems:

    “The patient has a history of a mood disorder most consistent with a substance induced hypomania overlaying a depressive disorder, anxiety disorder with characteristics of social phobia and obsessive compulsive disorder, and severe alcohol and tobacco use disorders.”

    After 35 days in treatment, the man felt “less irritable, [and] was making fewer compulsive movements to his temple, and his short-term memory had improved.”

    Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is distinguished by the problematic use of computers, video games, and mobile devices. IAD was excluded as a clinical diagnosis in the 2013 update of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, and not classified as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. Despite this, many experts in the field believe that IAD surfaces other real predispositions, according to TIME magazine.

    “There’s nothing inherently bad about Google Glass,” Doan told The Guardian.

    “It’s just that there is very little time between these rushes.”

    “So for an individual who’s looking to escape, for an individual who has underlying mental dysregulation, for people with a predisposition for addiction, technology provides a very convenient way to access these rushes.”

  • You Probably Shouldn’t Text and Drive with Google Glass Either, Says Study

    If one of your reasons for possibly purchasing Google Glass is safer communication while driving, you might want to rethink your assumptions.

    In what he’s calling the first study of its kind, University of Central Florida researcher Ben Sawyer has tested the notion that texting with Google Glass while driving is safer than doing it the old fashioned way. What he found was … not really.

    “Texting with either a smartphone or Glass will cause distraction and should be avoided while driving,” says Sawyer.

    But wait? Is it even a little safer? Turns out, yes, kind of.

    “Glass did help drivers in our study recover more quickly than those texting on a smartphone. We hope that Glass points the way to technology that can help deliver information with minimal risk,” he says.

    But…

    “While Glass-using drivers demonstrated some areas of improved performance in recovering from the brake event, the device did not improve their response to the event itself. More importantly, for every measure we recorded, messaging with either device negatively impacted driving performance.Compared to those just driving, multitaskers reacted more slowly, preserved less headway during the brake event, and subsequently adopted greater following distances.”

    Ok, just don’t text and drive. It doesn’t matter what you’re using to do it, it’s probably distracting.

    It’s important to note that Sawyer’s experiment only involved 40 people, and it had them text about math while driving in a simulator (I can’t even text about math properly while sitting on my couch). It’s only one study – and a small one at that.

    But honestly, people. Even if it is hands free, do you really think Google Glass or any other wearable could remove all distraction from what is inherently a distracting activity? It’s probably going to be against the law to even use Google Glass while driving anyway.

    Image via Google

  • Google Demos Glass at Big City ‘Basecamps’

    Google is currently jumping through hurdles, both legally and culturally, to promote Google Glass and try to make the wearable tech more accepted in a skeptical society. It’s not an easy thing – especially considering the amount of backlash the product has received from people wary of face-cameras.

    Google’s trying to make Glass cool, with new hires and partnerships, and now the company is looking to make it more accessible to regular folk in cities where they might see the product popping up around them.

    CNET reports on an email sent out to “prospective Glass buyers” on Wednesday touting the opening of “basecamps,” where those curious about Google Glass can take the product for a test drive (not really driving, that might be dangerous).

    “There’s a lot of talk about Glass, but have you tried it for yourself yet?. Sit down with a Glass Guide, take in the view and see what Glass is really like,” read the email.

    These Google Glass demo areas are only in three cities so far – San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. The basecamps have existed for a little while, but now Google is opening up demos to the public.

    All you have to do is schedule an appointment.

    Google says you can bring one guest for your demo appointment, but they must be over 13. It’s smart, really, to let the general public have a crack at Glass. Like I’ve said before – familiarity is the antidote to hostility in this case.

    Image via Google Glass, Google+

  • Google Glass Founder Is Heading to Amazon

    Babak Parviz, the guy who once headed up Google’s experimental wing Google X and gave us Google Glass, was jumped over to Amazon.

    Parviz made a bit of a cryptic announcement on Google+, simply posting the Amazon logo and saying “status: super excited.”

    If you take at look at his profile, however, Parviz confirms he has taken a position at Amazon.

    The optics whiz has this to say:

    “I dig making (really) small things, new computing and communication tools, high-tech with social impact, and biotech and usually hang out in the Silicon Valley or Seattle. Having worked at companies ranging from tiny start-ups to huge corporations and universities in Europe and the US, I have found each one to be fun in its own unique way. I founded and led a few efforts at Google (among them, Google Glass and Google Contact Lenses are public so far 🙂 prior to moving to Amazon and work on a few other things now…”

    It’s still unclear what Parviz will be working on at Amazon, but it’s a safe bet that it’ll have something to do with augmented reality.

    Parviz was responsible for both Google Glass and Google’s smart contact lenses effort.

    Parviz’s talent is in the tech, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise that he stepped aside in May and allowed fashion marketing whiz Ivy Ross to lead the Google Glass team. And as Google Glass Almanac points out, Parviz hasn’t really been super involved with Glass for some time now:

    As such, this move can be seen as a blow to Google Glass – a founder jumping ship – but more realistically it’s just an instance of moving on when the time was right.

    Image via Solve for X, YouTube

  • Google Glass Was Made For Search

    Google Glass Was Made For Search

    Babak Parviz, known as the creator of Google Glass, who led the project until Google replaced him with Ivy Ross recently, spoke at the Wearable Technologies Conference this week. He told attendees that Glass is only one answer to what the next mobile platform could be, following smartphones and tablets.

    Remember, this is the guy who talked about some pretty amazing ideas for contact lenses, and is already working on Google’s contact lens project for diabetics.

    CNET recaps some of the things he talked about. One noteworthy item is that search was a driving factor behind Google developing the device in the first place:

    One of the main drivers for developing the device was being able to find information almost instantaneously. A Google search will give someone a reasonable answer to almost any question in about 10 seconds, he said. The goal for Glass was to “significantly shorten that time.” “Can we make it three seconds? One second? A fraction of a second?” he said.

    It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that search would be the main driver of this project, given that this is still how Google makes the bulk of its money.

    It’s still very early days for Glass, but those early parodies of the device’s concept video that showed viewers being overrun by ads isn’t sounding very far-fetched (if it ever was).

    Image via YouTube

  • Google Glass Likely Banned from UK Movie Theaters

    Google Glass has been available in the UK for less than a week, but the largest cinema group in the region is already stating that the wearable tech will not be welcome in most of their represented establishments.

    The Cinema Exhibitors Association, which represents the interests of around 90 percent of UK cinema operators, is putting the kibosh on Glass before it has a chance to take hold.

    “Customers will be requested not to wear these into cinema auditoriums, whether the film is playing or not,” CEA chief Phil Clapp told The Independent.

    The Independent also notes that individual theater chains are also planning to implement a ban on the device, which won’t be able to be worn “once the lights dim.”

    The main concern here is that Google Glass, basically being a camera you wear on your face, is perfect for those looking to record and distribute pirated copies of newly released films.

    Google’s suggestion when it comes to handling Glass in movie theaters is the same one they’ve had when it comes to Glass and any ‘electronic-free’ zone – treat Glass like a smartphone. If you’re somewhere where smartphones are frowned upon, Google Glass is likely frowned upon too.

    “We recommend any cinemas concerned about Glass to treat the device as they treat similar devices like mobile phones: simply ask wearers to turn it off before the film starts. Broadly speaking, we also think it’s best to have direct and first-hand experience with Glass before creating policies around it. The fact that Glass is worn above the eyes and the screen lights up whenever it’s activated makes it a fairly lousy device for recording things secretly,” says Google.

    Google’s “don’t knock it till you’ve tried it” defense is unlikely to sway many in the industry, who feel that Glass is a perfect vehicle for piracy.

    Glass is likely to receive similar treatment in theaters across the US. The famously strict Alamo Drafthouse, known for its focus on forcing proper moviegoing etiquette, recently banned Glass in their theaters once the lights dim.

  • Google Glass Jumps Across the Pond

    OK, Brits, it’s now your time to start confusing the elderly and getting banned from movie theaters with your very own pair of Google Glass.

    Google has just announced that they have opened their beta Explorer program in the UK.

    “The world sees the UK as a center (actually, a centre) of innovation. It has produced some of the greatest technology inventors and inventions of the last century, and people on the ground are always excited to explore new products and ideas,” says Google.

    Google recently opened up the Glass Explorer program to anyone and everyone in the US (as long as they have $1,500 dollars to spare). Google says that this expansion is so that they can garner more feedback about the wearable tech, but it’s pretty obvious that Google wants to get as many pairs of Glass out there in the world as they can – as familiarity is a key to acceptance.

    And acceptance could be a difficult task.

    Image via Google Glass, YouTube