Google Glass is no longer a rumor, said Tim Parker in Forbes.com. “It’s real.”
The company unveiled a prototype of its Internet-equipped eyeglasses
in March 2013, announcing that it would give a selected bunch of “bold,
creative individuals” the chance to purchase the first version this year
for $1,500. The futuristic spectacles have a tiny screen located in the
top right-hand corner of the frame, where Web data can be projected in
front of the user’s eyeball. Using voice-activated technology, you can
do a Google search, call up GPS directions, video chat with your
friends, and even record what you’re seeing with a tiny mounted
camera—all without fumbling for a cell phone. “Welcome to the future,”
said John Moltz in MacWorld.com. “Wearable computing technology” is
finally here.
If this is the future, then count me out, said Andrew Keen in CNN.com.
Google Glass significantly steps up the company’s “digital war against
privacy.” Not only will users be able to record or take pictures of
people without their knowledge or consent, the “all-seeing eyeglasses”
will act like all Google products and collect data to send back to the
“Googleplex,” with no way to opt out. A “pooling of all our most
intimate data” is the “holy grail” for advertisers. Before we know it,
personalized ads will magically appear whenever our gaze lands upon a
particular product. What a “terrifyingly dystopian” idea. And just think
of what it will mean for walking down the street, said Caille Millner
in SFGate.com. Too many people already bump into me because
they can’t tear their gazes away from their beloved cellphones. What
happens when these tech-heads start “wandering the streets with a
computer plugged into their eyes?”
Try it—you’ll like it, said Joshua Topolsky in TheVerge.com.
I was given a test trial of Glass, and found it to have “tremendous
value and potential.” As I walked around Manhattan, I was able to get
instant directions, following a “real-time, turn-by-turn overlay” of my
own line of sight. The screen does not interfere with your vision, and
the ability to get information like the weather forecast or a new email
as you walk makes you feel “better equipped, and definitely less
diverted.” Yes, it remains to be seen how quickly consumers will warm to
this “alien and unfashionable” technology. But after a few hours of
using Glass, for me “the question is no longer ‘if’ but ‘when.’”
See also: digital jewelry, smart clothes
Brought to you by NetLingo: Improve Your Internet IQ
Subscribe to the NetLingo Blog via Email or RSS here!
Posts
