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Google Glass is still around and just got its first update in nearly three years

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Re: Google Glass is still around and just got its first update in nearly three years

#81

Post by digi_owl »

L_Rahman wrote: post #26

The last two responses in this thread - industry applications (operating theatre) and medical use (double vision) - are the things Google should have focused on all along. A tiny floating screen in the corner of your eye is most useful when: 1. You can't readily access the screens that are in your pocket or desk. 2. You need to look at a screen and the world around you at the same time. The screen may possibly overla…

I think that was the plan of the original team all along, but then Brin happened. It was him that orchestrated the whole stunt at IO to unveil it, driving the hype through the roof in the process.

Re: Google Glass is still around and just got its first update in nearly three years

#82

Post by kbart »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #74
beachbum8029 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet none of those same people have an issue with taking their phone out of their pocket constantly and glancing at it which has... a camera on the front! But I could see the issue of never knowing whether or not the glass camera is recording and whether that recording is going to wind up on youtube.

You never know when the smartphone camera is recording either.

True, but Google Glass is more like camera pointed directly at you. If somebody kept pointing smartphone camera at me constantly, I'd sure get annoyed.

Re: Google Glass is still around and just got its first update in nearly three years

#83

Post by digi_owl »

Warvick wrote: post #2

GG would become so much more popular if it would aim at certain niches first, like security, technicians, doctors and public servants (partially the way Segway did) - it should invest in showcase apps that cater for those niches and build up market from there.

My understanding is that this was the initial intent, but then Brin got involved and hings went hype crazy from there on...

Re: Google Glass is still around and just got its first update in nearly three years

#84

Post by digi_owl »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #79
spullara wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are incorrectly complaining about google when they should really be complaining about the OEMs. You can blame google for that business model but generally they aren't deciding when Android phones get updates.

This is incorrect. People are often complaining about the OEMs, when you really should be blaming Google. Google designed the way the OS handles updates, and it also sets the terms that OEMs have to agree to in order to sell Android devices with Google Play Services included. Google controls the entire table here. But they want you to blame all of the different OEMs rather than looking at the real culprit in the midd…

Samsung has Tizen sitting in the wings if Google gets too pushy. HTC would not hesitate to make a deal with Microsoft. LG owns WebOS, and is actively using it in their smart TVs. Huawei, ZTE and such can just fall back on Chinese infrastructure.

The only ones that would be affected would perhaps be Sony, this new Nokia that's rising, and various white box manufacturers.

Google really do not have as much control as one would think.

Re: Google Glass is still around and just got its first update in nearly three years

#86

Post by hammock »

skinnymuch wrote: post #75
hammock wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not a glasses advantage though. The smartphone in my hand does that (my smartphone, an overpowered barcode scanner)

A specially made hand held device could do it too, but it would still be a problem because you're using hands.

Could put it on your wrist, like QBs have. A fragile device on your head, over your eyes, still doesn't seem like the best solution.

Re: Google Glass is still around and just got its first update in nearly three years

#87

Post by PeterisP »

jonnathanson wrote: post #76
dawnerd wrote: post #15

I'm kinda sad I never took advantage of their invite to buy one. Would have been a cool piece of Google history to have sitting on a shelf.

It was going for $1,500 at the time, making it a particularly expensive thing to have bought as a conversation piece. The price was a serious flaw in Google's rollout strategy, perhaps more than anything else. They were trying to do a small alpha/beta, while also marketing the product as "cool" and exclusive at the same time. The product was very very very MVP and alpha-like, but came at a finished-product price tag.…

It's reasonable and expected for early stage hardware to be much more expensive than a later mass produced piece; both on the cost side and on the demand side.

If you release a v0.1 bleeding edge device, your per-unit costs are huge, and you also target it at people who really need or want it's specific functionality, and thus aren't price sensitive.

For any class of such technology the price comes down only when the tech is tested and mass produced. If anything, they should have sold it at $3000 or $5000 to get more feedback from its use as a small alpha/beta in practical niche domains where it's really needed, not as a consumer device used as a fashion item instead of testing its practical application.

Re: Google Glass is still around and just got its first update in nearly three years

#88

Post by ocdtrekkie »

digi_owl wrote: post #84
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is incorrect. People are often complaining about the OEMs, when you really should be blaming Google. Google designed the way the OS handles updates, and it also sets the terms that OEMs have to agree to in order to sell Android devices with Google Play Services included. Google controls the entire table here. But they want you to blame all of the different OEMs rather than looking at the real culprit in the midd…

Samsung has Tizen sitting in the wings if Google gets too pushy. HTC would not hesitate to make a deal with Microsoft. LG owns WebOS, and is actively using it in their smart TVs. Huawei, ZTE and such can just fall back on Chinese infrastructure. The only ones that would be affected would perhaps be Sony, this new Nokia that's rising, and various white box manufacturers. Google really do not have as much control as on…

Any OEM doing this except maybe Samsung would immediately go out of business. Feel free to let me know if you ever have a practical example of someone successfully leaving the Android monopoly ecosystem and not falling flat on their face.

Also, bear in mind, OEMs have no reason to object to Google controlling updates. They'd still be able to customize the experience with apps and themes. And they'd save boatloads of money as Google handled all the update testing and distribution.

Of course... Google doesn't want to pay for that, and that's why they leave it on OEMs.

Re: Google Glass is still around and just got its first update in nearly three years

#89

Post by falcolas »

digi_owl wrote: post #85

For all this talk about recording everything, don't the Glass sport a bright LED up front when the camera was in use?

IIRC, no. It just had the "screen" enabled, which can be seen by external people, but no dedicated "the camera is on" light.

Re: Google Glass is still around and just got its first update in nearly three years

#90

Post by falcolas »

throwaway2016a wrote: post #16

I'll have to dust off my glasses and install this. I never got the hang of it because the screen is about 1/2 cm too high for me so I have to uncomfortably force my eye to look straight up. No matter how I tried to position it on my head I always had that issue... There was also the whole thing about people thinking you're an ass for wearing one. And they are very rare in New Hampshire where I am so they stick out li…

If it's too high, try widening the nose pads a bit. That's what usually sets the height of glasses on your face.
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