Who here is pre-ordering these, and why?
Focals by North
41–50 of 107 posts
Re: Focals by North
#42I don't care about the glasses.
The ring controller though - I have been looking for something like that for a while. I want something small and hands-free to control the slides while giving presentations. I had a Creative Ring Presenter but it died and I just really need "next slide / previous slide" buttons.
Re: Focals by North
#43The thesis of this product seems to be that Google glass failed due to poor design. I think that's an idea worth exploring and the execution here does look promising, but I'll hold off on judgement until other people can review the device. Here are my immediate, unsolicited, uncollected thoughts: There are many issues that I worry about with this kind of device, but battery safety and battery life are most important…
The ring by itself could actually be useful.
That said, there's a huge list of failed smart ring companies which /r/shittykickstarters loves shitting on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBUWxROnqwA
https://www.reddit.com/r/shittykickstarters/comments/8j73df/...
https://www.reddit.com/r/shittykickstarters/comments/6o3xrx/...
Re: Focals by North
#44If the Thalmic Labs name doesn't ring a bell, they're the former makers of the Myo gesture control armband (which was just discontinued). By all customer accounts I've seen it was an expensive gadget that never worked reliably enough to be useful for anything, so hopefully they do better with glasses.
I've tried the Myo a bunch of times, at hackathons and such. I think it was a good product. It actually worked. The thing is that it wasn't that useful and they never found product-market fit. Yet, it was an avenue worth exploring. If you are curious you can find used Myos on eBay, see for yourself. There is a world between them a leap motion for example.
I had one and every single person that tried it had issues with it in the first few minutes. A hackathon is one thing, but it didn't work even close to well enough to be a mainstream consumer product.
Re: Focals by North
#45Apparently these will have a $1k pricetag.
Unfortunately, this product has already failed out of the gate just like Google Glass did: it was never the hokey backwards bulky design of the glasses that mattered... it was the price.
Charge me, say, $200 to add this to frames that aren't thick plastic "hipster" glasses, then I'd buy it.
Re: Focals by North
#46They pose their models in such a way to hide it, but the temples of those glasses (where all the tech lives, presumably) are huge. Which feel like they'd both be distracting to wear and to look at someone else wearing. (Although this is certainly an improvement over the Google Glasses design.) I would believe that some people would like a little heads-up display in their glasses. Not everyone. But some people. But I…
Re: Focals by North
#47Am I the only one who doesn't want
- Digital Glasses, Google Glass
- Smart assistants
- IOT devices
- Smart door locks
- Internet enabled washing machines, refrigerators, ovens, etc.
- Push to order dash buttons
- Smart watch
- Smart cameras/webcams
These devices are solutions looking for a problem. The value proposition is overshadowed by loss of privacy, interruptions by social media, potential for security flaws, and loss of control by the end user, loss of repairability, amongst many other issues. They provide little benefit at the expense of aforementioned disadvantages.
Apparently, the general public loves these and Alexa devices sell like hotcakes, Apple watch is a huge success and Google assistant is getting smarter everyday.
I honestly am satisfied without smart things in life. I understand this might come across as a kind of anti-technology view of life, but I love technology! I just don't resonate with the IOT/Smart devices.
This trend is everywhere from my label marker to John Deere tractors. What happens when Focal goes bankrupt and the device cannot connect to their cloud for security updates? Yep, they become normal glasses with thick frame with dead batteries. I want longevity, reliability and durability from my devices. Dieter Rams has a great view on this issue: https://www.hustwit.com/rams/
Re: Focals by North
#48Who here is pre-ordering these, and why?
I haven't yet pulled the trigger on this but I'm tempted. My memory is pretty bad and I tend to forget what I'm meant to be doing or what I had planned for the day. This would be a great help for keeping me on track throughout the day.
Re: Focals by North
#49Am I the only one who doesn't want - Digital Glasses, Google Glass - Smart assistants - IOT devices - Smart door locks - Internet enabled washing machines, refrigerators, ovens, etc. - Push to order dash buttons - Smart watch - Smart cameras/webcams These devices are solutions looking for a problem. The value proposition is overshadowed by loss of privacy, interruptions by social media, potential for security flaws,…
It takes a lot of detritus to fertilize the growth of good things
Re: Focals by North
#50Apparently these will have a $1k pricetag. Unfortunately, this product has already failed out of the gate just like Google Glass did: it was never the hokey backwards bulky design of the glasses that mattered... it was the price. Charge me, say, $200 to add this to frames that aren't thick plastic "hipster" glasses, then I'd buy it.
They chose models with dark hair because the huge and thick arms would be less visible.