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At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

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31–40 of 188 posts

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#31
post #3

I assume people think this is a problem because they are afraid someone will film them "down there". But you have to actually look down there to do that with Glass, and last I checked that was already frowned upon, and it's something people know they shouldn't do. So why would Glass make this situation much worse?

Do they need to look though? Or will Glass pictures include your peripheral vision, so all you need to do is turn your head slightly?

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#32
post #2

We should never have had any expectation of privacy in public places. I think what scares most people is that they're going to end up on the internet for some reason. Perhaps this shows how self-obsessed we are: to think that anyone is going to care about us walking down the street minding our own business. Maybe it's the uncertainty that makes people uneasy. I can walk down the street recording everyone with my smar…

It's not as irrational a fear as you're making it out to be.

Check out any number of tumblr blogs. People of Wal-Mart. Look at That Fucking Hipster, etc.

Or a very, very large section of /r/pics or /r/funny on Reddit.

Even ignoring the extreme cases like /r/creepshots, the Internet has already proven that it greatly enjoys taking pictures of strangers in everyday life and mocking them mercilessly.

People would like to go around with their fly accidentally undone and not have a bunch of armchair comedians commenting on their junk. People would like to go around on a bad hair day without it being picked apart by screeching Internet fashionistas. Our fear of being spread all around the internet is grounded in past instances of nobodies being spread all around the internet.

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#33
> Many were using their cellphones while wearing the glasses — defeating a declared purpose of the new gadget, to free you from having to look at your phone. Another man continually looked at his watch to check the time, even through the glasses display a clock right above your eye.

I get that the author is trying to be humorous but I fear that some people may take some of his criticisms seriously. AFAIK nobody has declared that the purpose of Glass is to "free us from having to look at [oure] phone[s]". It simply makes certain functions more convenient than using a phone, in certain situations. Let's also not forget that Glass' functionality is pretty limited at this point, so people using their phones while using Glass were most likely using an app with functionality that isn't offered by Glass yet.. like browsing the web.

Glass is going to take off with the active crowd. It's perfect for people who either have jobs or hobbies that require the extended use of their hands. Think cyclists, police officers, postal workers, construction foremen, taxi drivers, etc. I feel like it's journalistically sloppy to criticize Glass for the (I feel) false premise that everybody is going to be wearing Glass all the time. The OP was at Google IO for crying out loud, of course you're going to have a bunch of early adopters walking around with Glass' on their face.

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#35
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's just that. I don't have any fear that any individual will film me, since this probably happens frequently anyway (how many strangers have me in the background of their pictures somewhere?). Nonetheless, the idea that there will eventually be cameras everywhere putting videos online, combined with technologies such as location-tagging and ever-better face recognition, means that in the not-too-dista…

Not only will someone be able to retroactively stalk you, they'll be able to cut together their own version of reality. Imagine someone having every snapshot of you while you're having a bad day - scowling at a slow elderly person ahead of you on the stairs, flipping someone off while driving, a really bad photo of you with a bunch of drinks around you. Nevermind that you were trying to hurry to get up the stairs to…

Exactly, the "Mark Burnett problem" (producer of Survivor). I heard him claim in an interview that with enough footage he could create any perception of a person that he wanted (hero, jerk, brilliant, idiot, etc.). It seemed obvious after hearing it, but not something I had considered.

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#36
post #4

This is a well-written piece, simultaneously praising and mocking Google Glass, with lots of memorable passages that made me smile or laugh. Let me quote just one of them: "At one point as I climbed the stairs and approached the second floor, I saw a group of five people wearing Google Glass, all silently staring off into space. I couldn’t tell if they were wirelessly having a conversation through their eyeballs, or…

"As I approached the line to the restroom, I took a deep sigh, thinking that I might find some respite from the hundreds of cameras strapped to people’s heads at the conference.

Yet when it was finally my turn to approach the rows of white urinals, my world came screeching to a halt. There they were, a handful of people wearing Google Glass, now standing next to me at their own urinals, peering their head from side to side, blinking or winking, as they relieved themselves."

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#37
post #4

This is a well-written piece, simultaneously praising and mocking Google Glass, with lots of memorable passages that made me smile or laugh. Let me quote just one of them: "At one point as I climbed the stairs and approached the second floor, I saw a group of five people wearing Google Glass, all silently staring off into space. I couldn’t tell if they were wirelessly having a conversation through their eyeballs, or…

I can quickly see Glass becoming this generations, "Are they crazy or bluetooth?"

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rules of the society I live in certainly don't include sudden violence at anyone who's checking out my junk. I might be upset or angry, and I'd probably let them know it, but I'm not getting into a bathroom brawl over it.

Really? If someone was indiscreetly peering over your shoulder to check out your package, you would let them know that it made you upset? Excuse me good sir, I do believe you are offending me? Where I come from, that's more than an indiscretion. We're not talking about a locker room.

Well legally they'd be perfectly within their rights to tape you telling them off. And if you got violent they'd have all the evidence they'd need to press charges, conveniently backed up into the cloud.

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#39
This actually reminds me of my brief stint at Apple. I went out to the headquarters for a conference right around the time the first iPhone was released. That year all Apple employees were given free iPhones, so of course, everyone at the week long conference were glued to them. I remember very distinctly riding a bus to the campus with my fellow Apple employees and seeing every single solitary face buried in their iphones, all of us sitting in silence. Despite my enthusiasm for the iPhone I do remember having a slight sinking feeling at viewing that. I was seeing a glimpse into the future to come.

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#40
In Japan and some other countries, there is a law requiring cameras to make loud noises so pictures cannot be taken discreetly. I wonder if this will apply to Glass and, if so, what Google will do to enable Glass to be sold in Japan. Is there even an external speaker with which they could make the noise?

(http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/32442/jurisdictio...)

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