A 33-Year-Old NPR Story Convinced Me Google Glass Will Stop Looking So Dorky • Hacker News Board

Re: A 33-Year-Old NPR Story Convinced Me Google Glass Will Stop Looking So Dorky

#41

Post by corresation » Thu, Jan 30, 2014, 2:23 AM UTC

rdl wrote: post #9

Big difference IMO is that the Glass is worn, and even more, is worn on the face, specifically around the eyes. Remember how douchey the bluetooth headset people were? Very small by comparison, and that was mostly hidden if you had long hair, or were viewed directly from the front. The Pebble is about the limit, which is why the wrist-computer thing is so interesting, even though it doesn't provide a huge amount of n…

Remember how douchey the bluetooth headset people were?...but the kids wearing large, crappy headphones in other environments (e.g. at meals) are kind of pathetic.

Isn't this really judgmental? Doesn't this say more about you than about them?

I'm completely serious. I do not judge people on the tools they use in their life that is of no consequence to me. The same holds for Google Glass -- it is somewhat perverse, if not an attempt at group bullying, however so many try to get some sort of group disdain going about it.

The single credible complaint anyone has about Glass -- after you dig through all of the noisy subjective blather -- is the privacy angle. It may be defeatest but I think that ship has sailed, and we're absolutely surrounded by things recording us (someone mentioned lapel mics, for instance, but of course every smartphone around you might be audio recording. Video recording is often more ubiquitous, but the "pretend you're using your phone" tactic is hardly uncommon)

Re: A 33-Year-Old NPR Story Convinced Me Google Glass Will Stop Looking So Dorky

#42

Post by ssully » Thu, Jan 30, 2014, 2:33 AM UTC

zacinbusiness wrote: post #29

baby wrote: post #14

Actually, I still find big headphones weird. I bought one myself so I started finding them okay, and there are a lot of people wearing them now that it doesn't look so silly anymore. Makes me think about this as well: "Annette Kellerman promoted women’s right to wear a one-piece bathing suit like this circa 1907… She was arrested for indecency" http://i.imgur.com/3aFSWSg.jpg

I used to only wear earbuds simply because they were more portable. More recently, though, I've begun wearing a full-size set (Bowers and Wilkins P3) because I was tired of my music sounding "small." The difference is amazing and I'll never go back.

I think it's entirely dependent on the type of headphones. The kind you mention are really slim and sleek; they don't really look out of place. It's when I see people wearing Beats or even bigger over/on ear headphones that attract my attention. I don't think ill of people wearing these headphones, but I do think they look silly because of how unwieldy the headphones seem.

Re: A 33-Year-Old NPR Story Convinced Me Google Glass Will Stop Looking So Dorky

#43

Post by rdl » Thu, Jan 30, 2014, 2:41 AM UTC

corresation wrote: post #41

rdl wrote: post #9

Big difference IMO is that the Glass is worn, and even more, is worn on the face, specifically around the eyes. Remember how douchey the bluetooth headset people were? Very small by comparison, and that was mostly hidden if you had long hair, or were viewed directly from the front. The Pebble is about the limit, which is why the wrist-computer thing is so interesting, even though it doesn't provide a huge amount of n…

Remember how douchey the bluetooth headset people were? ... but the kids wearing large, crappy headphones in other environments (e.g. at meals) are kind of pathetic. Isn't this really judgmental? Doesn't this say more about you than about them? I'm completely serious. I do not judge people on the tools they use in their life that is of no consequence to me. The same holds for Google Glass -- it is somewhat perverse,…

Yes, it is ultimate subjective as a fashion decision, but I have articulated the mainstream prevailing view which will likely remain so for decades.

Re: A 33-Year-Old NPR Story Convinced Me Google Glass Will Stop Looking So Dorky

#44

Post by resu_nimda » Thu, Jan 30, 2014, 2:42 AM UTC

I am actually pretty shocked at the responses here on HN, of all places. Not because, as technologists we should all automatically love any new technology, but because, as technologists we should have perspective on its inexorable march.

How many times have we laughed at definitive statements, pontificating on this or that newfangled thing, that were proven to be wildly off-the-mark only a few years later?

How many times have we facepalmed at the print media's desperate attempts to combat or stave off digital publishing?

Whether it's Google Glass or something else, "invasive" wearable tech will be utterly pedestrian in a decade or two. Similarly, privacy is going away, and future generations won't care. You can already see it with the kids. It's just the obvious extrapolation of computing technology, and it won't be stopped by the old guard.

If you disagree, care to put our thoughts in a time capsule and see who looks more foolish in 10 years?

Re: A 33-Year-Old NPR Story Convinced Me Google Glass Will Stop Looking So Dorky

#45

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jan 30, 2014, 2:47 AM UTC

resu_nimda wrote: post #44

I am actually pretty shocked at the responses here on HN, of all places. Not because, as technologists we should all automatically love any new technology, but because, as technologists we should have perspective on its inexorable march. How many times have we laughed at definitive statements, pontificating on this or that newfangled thing, that were proven to be wildly off-the-mark only a few years later? How many t…

[deleted]

Re: A 33-Year-Old NPR Story Convinced Me Google Glass Will Stop Looking So Dorky

#46

Post by randallsquared » Thu, Jan 30, 2014, 2:49 AM UTC

audeyisaacs wrote: post #30

tikhonj wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet most people don't have that reaction to pervasive CCTV. Which, in some places, is virtually omnipresent and constantly recording. "Smile, you're on camera ☺" And many people have no qualms sharing pretty much everything on Facebook and the like. I don't know which way it will really go, but it is really not obvious a priori that everyone is that concerned about privacy, or that society will not adapt to make…

If you're sitting down to have coffee with a friend, it's the difference between a camera watching over you from afar and having a camera essentially in the middle of the conversation. A pretty big difference if you ask me.

It seems far less a difference than not having a camera watching you at all.

Re: A 33-Year-Old NPR Story Convinced Me Google Glass Will Stop Looking So Dorky

#47

Post by hobs » Thu, Jan 30, 2014, 2:52 AM UTC

resu_nimda wrote: post #44

I am actually pretty shocked at the responses here on HN, of all places. Not because, as technologists we should all automatically love any new technology, but because, as technologists we should have perspective on its inexorable march. How many times have we laughed at definitive statements, pontificating on this or that newfangled thing, that were proven to be wildly off-the-mark only a few years later? How many t…

I agree with you on everything except the privacy part, as people grow older they guard their privacy much more than as a youth.

I think it will be like everything with technology, we will be more the same, and more different. People might share some information freely as a bird that we would be horrified at, but I don't think the intrinsic need for privacy will leave society on some level (for a host of reasons).

Maybe this will manifest into something like "For Us The Living" with a public sphere and a private sphere. Go outside and you are 100% monitored by thousands of sources, but in your home or private dwelling things turn off.

Social mores evolve slower than technology, but they do evolve.

Re: A 33-Year-Old NPR Story Convinced Me Google Glass Will Stop Looking So Dorky

#48

Post by tzs » Thu, Jan 30, 2014, 2:58 AM UTC

doktrin wrote: post #12

aresant wrote: post #6

I disagree that people will become comfortable with Google Glass - the primary negative reaction is the voyeuristic-rejection of having a camera always pointed at you (that may or may not be recording). To which the analogy vs. headphones is not relevant. I anticipate, however, that Google (or somebody) will find a way to make this product largely invisible to anybody but the wearer in the near term future. Through m…

> I disagree that people will become comfortable with Google Glass - the primary negative reaction is the voyeuristic-rejection of having a camera always pointed at you (that may or may not be recording). A core assumption of this argument is that people won't eventually become accustomed to the idea of being recorded consistently, often without their knowledge or consent. I can't see why that would be the case. Vide…

> Video surveillance is nigh-ubiquitous in London, and this appears to be both accepted and tolerated. Closer to home (US), I was probably recorded on camera 10-12 times today alone - anywhere from office buildings, retail stores, gas stations, etc.

Are any of those London cameras, or the dozen cameras you suspect record you in the US, in public restrooms?

Re: A 33-Year-Old NPR Story Convinced Me Google Glass Will Stop Looking So Dorky

#49

Post by kevinalexbrown » Thu, Jan 30, 2014, 3:03 AM UTC

As someone in the habit of sticking my tongue out at surveillance cameras, I might have to learn to restrain myself when staring at a human/camera mixture.

More seriously, I think this suggests a general principle: if something has intrinsic value, that will eventually outweigh fashion concerns. Even though bluetooth didn't totally take off, it seems like roughly half the people talking on phones in lower Manhattan have earbuds in, and I can't think of a place in the US that's more fashion-conscious.

The real question isn't whether people can't grow accustomed to glass, but whether the benefits of glass outweigh the disadvantages, minus the fashion-centric ones.

Re: A 33-Year-Old NPR Story Convinced Me Google Glass Will Stop Looking So Dorky

#50

Post by massysett » Thu, Jan 30, 2014, 3:03 AM UTC

ozten wrote: post #25

I think looking at Bluetooth headset adoption would more informative.

I said "Bluetooth, that will never catch on, who wants to go around with a thing in your ear with a flashing blue light? Makes you look like Borg." Now people wear them all day.

And I never thought I would see people walking down the street staring at a phone. "That would be dorky." Now people nearly collide with me on sidewalks because they're looking down and, what's more, they eat meals in public places with the phone sitting on the table like it's a little person.