Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google Glass evangelist: It's not worth the headache

news.cnet.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 76 posts

Re: Google Glass evangelist: It's not worth the headache

#51

Post by panacea »

jonmrodriguez wrote: post #49
panacea wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a shame you have to press to activate the camera. If you could press to save to disk, the last, say 5 minutes of what you saw these would be amazing. They look good, and you would be assured of never missing an awesome video opportunity.

I have a market research question for you: The reason we don't currently have this is that smart glasses (being small) can't fit a big battery. Our recording time is about twice that of Glass (ours is 1 hour) but that's still not enough for the all-day recording you envision. So, my question is, would you be willing to wear a thin wire (slightly thicker than a headphone cable) going from your glasses to your pocket t…

Unfortunately not. That would take these glasses from the realm of a timeless fashionable item augmented with technology inside, to the same problem Glass and bluetooth headsets have.

The non-symettry and wire would turn these into FBI-Goon-ware.

Edit: FYI 5 people have agreed via up-arrows in the past hour.

Re: Google Glass evangelist: It's not worth the headache

#52

Post by 72deluxe »

jonmrodriguez wrote: post #20

If you don't want the disadvantages of a display and what you care about is the video recording use-case, feel free to check out my product Epiphany Eyewear. http://www.epiphanyeyewear.com?design I know self-promotion is frowned upon and I'm sorry for that, but manufacturing & programming this product is all I do 15 hours a day x 7 days a week, so at this point it's my whole life and I feel like this is a relevant op…

How are these different to the cheap "spy glasses" you can get on ebay? Not meant offensively btw, just actually curious!

eg. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-HIGH-DEFINITION-SPY-CAMERA-DVR...

Re: Google Glass evangelist: It's not worth the headache

#53

Post by darklajid »

zobzu wrote: post #21

I used glass a couple of times and i was underwhelmed by the technology. The screen is tiny and of poor quality. Controls aren't all that great. Battery life is terrible. So yeah, it's fun and novel for a few minutes, but not much more. I'm more excited by some better use of frame mounted displays like the oculus however.

Same here. My employer joined the program/is looking into Glass as a potential market.

While my boss was constantly amazed and happy like a child on Christmas Eve, I .. was utterly disappointed. The battery (supposedly fully charged before I ever got near that thing) died a couple of times, the thing got warm to the touch, the display is unreadable/tiny/useless and the controls are weird, if we're friendly here.

At least I could witness that this thing HAS an appeal to some people - I just don't understand why and don't think the technology in its current state is good for anything but novelty anyway.

Re: Google Glass evangelist: It's not worth the headache

#54

Post by ygra »

blueskin_ wrote: post #43

I wonder about headaches from getting punched by people who don't want to be recorded. >Will someone now invent the equivalent of a missile shield defense that prevents you from being photographed when, say, you're out on the street? I've idly wondered about this before. Some form of glasses/hat/other wearable that detect google glasses and direct a laser into their camera. I'd wear those.

In Cory Doctorow's novel Pirate Cinema those exist as hats, although targeted at stationary surveillance cameras.

Re: Google Glass evangelist: It's not worth the headache

#55

Post by 72deluxe »

timcederman wrote: post #41
Einstalbert wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was ready to go when I signed up to be a beta tester. I was ready to transform my entire, dull life just to seem more active for the beta phase (We want active testers!) but then Google called my bluff and asked me to fork over $1,500. Ouch! I was expecting maybe a third of that. Did you feel disappointed with losing out on the money, or did that aspect not factor into your afterthoughts much?

I borrowed one for a few weeks from a friend.

Do they feel disappointed with spending all that money? Was their experience the same?

Re: Google Glass evangelist: It's not worth the headache

#56

Post by mburns »

jonmrodriguez wrote: post #49
panacea wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a shame you have to press to activate the camera. If you could press to save to disk, the last, say 5 minutes of what you saw these would be amazing. They look good, and you would be assured of never missing an awesome video opportunity.

I have a market research question for you: The reason we don't currently have this is that smart glasses (being small) can't fit a big battery. Our recording time is about twice that of Glass (ours is 1 hour) but that's still not enough for the all-day recording you envision. So, my question is, would you be willing to wear a thin wire (slightly thicker than a headphone cable) going from your glasses to your pocket t…

I'm not panacea, but I wonder if a design similar to headsets that drape over/hang from your neck could be used as a (limited) battery pack to Glass and avoid a cable running down to your pocket.

http://i.imgur.com/FPfH9HN.jpg

Re: Google Glass evangelist: It's not worth the headache

#57

Post by Wintamute »

A dude gets two headaches and now Google Glass is a health hazard? Hardly a wealth of data points. Maybe it had something to do with being filmed for 8 hours by a Korean documentary crew - that sounds pretty stressful if you're not used to it. This article is typical cnet link bait.

Re: Google Glass evangelist: It's not worth the headache

#58

Post by jonmrodriguez »

72deluxe wrote: post #52
jonmrodriguez wrote: post #20

If you don't want the disadvantages of a display and what you care about is the video recording use-case, feel free to check out my product Epiphany Eyewear. http://www.epiphanyeyewear.com?design I know self-promotion is frowned upon and I'm sorry for that, but manufacturing & programming this product is all I do 15 hours a day x 7 days a week, so at this point it's my whole life and I feel like this is a relevant op…

How are these different to the cheap "spy glasses" you can get on ebay? Not meant offensively btw, just actually curious! eg. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-HIGH-DEFINITION-SPY-CAMERA-DVR...

Epiphany's many advantages include:

Epiphany has better video quality, most notably our camera optics are almost incomparably better. The stuff you linked to is all narrow-angle, which makes that video seem like looking through a toilet-paper tube. Whereas Epiphany's field of view is 160 degrees, almost as wide as a GoPro, so it can see everything you see including your hands: https://yougen.tv/video/9b406d41-8e68-43fc-904f-f12ce688f610...

Epiphany has much better frame design & build quality. Our material is TR-90, the highest-end optical plastic for luxury eyewear. We have spring hinges which hold snugly on your face for action cam uses. We also have an adjustable nosepiece to fit everyone's face comfortably.

Epiphany comes with awesome software called YouGen.TV that makes trimming, uploading, and sharing your videos online very straightforward (as few as 2 drag-drops + 1 click, from start to finish).

Epiphany has style - we were featured on the runway at New York Fashion Week http://bestoftheweb.quora.com/Epiphany-Eyewear-smart-glasses...

Epiphany has full support for prescription lenses with the industry-standard bevel.

Epiphany has the very high level of quality control that western consumers expect. Whereas if you've ever tried buying Chinese goods at a very low price there's a good chance that it failed QA and is "B grade" (dead pixels, blurry focus, off-kilter / askew hinges, scratches on the frame, etc).

Epiphany has better audio quality. Our microphone has an excellent signal-to-noise ratio, and we even feature a windscreen foam which filters out wind noise (windscreens are a high-end technique used in music recording studios).

Re: Google Glass evangelist: It's not worth the headache

#59

Post by TeMPOraL »

snarkyturtle wrote: post #22

Or you could not wear it for 8 hours a day. I wear my glasses for half that amount and I get headaches, to wear it everywhere is insane. I'd figure it would be more of a situational thing than anything.

8 hours a day? If I had a pair, I'd wear them 16-18h / day.

Re: Google Glass evangelist: It's not worth the headache

#60

Post by jonmrodriguez »

x0054 wrote: post #32
jonmrodriguez wrote: post #20

If you don't want the disadvantages of a display and what you care about is the video recording use-case, feel free to check out my product Epiphany Eyewear. http://www.epiphanyeyewear.com?design I know self-promotion is frowned upon and I'm sorry for that, but manufacturing & programming this product is all I do 15 hours a day x 7 days a week, so at this point it's my whole life and I feel like this is a relevant op…

Have you considered marketing these to the police departments? Porn industry is another good choice! :)

Haha nice :) Well they're welcome to buy the glasses at our website! Currently our marketing is focused on direct-to-consumer, for recording (1) exciting action footage which people love to watch and (2) personal nostalgic moments such as Christmastime with family
Post reply on HN