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Why Google Glass Broke

nytimes.com

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Re: Why Google Glass Broke

#31

Post by stesch »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #21
adnanh wrote: post #2

Personally I think it was the camera that killed it. That, and the fact that google put out an unfinished product without providing plethora of resources and apps for it, to get people excited, hoping the community would finish it for them... That, and the fact that people started calling Google Glass users "glassholes".

> That, and the fact that people started calling Google Glass users "glassholes". That was one weird thing I did not expect to happen after the release, but I can't stop thinking that a people calling Glass wearers "glassholes" are themselves actual assholes.

Oh, and the reactions of Google Glass fans was very off putting, too.

The G word was like the N word for them. It wasn't possible to discuss this aspect of the product even if you reassured the fans that you don't like the word.

Re: Why Google Glass Broke

#32

Post by stesch »

beilabs wrote: post #14

I'm going to put my neck out and say "watch this space". Google don't have this front and center any more with this glass product but I think they'll definitely be looking at different form factors in the future.

Waiting for Google Wave integration in Google Glass?

Re: Why Google Glass Broke

#33

Post by msabalau »

maccard wrote: post #29
vacri wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We got a few at my old workplace, and the tone of this article really annoyed me because you had to be wilfully ignorant to think that Glass was a finished, polished product. The whole point of 'Explorers' was explicitly stated as being for finding the kinks in the system outside the lab. The people who claimed it 'worst product ever' were moronic linkbaiters. One of the problems it did have that I thought was a prob…

> It was a marvellous bit of well-made kit Marvelous other than the 1500 dollar price tag for an unfinished product, the lack of software, the abysmal battery life, and the obvious privacy concerns of this device being constructed by one of the most invasive companies on the planet? I agree with the fact that it's the first, but calling it marvelous is a bit of a stretch.

Adjusted for inflation Glass was the price of an Apple One or the launch price of a Commodore 64 (which, if you preordered, came with a free cassette drive for storage: a $70 value.) It was priced correctly for for true early adoptors who wanted a prototype. Not as a consumer product. Google's stated target price for commercial release was "about the price of a smartphone."

Re: Why Google Glass Broke

#34

Post by ghaff »

marincounty wrote: post #7
greggman wrote: post #3

I'm not convinced it broke any more than the newton or the palm pilot broke. It's just too early. palm pilots, newtons, and other PDAs were around for 13+ years and were considered "for geeks only". It wasn't until iPhone that PDAs finally became popular with the masses. Personal HUDs or Google Glass etc will go through the same steps. Something, maybe not totally similar but something with a camera, a HUD, augmented…

I thought the Palm was a great little PDA. I had a Palm Tx tethered to a (yellow cased-forgot brand) GPS. The setup relly worked well for me. I remember being at a Goodguy's closing sale at 9 p.m., and debating on buying 300 units of Halo 2 for $5 each. Drove to library, got a signal, found a price and happily went back and bought the games. At the time, I couldn't figure out why more people didn't carry around a wif…

Yeah, the Palm Pilot was a reasonably successful device for its time. At a prior employer, in addition to lots of the engineers having one, not a few sales reps and marketing types (including myself) did as well. The syncing was admittedly a bit of a pain (my model was pre-WiFi) but I wouldn't put Palm Pilots in the same class as Newton or Google Glass. By today's standard it looks pretty limited but it was relatively widespread consumer tech at one point--though nothing like Smartphones of course.

Re: Why Google Glass Broke

#35

Post by TeMPOraL »

cowsandmilk wrote: post #25
TeMPOraL wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That, and the fact that people started calling Google Glass users "glassholes". That was one weird thing I did not expect to happen after the release, but I can't stop thinking that a people calling Glass wearers "glassholes" are themselves actual assholes.

They positioned it as an up-market, exclusive, fashion device. If you drive a BMW, you've automatically classified as an asshole. Not at all surprising that people wearing glass were labelled that way.

I do felt they sold it to the wrong crowd - to the rich dudes instead of geeks. But still, the kind of reactions you described is a really shitty feature of society.

Re: Why Google Glass Broke

#36

Post by aluhut »

kefka wrote: post #13

I work in a capacity that reviews, tests, and develops proofs of concepts for new tech. We purchased 3 glasses when they came on the market. Our review: 1. pathetic battery life. You're going to have at most 6 hours of life. And that's with the GG radios off (and functionality at a nil). 2. You can't turn it off. it goes into a screen-off non-standby that still chews through battery. So when you think that youre cons…

The "privacy" issue was not there to cover the privacy of the person with glass but the people around him.

I can totally understand that. Even if I know that there will be (are) ways around but as long as not everybody can do it, it's something.

You forgot one:

9. You look like an idiot.

It's the same thing as the smart watches. Suddenly everybody had one but now they become a joke. As well as the people who wear them to work.

They should throw in some more money and time and go for implants.

Re: Why Google Glass Broke

#37

Post by normloman »

What I like about phones is that you can put them in your pocket. If you're having a face to face conversation with someone, you can put the phone away, and give them your full attention. But if my phone was part of my glasses, it'd always be on. How annoying!

Re: Why Google Glass Broke

#38

Post by jonifico »

The project was interesting, but the technology nowadays is just not quite there yet. I've heard people talk about HoloLens, which might have been a point to consider as Google was basically the only people in this game, although the thing was falling anyway.

Re: Why Google Glass Broke

#39

Post by kefka »

kefka wrote: post #13

I work in a capacity that reviews, tests, and develops proofs of concepts for new tech. We purchased 3 glasses when they came on the market. Our review: 1. pathetic battery life. You're going to have at most 6 hours of life. And that's with the GG radios off (and functionality at a nil). 2. You can't turn it off. it goes into a screen-off non-standby that still chews through battery. So when you think that youre cons…

And one last story regarding the Glass.

Google engineers came to us for a public demonstration. Now, our network has a secure component (WPA2-enterprise) and a non-secure component. However to use either, you need to register the MAC address with our system. Simple. No.

For a company that made Android, and focuses oh so much on security, they dont support WPA2-enterprise. Just doesn't work. So, we were relegated to the unencrypted network. Except, we needed the MAC addresses.

So, how do you get a MAC address on a Glass? You go in to settings and.... Just kidding! You don't get to see what the MAC address is on a Glass. You have to associate it to a AP and then look in the configs to see what MAC it has.

So... Google Engineers gave us a list of their GG mac addresses. Except, they got it wrong. But of course, they gave us this list 30 minutes before the demo.

Eventually, our network didn't work with GG. They ended up buying Aircards from some cell vendor.

That's what I call "Google Quality". No support. Worse than Alpha, except you paid retail 'production quality' for it. Google

Project Tango is also another turd, in the similar light of the GG. Except the 3d driver crashes regularly (every 3-10 minutes of use).

Re: Why Google Glass Broke

#40

Post by skrebbel »

kefka wrote: post #13

I work in a capacity that reviews, tests, and develops proofs of concepts for new tech. We purchased 3 glasses when they came on the market. Our review: 1. pathetic battery life. You're going to have at most 6 hours of life. And that's with the GG radios off (and functionality at a nil). 2. You can't turn it off. it goes into a screen-off non-standby that still chews through battery. So when you think that youre cons…

> 8. $1500 . For "Google Quality".

I'm truly wondering whether you mean that Google usually makes high quality, or that they usually screw stuff up. I'm assuming the latter, because it's what I agree with (anyone ever used Maps or, say, Android <5?) but maybe I'm just weird that way.

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