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Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

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Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#151

I wonder how many Google Glasses wearers will become Life Loggers? I meet them at conferences occasionally. Some people actively avoid them. There's something about standing face to face with someone taking a photo of you every X seconds that people find really unnerving. I certainly do. Real time video is worse and it's very different to CCTV. How long before Google collects and mines all this video like they did wi…

All the technology you're worried about exists and is widely used. Walk around the streets of New York City. Chances are, you're being photographed by people sharing photos online. My commute involves riding across the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm sure I ended up in 20 separate photographs today, many of which are now on Facebook. Likely with a comment about how I'm an asshole for riding my bicycle in the bicycle lane :) The…

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Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Google is smart, they would keep this for themselves, and sell the hardware themselves for a nice Apple-like profit. From the way it looks, I'm sure people will be more than happy to pay a bit extra - especially if it takes a few years for others to catch-up, like it happened versus the iPhone. Also, I assume this is going to work with a data plan as well? Well at least this time I really hope Google will not give…

Google and Apple have fundamentally different business models. One sells hardware and one sells advertising. I would imagine Google's goal will be to put these glasses on as many people as they can, as cheaply as they can and then they have a direct advertising connection to a lot of eyeballs.

.. making the term "selling eyeballs" just a _little_ bit more accurate.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#153
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Next to no choice? You're saying people will just all want this by default? I think most people will want to try this, myself included. But personally I draw the line here and I think many others will. I would never want to own a pair. This will be a niche product for those people who already use Bluetooth headsets, who are a minority.

"No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame." ;) http://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-ip...

An iPod, even when brand new, solved a problem people knew they had: it was a portable music player. That market dates back through the Sony Walkman to the transistor radio.

Unless something significant develops between now and release, I expect the average person's reaction will be to wonder why in the world they would need one. What problem would it solve for them?

That's not to say that that question can't be answered, but I do think it's fair to say that it hasn't been answered, at least not yet.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#154
post #128
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a great point. In the Project Glass video all of the products are Google's. Imagine if, instead of a product, the Google glasses were an open platform for AR like Android is for smartphones. If this were so, Google could create a new app store for AR applications, a new distribution platform for web searches, AR open web apps, and (maybe) a first-person version of YouTube (reality TV 3.0). This platform would…

Does webpage searching really have much relevance to AR? A lot of useful services for this application are on different platforms like twitter, facebook, chat, video, maps. I don't think this AR will/should be text-heavy.

Who said anything about searching text?

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#155
post #128
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a great point. In the Project Glass video all of the products are Google's. Imagine if, instead of a product, the Google glasses were an open platform for AR like Android is for smartphones. If this were so, Google could create a new app store for AR applications, a new distribution platform for web searches, AR open web apps, and (maybe) a first-person version of YouTube (reality TV 3.0). This platform would…

Does webpage searching really have much relevance to AR? A lot of useful services for this application are on different platforms like twitter, facebook, chat, video, maps. I don't think this AR will/should be text-heavy.

The bulk of information that resides in social networks is "conversational". Publicly accessible human knowledge about places (such as historic facts, meetups, etc) still resides, for the most part, in the open Web.

Connect to the open Web (with a powerful summarization technology) would be a killer on this platform. Otherwise we would we reinventing the wheel.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#156
post #6

Augmented reality glasses, self-driving cars... Google is becoming a really exciting and interesting company. It will be interesting to see how Apple will react to this given that they are the ones claiming to revolutionize consumer technology every couple of years.

My prediction for Apple is that they'll do glasses, but will be much less ambitious and will do it's job well. Specifically I think they'll drop the camera and AR stuff. Just have a heads up display for IMs and track names so you can read messages and find music while walking. Cheaper and easier to polish, and builds on what people already do.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"And that's a damn shame, because given Google's talent, it'll nevertheless be a engineering feat of epic proportion." You know, I have respect for the people Google employs - they are certainly a very talented bunch. But what has Google ever engineered, at least physically, that has set your expectations so high?

But what has Google ever engineered, at least physically, that has set your expectations so high? Driverless cars.

Driverless cars. Google Glasses.

The CEO's job is to allocate resources to initiatives that will make the company money. NOT to fool around with worthless projects like driver less cars and glasses that are just complete waste of money and resources.

Shouldn't they be spending time and money fixing Android and the Android market place?

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#158
post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, in the concept video he goes into a physical book store and selects a physical book and buys it. Surely, his Googgles would just scan the book tell him how much cheaper it was in the Google Store... Rather amused that when meeting a friend he spent time checking in to the location rather than talking to the dude. But these could be useful in situations where you don't have your hands free to hold a smartphone.…

Rather amused that when meeting a friend he spent time checking in to the location rather than talking to the dude. I'm rather creeped out by this project. In almost all the situations presented he could have asked a freaking human instead of his glasses : - bookstore : ask the bookseller that's what he's here for, he may even give you better recommendations - maps in the street : ask somone - where is your friend ?…

Every single one of those things is faster and easier if handled automatically.

Ask the bookseller where to find a book? I don't do that now unless I've looked for the book myself and failed to find it, because it makes me feel lazy, and because it's not always easy to find someone without going to the cashier.

Ask someone for directions? People suck at giving directions, and they're slow at giving those bad directions. There's a reason people buy GPS units, and it's not because they're anti-social. It's because they work so much better.

Call your friend just to ask where he is when you expect him to arrive any minute? That comes off as impatient. And it's an inconvenience for your friend who has to answer his phone just to tell you he's almost there.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#159
post #122
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't be serious. The evidence may support it, but the evidence is incredibly limited. Can you imagine the potential liability Google faces if they try to bring this to market without having done due diligence? This is a car , not an iPad.

No one said the car should ship tomorrow, but the reasoning: " Because you don't ship when it still kills people " is ridiculous. Cars have killed people for 90 years and they still ship. And not every death is due to human error. The fact is, the Google car has yet to even be hit by another car, let alone hitting something itself. It hasn't even remotely injured anything, let alone killed a human being.

The Google car has been hit by another car and it's not ridiculous at all to not ship something that can very easily kill someone (and in this case, almost assuredly innocent bystanders) before you've had time to work out the bugs. I'm glad car companies don't release their drive by wire systems out for public betas too.

http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/goog...

It's a silly debate anyways considering all the extra hardware you'd need.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#160
When I was young my grandfather got me a pair of augmented reality glasses. They had thick green rims and he also got a pair for my sister, Janine. Her pair had red rims.

We put the glasses on right away and boy did they augment! After that we really only took them off to sleep.

About three weeks later our family took a trip to New York City. We were looking at all the tall buildings and they were really tall and beautiful.

Then we took the glasses off and realized we were in Hoboken!

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