Microsoft is developing a Google Glass competitor • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft is developing a Google Glass competitor

#41

Post by Evbn » Thu, Nov 22, 2012, 4:24 PM UTC

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #14

pmelendez wrote: post #10

Am I the only one who thinks Google Glass is a bad idea? We already trusted our virtual life to google (emails, what we do, etc). Are we sure that we are ready to trust our real(physical) life too? Don't get me wrong... It seems like a cool project but I wouldn't use it, maybe I am getting too old :/

It doesn't bother me much for a simple reason: Sutherland's wheel of reincarnation applies to cloud computing. Right now there isn't enough processing power or storage on a portable device to store everything you would want out of a thing like this, but give it time. And then it's hardware, it doesn't have to be ad supported -- the device can know all about you, but it's your device. So that's one possible future. An…

Google's software is almost completely reliant on the Internet to function (except for occasional offline caching), and the exceptions are nearly all legacy apps.

Re: Microsoft is developing a Google Glass competitor

#42

Post by Evbn » Thu, Nov 22, 2012, 4:26 PM UTC

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #34

meaty wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft Research: innovating to keep ideas away from other technology companies through patent hoarding. I'm not convinced anyone should be developing this product.

This is incredibly unfair. None of us (I work for MSRA) are doing research just to collect patents, we would totally like to change the world, like any researcher (e.g. in Google or Microsoft).

Not a rebuttal. A relevant rebuttal would be to cite management and legal behavior with regard to the patents your work generates.

Re: Microsoft is developing a Google Glass competitor

#43

Post by Evbn » Thu, Nov 22, 2012, 4:26 PM UTC

Achshar wrote: post #12

czr80 wrote: post #11

Can a product have a competitor if it hasn't actually launched yet?

Not only that, but the market has not been established either. The product has not real solid use case except getting Facebook/G+ notifications on the go.

And head mounted camera, and hands free walking/biking directions and augmented reality.

Re: Microsoft is developing a Google Glass competitor

#44

Post by Evbn » Thu, Nov 22, 2012, 4:27 PM UTC

addies wrote: post #24

Maybe I'm way off, but I think this is kind of what Google intended in some sort of way with their Google X lab. They're exploring innovative and new ideas but I think it's with the intent of spurring on this competitive spirt with the other tech giants. One company exploring these ideas is innovative but may not make much progress; having a bunch of companies compete to come up with the best version of these ideas m…

Google would prefer if MS Monocle ran Android. They aren't a charity.

Re: Microsoft is developing a Google Glass competitor

#45

Post by micampe » Thu, Nov 22, 2012, 4:35 PM UTC

we don't even know what Glass is going to be, how can it have competitors? so far all we know is that it's a network connected display inside a pair of glasses. but that's been available for purchase for a couple of years now (http://www.reconinstruments.com/products/snow-heads-up-displ...).

people have been working and experimenting on wearable computing and HUDs for decades (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/07/one-on-one-steve-ma...), I'm really curious to see what Google can come up with, being probably the first major company trying to make a general consumer product, and Glass may well end up being an awesome revolutionary product but so far I fear that it's being hyped so much that it may end up being the next Segway.

Re: Microsoft is developing a Google Glass competitor

#46

Post by seanmcdirmid » Thu, Nov 22, 2012, 5:08 PM UTC

Evbn wrote: post #42

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is incredibly unfair. None of us (I work for MSRA) are doing research just to collect patents, we would totally like to change the world, like any researcher (e.g. in Google or Microsoft).

Not a rebuttal. A relevant rebuttal would be to cite management and legal behavior with regard to the patents your work generates.

But you must know that we can't talk about that whether or not I have a decent rebuttal. But perhaps I could say that our incentives are clearly weighted toward innovation for the sake of new and better products.

Re: Microsoft is developing a Google Glass competitor

#47

Post by Achshar » Thu, Nov 22, 2012, 8:01 PM UTC

Evbn wrote: post #43

Achshar wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that, but the market has not been established either. The product has not real solid use case except getting Facebook/G+ notifications on the go.

And head mounted camera, and hands free walking/biking directions and augmented reality.

Head mounted camera is only of use to a niche of users. Walking/biking directions can still be seen on a mounted mobile on bike and mobile in hand/voice directions on headphones. Augmented reality is not a specific use. There are not many things that augmented reality can be used on in real world by casual user right now. And there won't be any until someone (like google) creates it.

Re: Microsoft is developing a Google Glass competitor

#48

Post by jinushaun » Fri, Nov 23, 2012, 2:15 PM UTC

meaty wrote: post #18

Microsoft's current strategy with everything seems to be: "me too! me too!!!"

No. Microsoft has a lot of undisclosed research projects. They're just really bad at marketing at them. Media is going gaga for Google's driverless cars and wearable computing.