4 ms·

Are these clothes? What is the product?

tpmx 6y ago
> What is the product? It's a cliché by now, but still: It's you. This is peak Google. (It's sensors/triggers sewn into clothing, connected to your Google identity.)
- vntok 6y ago
  More like peak HN.
  - tpmx 6y ago
    How so?
    - throwaway3699 6y ago
      Because it's silly to assume Google's using this for ad tracking and surveillance. The number of people in the world using this is practically zero. I doubt 99% of Google's workforce has ever tried or heard of it. HN has a tendency to jump to ridiculous conclusions. This is probably a project for some engineers to get promoted and go and work on more interesting stuff.
      - tpmx 6y ago
        > Because it's silly to assume Google's using this for ad tracking and surveillance. The number of people in the world using this is practically zero. I doubt 99% of Google's workforce has ever tried or heard of it. HN has a tendency to jump to ridiculous conclusions. Concepts and prototypes are typically created based on the company's overall vision. Of course very few people will interact with this particular iteration. Really, do you think anyone here was concerned about how many Google employees were "subjected" to this internally?
        throwaway3699 6y ago
        To play devils advocate, if this shipped to millions of people, what benefit does Google have in terms of advertising that wasn't already available in Android? That people are wearing clothes? From an opportunity cost standpoint it just does not make sense. > Really, do you think anyone here was concerned about how many Google employees were "subjected" to this internally? Strawman. I'm trying to point out how this is not part of some grand vision, but just a hardware research project from a lab designed to build out novel concepts for their hardware teams. You can't build a good project without a few failures first, so why not release what they make along the way?
        tpmx 6y ago
        The goal is obvious: to have Google track everything for a consumer in the name of convenience. You haven't replied to my counterpoint on why focusing on how many googlers used this prototype is irrelevant.
        throwaway3699 6y ago
        Okay, but you've still not answered, why spend time building new hardware when they could just update their operating system and get 99% of the data you're talking about, for much much less money? Take away the clothing part, and this is literally just a fancy button to control music.
        tpmx 6y ago
        > Okay, but you've still not answered, why spend time building new hardware when they could just update their operating system and get 99% of the data you're talking about, for much much less money? Take away the clothing part, and this is literally just a fancy button to control music. Because the goal is to extend the reach into every nook and cranny of our lives. Collect more data to serve more ads, better. Edit: Think of this as step 10 or so, after all of their previous device categories. I'm sure we'll be up to at least 100 device categories within the next decade.
      - imwillofficial 6y ago
        And how does that change the fact that this is a perfect example of the hubris that google displays as they flaunt their power to invade everyone’s lives and make money off of them?
        dontblink 6y ago
        Just an FYI, you seem to have a strong bias and it's coming through. Sometimes a duck is just a duck.
        imwillofficial 6y ago
        Has Google earned charitable initial judgements with regards to consumer privacy?
  - gerash 6y ago
    I'd say typical HN

tpmx 6y ago

> What is the product? It's a cliché by now, but still: It's you. This is peak Google. (It's sensors/triggers sewn into clothing, connected to your Google identity.)

vntok 6y ago
More like peak HN.
- tpmx 6y ago
  How so?
  - throwaway3699 6y ago
    Because it's silly to assume Google's using this for ad tracking and surveillance. The number of people in the world using this is practically zero. I doubt 99% of Google's workforce has ever tried or heard of it. HN has a tendency to jump to ridiculous conclusions. This is probably a project for some engineers to get promoted and go and work on more interesting stuff.
    - tpmx 6y ago
      > Because it's silly to assume Google's using this for ad tracking and surveillance. The number of people in the world using this is practically zero. I doubt 99% of Google's workforce has ever tried or heard of it. HN has a tendency to jump to ridiculous conclusions. Concepts and prototypes are typically created based on the company's overall vision. Of course very few people will interact with this particular iteration. Really, do you think anyone here was concerned about how many Google employees were "subjected" to this internally?
      - throwaway3699 6y ago
        To play devils advocate, if this shipped to millions of people, what benefit does Google have in terms of advertising that wasn't already available in Android? That people are wearing clothes? From an opportunity cost standpoint it just does not make sense. > Really, do you think anyone here was concerned about how many Google employees were "subjected" to this internally? Strawman. I'm trying to point out how this is not part of some grand vision, but just a hardware research project from a lab designed to build out novel concepts for their hardware teams. You can't build a good project without a few failures first, so why not release what they make along the way?
        tpmx 6y ago
        The goal is obvious: to have Google track everything for a consumer in the name of convenience. You haven't replied to my counterpoint on why focusing on how many googlers used this prototype is irrelevant.
        throwaway3699 6y ago
        Okay, but you've still not answered, why spend time building new hardware when they could just update their operating system and get 99% of the data you're talking about, for much much less money? Take away the clothing part, and this is literally just a fancy button to control music.
        tpmx 6y ago
        > Okay, but you've still not answered, why spend time building new hardware when they could just update their operating system and get 99% of the data you're talking about, for much much less money? Take away the clothing part, and this is literally just a fancy button to control music. Because the goal is to extend the reach into every nook and cranny of our lives. Collect more data to serve more ads, better. Edit: Think of this as step 10 or so, after all of their previous device categories. I'm sure we'll be up to at least 100 device categories within the next decade.
    - imwillofficial 6y ago
      And how does that change the fact that this is a perfect example of the hubris that google displays as they flaunt their power to invade everyone’s lives and make money off of them?
      - dontblink 6y ago
        Just an FYI, you seem to have a strong bias and it's coming through. Sometimes a duck is just a duck.
        imwillofficial 6y ago
        Has Google earned charitable initial judgements with regards to consumer privacy?
- gerash 6y ago
  I'd say typical HN