7 ms·

Google Glass and the Future of Technology

72 points by dean 14y ago

mtgx 14y ago
If Pogue is this excited about this "Google technology", then it must be really good. But there's something worrying about Google putting it into people's hands possibly a full 2 years before it actually comes to market. While I'm sure the feedback was important, there's still 2 years in which a competitor can come out and take the market before they do, although I'm sure what they're doing with Google Glass is very hard tech and can't be easily replicated, but still. Someone like Apple could probably do it if they really wanted to take on Google in this market.
- ComputerGuru 14y ago
  Patent protection?
  - numbchuckskills 14y ago
    Is there anything in the public domain from Google on this?
- itg 14y ago
  Why is it worrying? Competition is a good thing, I don't want one company to "own" the space. If I recall, Oakley is also doing something similar and I wouldn't be surprised if Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon come out with wearable computing devices.
- gfunk911 14y ago
  This tech has existed in scifi for decades. It's all going to be in the execution.
- hahainternet 14y ago
  I found it a very interesting article, and as a glasses wearer this excites me a lot as I would not have the discomfort of wearing something 'unnatural'. I think the early release and slow building up is how Google does new products. Most of the technology in their existing products we've seen slowly develop over time and this is one of their first entrances to a new market.
- pkulak 14y ago
  I've wondered this too. I'm sure Apple _is_ working on something like this (or a dozen something's like this), but they aren't going around blabbing about it to everyone who will listen. Seems like all this does is publicize a failure if they never get it to work, or take all the luster off the release of an awesome new product.
  - vibrunazo 14y ago
    You should read up on The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. Google's strategy to release everything in pre-alpha stage, then slowly improve it from user feedback -- might not be the optimal marketing strategy that Apple perfected. But it's the optimal strategy to build an actual great product. http://www.amazon.com/The-Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-ebook/dp/B004J4XGN6/ref=tmm_kin_title_0 http://www.amazon.com/The-Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-ebook/d...
    - richcollins 14y ago
      So you're implying that Apple is all marketing, no product?
- potatolicious 14y ago
  > "there's still 2 years in which a competitor can come out and take the market before they do" Like someone else has brought up already, the existing applications we've seen of Glass are all fairly obvious from years of sci-fi. The real magic sauce is execution. More than that, the number of people who can pull off Glass in this world, other than Google, is close to zero. Nobody has the combination of hardware expertise, UX expertise (questionable in this respect, perhaps), and sheer big-data chops. > "Someone like Apple could probably do it if they really wanted to take on Google in this market." I don't think so. In fact I think Google is already outrunning Apple in many ways. Look at Google Now that ships with the latest Android, predictive tasking where your phone realizes what you want without you having to go get it. While Apple is running around with the voice-recognition toy known as Siri. Heck, I'm a loyal iOS user and I never use Siri. It's a gimmick to demo to your friends, it's not smart or wide enough for any real practical use. See also the looming, gigantic failure of iOS6 maps - a horrifically broken data set and search tech wrapped in excellent UX. Or, if you're an iOS dev, take a look at iCloud, whose API is still horrifically broken a year after launch and notoriously difficult to work with. I think Apple has more than amply proven that, when it comes to big data, machine learning, and AI, they have nothing on Google. Fun anecdote: I was standing in Manhattan today and typed in "24 Orchard" (expecting to call up the address at 24 Orchard St) on iOS6 Maps. It took me to another state. This is asinine behavior I've never experienced with Google on any platform. IMO the only company that stands a real chance at tackling Glass is Facebook. They're the only ones with the proven big data expertise, but they are also dramatically lacking in building devices and associated software.
  - enraged_camel 14y ago
    >>Fun anecdote: I was standing in Manhattan today and typed in "24 Orchard" (expecting to call up the address at 24 Orchard St) on iOS6 Maps. It took me to another state. This is asinine behavior I've never experienced with Google on any platform. This happens to me very regularly on Google Maps. I'll enter an address like "45 Tree Lane" and at worst it will take me to another state, and at best it will ask "did you mean 45 Tree Lane in California, or 45 Tree Lane in New York". I am located in California, you silly thing. Why would I need 45 Tree Lane, New York?
- confluence 14y ago
  Google wins if you use the internet. They don't really give a shit whether they make the glasses or someone else does. So long as you allow open and unrestricted access to the internet Google makes money. Google wants to make internet access ubiquitous and in doing so make everything else a commodity.
  - branchan 14y ago
    I totally agree. Same goes for Google Fiber. People were saying that it will take too long for them to become profitable but it is already a win for Google if they can create enough pressure to force the telecom companies to invest more money into highest bandwidth/speed connections.
eslachance 14y ago
I think Glass is an intermediate step. The biggest issue that exists right now is the fact that we would love to have huge screen but don't want to lug them around; want full keyboards but they don't generally fit in our pockets... My thought on this is that we'll eventually turn to the next best (but scary) way to interact with computers: implants. I wrote about it in a blog I have just for "brain dumping" of stories I want to eventually write, but perhaps it's relevant here: http://writersdrano.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/the-first-step-bionic-enhanced-reality/ http://writersdrano.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/the-first-step-...
- crisnoble 14y ago
  You need to write a book or something, your A Basic Timeline post (http://writersdrano.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/a-basic-timeline/ http://writersdrano.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/a-basic-timelin...) gets crazy, like if Ready Player One had 30 sequels. I was glued to it.
  - creamyhorror 14y ago
    That post reads like a partial fleshing-out of Asimov's The Last Question, and it didn't end like Legends of Dune or The Matrix did although playing with similar ideas. Humanity dividing into 4 colonies also reminds me of the EVE Online backstory, in which humans stumble into a new galaxy and split into 4 warring factions.
  - eslachance 14y ago
    Thank you! I will definitely do that eventually, but right now there is just too much stuff happening in my everyday life to find the time for writing. I will do it though.
rbellio 14y ago
Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. That's the first thing that comes to mind when I see those glasses. I'm all for tech gadgets, but people need to disconnect now and then.
- nightski 14y ago
  So take them off?
  - rbellio 14y ago
    I'll bet there'll be people that can't. They'll get so used to seeing stuff pop up on their screen as they walk down a street, as they're going about their everyday lives. There will be people that won't want to leave that augmented reality.
    - csallen 14y ago
      I don't see the point in disconnecting for the sake of disconnecting. What's wrong with becoming attached to technology that augments your quality of life? It's not like we pee in the woods all year and save the bathroom for special occasions.
      - rbellio 14y ago
        Well, I have to disagree with the analogy a little bit, but hopefully I can do so in a amicable way. Peeing into a toilet and all of the advancements that have been made downstream of the toilet came about for reasons of sanitation. When people used to toss their excrement into the streets out their window, it bred disease and caused other issues. What happens to a generation of people that no longer have Google at their fingers or in this case an immediate connection to the internet. I was imagining someone gardening, growing their own food. They are walking by their garden and Google Glass reminds them to water the garden, so they do. A couple of days later they're walking by and it flashes a reminder to go harvest some of the green beans they planted. Looking through Glass, it picks out which green beans are ready to eat. What happens when this technology is gone? Has the individual really been educated on what it meant to garden? Would they be able to garden without the device? Where is the mystery and risk that comes with life sans augment? Life doesn't just occur in the cases of success, it occurs in the moments of failure too. The fruit that wasn't ripe enough or was too ripe. The experience of a fried green tomato. Disconnecting allows for things that don't happen when you're constantly on interrupt. The ability to think; the ability to be creative; to have unique ideas.
maeon3 14y ago
The question remains to be seen if the hipsters will be found walking around with these bulky things on their heads. You can be sure i'll be there, interacting with my computer through a head mounted instrument in public, in my car, at the restaurant, in the club, in the bathroom, everywhere, much to the chagrin and dismay of onlookers. I'll also be using my smartphone to interface with it in case I need to configure something.
- hahainternet 14y ago
  I wear glasses already. Give me a pair with my prescription and I don't care about how I look.
  - danielweber 14y ago
    Me too. And Google Glass looks a lot slimmer than the big rimmed glasses the hipsters are wearing today.
- taligent 14y ago
  And I can sure you that many people will be there ready to insist (either legally or physically) that you refrain from recording them, their friends and their family without express permission. It is a legal requirement after all. Will be interesting to see at what point you decide it just isn't worth it.
  - maeon3 14y ago
    That one social convention will probably destroy google glass as a product, making It as popular as the borg bluetooth phone clip earpieces of yesteryear.
    - NegativeK 14y ago
      My biggest hope is that the projects take off. I've wanted POV liferecording cameras (just for the hell of it) for a while, but I don't want to be the one assaulted in a French fast-food joint because of them.
jcfrei 14y ago
I'm still kinda worried about the interface of Google Glass, resp. the actual handling of the device: if you'll be limited to voice inputs and to swiping on the ear piece in the final version I suspect that this device will be not be very usable in an every day situation. esp. when you're using it in public you just might look like somebody who is constantly scratching his head. I speculate that you would still require a touch screen to do most of your tasks, such as writing instant messages, checking when the trains go or just for browsing the web.
- huggah 14y ago
  I don't think Glass (or a similar product) will ever be used for intensive tasks, but I think you're underestimating what you can do with gps, wifi, gyroscopes, accelerometers, 2D touch surface and voice. Writing instant messages? I already find the voice transcription on Jellybean to be faster and easier than a touchpad. Checking when the trains go? Ideally, Glass tells you before you even need it (a la Google Now), but that can also be a voice query. Browsing the web? I don't think that's the intended use case, but touchpad + detecting head position / movement for navigation should make this pretty easy. I won't code on Glass, but I look forward to never fumbling to get my phone out of my pocket, turning it on, and launching the camera app. That and simple information retrieval queries "Glass, define 'dionysian'"; "Glass, when will Jenny's flight get in?"; "Glass, what's the surface area of the Sun?" will by themselves make glass worthwhile for me.
joeter 14y ago
Imagine if you could use these in casinos as an obvious disruptive high margin use case for the niche individual... While considering the comments from fashion week, the potential is greater for multiple industries vs the historical desktop/pocket utility to develop on top of, moreover, the advantage can support beyond just hackers who can leverage opensource/SDK/APIs. I think the utility alluded to has game changing potential if big g plays the edge instead of the core competency. This isn't the only disruptive horse running, though...
feefie 14y ago
When I walk down the street I often see someone wearing some clothes that look fantastic. I hope an entrepreneur creates an Glass app that overlays a list of stores where I can buy each item along with the price. It would be even better if it could save a photo of the person and notify me if something they are wearing goes on sale somewhere. If everyone's 'favorites' pictures were stored in the cloud you could sell the data to vendors to let them know what people wanted. If I could set a trigger "let me know if x goes on sale for less than $y" you could sell that data to vendors too (sort of like they have bidding for empty hotel rooms).
- kami8845 14y ago
  I know there's some startup that already tries doing this but they also told me that automating something like this with machine learning is an almost impossible task.

72 points by dean 14y ago

mtgx 14y ago

If Pogue is this excited about this "Google technology", then it must be really good. But there's something worrying about Google putting it into people's hands possibly a full 2 years before it actually comes to market. While I'm sure the feedback was important, there's still 2 years in which a competitor can come out and take the market before they do, although I'm sure what they're doing with Google Glass is very hard tech and can't be easily replicated, but still. Someone like Apple could probably do it if they really wanted to take on Google in this market.

ComputerGuru 14y ago
Patent protection?
- numbchuckskills 14y ago
  Is there anything in the public domain from Google on this?
itg 14y ago
Why is it worrying? Competition is a good thing, I don't want one company to "own" the space. If I recall, Oakley is also doing something similar and I wouldn't be surprised if Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon come out with wearable computing devices.
gfunk911 14y ago
This tech has existed in scifi for decades. It's all going to be in the execution.
hahainternet 14y ago
I found it a very interesting article, and as a glasses wearer this excites me a lot as I would not have the discomfort of wearing something 'unnatural'. I think the early release and slow building up is how Google does new products. Most of the technology in their existing products we've seen slowly develop over time and this is one of their first entrances to a new market.
pkulak 14y ago
I've wondered this too. I'm sure Apple _is_ working on something like this (or a dozen something's like this), but they aren't going around blabbing about it to everyone who will listen. Seems like all this does is publicize a failure if they never get it to work, or take all the luster off the release of an awesome new product.
- vibrunazo 14y ago
  You should read up on The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. Google's strategy to release everything in pre-alpha stage, then slowly improve it from user feedback -- might not be the optimal marketing strategy that Apple perfected. But it's the optimal strategy to build an actual great product. http://www.amazon.com/The-Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-ebook/dp/B004J4XGN6/ref=tmm_kin_title_0 http://www.amazon.com/The-Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-ebook/d...
  - richcollins 14y ago
    So you're implying that Apple is all marketing, no product?
potatolicious 14y ago
> "there's still 2 years in which a competitor can come out and take the market before they do" Like someone else has brought up already, the existing applications we've seen of Glass are all fairly obvious from years of sci-fi. The real magic sauce is execution. More than that, the number of people who can pull off Glass in this world, other than Google, is close to zero. Nobody has the combination of hardware expertise, UX expertise (questionable in this respect, perhaps), and sheer big-data chops. > "Someone like Apple could probably do it if they really wanted to take on Google in this market." I don't think so. In fact I think Google is already outrunning Apple in many ways. Look at Google Now that ships with the latest Android, predictive tasking where your phone realizes what you want without you having to go get it. While Apple is running around with the voice-recognition toy known as Siri. Heck, I'm a loyal iOS user and I never use Siri. It's a gimmick to demo to your friends, it's not smart or wide enough for any real practical use. See also the looming, gigantic failure of iOS6 maps - a horrifically broken data set and search tech wrapped in excellent UX. Or, if you're an iOS dev, take a look at iCloud, whose API is still horrifically broken a year after launch and notoriously difficult to work with. I think Apple has more than amply proven that, when it comes to big data, machine learning, and AI, they have nothing on Google. Fun anecdote: I was standing in Manhattan today and typed in "24 Orchard" (expecting to call up the address at 24 Orchard St) on iOS6 Maps. It took me to another state. This is asinine behavior I've never experienced with Google on any platform. IMO the only company that stands a real chance at tackling Glass is Facebook. They're the only ones with the proven big data expertise, but they are also dramatically lacking in building devices and associated software.
- enraged_camel 14y ago
  >>Fun anecdote: I was standing in Manhattan today and typed in "24 Orchard" (expecting to call up the address at 24 Orchard St) on iOS6 Maps. It took me to another state. This is asinine behavior I've never experienced with Google on any platform. This happens to me very regularly on Google Maps. I'll enter an address like "45 Tree Lane" and at worst it will take me to another state, and at best it will ask "did you mean 45 Tree Lane in California, or 45 Tree Lane in New York". I am located in California, you silly thing. Why would I need 45 Tree Lane, New York?
confluence 14y ago
Google wins if you use the internet. They don't really give a shit whether they make the glasses or someone else does. So long as you allow open and unrestricted access to the internet Google makes money. Google wants to make internet access ubiquitous and in doing so make everything else a commodity.
- branchan 14y ago
  I totally agree. Same goes for Google Fiber. People were saying that it will take too long for them to become profitable but it is already a win for Google if they can create enough pressure to force the telecom companies to invest more money into highest bandwidth/speed connections.

eslachance 14y ago

I think Glass is an intermediate step. The biggest issue that exists right now is the fact that we would love to have huge screen but don't want to lug them around; want full keyboards but they don't generally fit in our pockets... My thought on this is that we'll eventually turn to the next best (but scary) way to interact with computers: implants. I wrote about it in a blog I have just for "brain dumping" of stories I want to eventually write, but perhaps it's relevant here: http://writersdrano.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/the-first-step-bionic-enhanced-reality/ http://writersdrano.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/the-first-step-...

crisnoble 14y ago
You need to write a book or something, your A Basic Timeline post (http://writersdrano.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/a-basic-timeline/ http://writersdrano.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/a-basic-timelin...) gets crazy, like if Ready Player One had 30 sequels. I was glued to it.
- creamyhorror 14y ago
  That post reads like a partial fleshing-out of Asimov's The Last Question, and it didn't end like Legends of Dune or The Matrix did although playing with similar ideas. Humanity dividing into 4 colonies also reminds me of the EVE Online backstory, in which humans stumble into a new galaxy and split into 4 warring factions.
- eslachance 14y ago
  Thank you! I will definitely do that eventually, but right now there is just too much stuff happening in my everyday life to find the time for writing. I will do it though.

rbellio 14y ago

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. That's the first thing that comes to mind when I see those glasses. I'm all for tech gadgets, but people need to disconnect now and then.

nightski 14y ago
So take them off?
- rbellio 14y ago
  I'll bet there'll be people that can't. They'll get so used to seeing stuff pop up on their screen as they walk down a street, as they're going about their everyday lives. There will be people that won't want to leave that augmented reality.
  - csallen 14y ago
    I don't see the point in disconnecting for the sake of disconnecting. What's wrong with becoming attached to technology that augments your quality of life? It's not like we pee in the woods all year and save the bathroom for special occasions.
    - rbellio 14y ago
      Well, I have to disagree with the analogy a little bit, but hopefully I can do so in a amicable way. Peeing into a toilet and all of the advancements that have been made downstream of the toilet came about for reasons of sanitation. When people used to toss their excrement into the streets out their window, it bred disease and caused other issues. What happens to a generation of people that no longer have Google at their fingers or in this case an immediate connection to the internet. I was imagining someone gardening, growing their own food. They are walking by their garden and Google Glass reminds them to water the garden, so they do. A couple of days later they're walking by and it flashes a reminder to go harvest some of the green beans they planted. Looking through Glass, it picks out which green beans are ready to eat. What happens when this technology is gone? Has the individual really been educated on what it meant to garden? Would they be able to garden without the device? Where is the mystery and risk that comes with life sans augment? Life doesn't just occur in the cases of success, it occurs in the moments of failure too. The fruit that wasn't ripe enough or was too ripe. The experience of a fried green tomato. Disconnecting allows for things that don't happen when you're constantly on interrupt. The ability to think; the ability to be creative; to have unique ideas.

maeon3 14y ago

The question remains to be seen if the hipsters will be found walking around with these bulky things on their heads. You can be sure i'll be there, interacting with my computer through a head mounted instrument in public, in my car, at the restaurant, in the club, in the bathroom, everywhere, much to the chagrin and dismay of onlookers. I'll also be using my smartphone to interface with it in case I need to configure something.

hahainternet 14y ago
I wear glasses already. Give me a pair with my prescription and I don't care about how I look.
- danielweber 14y ago
  Me too. And Google Glass looks a lot slimmer than the big rimmed glasses the hipsters are wearing today.
taligent 14y ago
And I can sure you that many people will be there ready to insist (either legally or physically) that you refrain from recording them, their friends and their family without express permission. It is a legal requirement after all. Will be interesting to see at what point you decide it just isn't worth it.
- maeon3 14y ago
  That one social convention will probably destroy google glass as a product, making It as popular as the borg bluetooth phone clip earpieces of yesteryear.
  - NegativeK 14y ago
    My biggest hope is that the projects take off. I've wanted POV liferecording cameras (just for the hell of it) for a while, but I don't want to be the one assaulted in a French fast-food joint because of them.

jcfrei 14y ago

I'm still kinda worried about the interface of Google Glass, resp. the actual handling of the device: if you'll be limited to voice inputs and to swiping on the ear piece in the final version I suspect that this device will be not be very usable in an every day situation. esp. when you're using it in public you just might look like somebody who is constantly scratching his head. I speculate that you would still require a touch screen to do most of your tasks, such as writing instant messages, checking when the trains go or just for browsing the web.

huggah 14y ago
I don't think Glass (or a similar product) will ever be used for intensive tasks, but I think you're underestimating what you can do with gps, wifi, gyroscopes, accelerometers, 2D touch surface and voice. Writing instant messages? I already find the voice transcription on Jellybean to be faster and easier than a touchpad. Checking when the trains go? Ideally, Glass tells you before you even need it (a la Google Now), but that can also be a voice query. Browsing the web? I don't think that's the intended use case, but touchpad + detecting head position / movement for navigation should make this pretty easy. I won't code on Glass, but I look forward to never fumbling to get my phone out of my pocket, turning it on, and launching the camera app. That and simple information retrieval queries "Glass, define 'dionysian'"; "Glass, when will Jenny's flight get in?"; "Glass, what's the surface area of the Sun?" will by themselves make glass worthwhile for me.

joeter 14y ago

Imagine if you could use these in casinos as an obvious disruptive high margin use case for the niche individual... While considering the comments from fashion week, the potential is greater for multiple industries vs the historical desktop/pocket utility to develop on top of, moreover, the advantage can support beyond just hackers who can leverage opensource/SDK/APIs. I think the utility alluded to has game changing potential if big g plays the edge instead of the core competency. This isn't the only disruptive horse running, though...

feefie 14y ago

When I walk down the street I often see someone wearing some clothes that look fantastic. I hope an entrepreneur creates an Glass app that overlays a list of stores where I can buy each item along with the price. It would be even better if it could save a photo of the person and notify me if something they are wearing goes on sale somewhere. If everyone's 'favorites' pictures were stored in the cloud you could sell the data to vendors to let them know what people wanted. If I could set a trigger "let me know if x goes on sale for less than $y" you could sell that data to vendors too (sort of like they have bidding for empty hotel rooms).

kami8845 14y ago
I know there's some startup that already tries doing this but they also told me that automating something like this with machine learning is an almost impossible task.