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I didn't realise how bad it looks. The premise looks awesome. The demo video... awesome. The way the product looks on someone's face... this isn't the finished
by bobsy 14y ago
I didn't realise how bad it looks. The premise looks awesome. The demo video... awesome. The way the product looks on someone's face... this isn't the finished product right?
I think Google should look at designer glasses and outsource the design to someone who knows what they are doing.
- TeeWEE 14y agoThe technology is not limited to one design. Just like mobile phones look different.
- moheeb 14y agoThis is one of the funniest things I've ever read here! Nicely done. (can't upvote)
- supercoder 14y agoWhere are the images of people wearing it ? Can't seem to see any.. which is sort of telling in itself really. Edit: ah nevermind, on the how do i get page. still, not a very highlighted part of the product.
- mtgx 14y agoAny suggestions to how you would prefer them look? I'm not sure the concept of Glass would work well with sunglasses for example. At that point you'd need it to be a HUD for one of the lenses, and I think that's really distracting.
- guptaneil 14y agoIt would probably look nicer with actual lenses, even if the lenses are just clear glass for people who don't need corrective lenses. I imagine it'd also help if the design was symmetrical, rather than having a bulge on one side that reminds everybody else they're constantly being recorded. Of course, I also imagine the Glass design team tested those options, and decided to go with the current iteration for a reason.
- klausa 14y agoJust my three cents - but I'd hate 'zero' lenses on Glass. My eyesight is just fine, and I find glasses to be huge hassle and generally annoying, having pieces of glass that just sit there without a reason would be very annoying.
- calinet6 14y agoSurely they could provide it as an option. Most of the glass photos I've seen have had no actual glass (ha), while some of them had sunglass lenses or actual lenses. I'm sure there will be options to suit your tastes.
- bmuon 14y agoI'm farsighted and I've been using glasses since I was ten. You get used to it. To the extend that they completely disappear from your mind if they're good glasses. Titanium frames are something incredibly awesome.
- cglace 14y agobut you would have a large hunk of glass sitting in front of your face anyway.
- leishulang 14y agoor LED displays
- lorenzfx 14y agoI wouldn't want 'zero' lenses either, they obstruct your vision by getting dirty and having light reflexes etc and also are an additional risk to your eyes in case of accidents.
- ShawnBird 14y agoSome symmetry would help. They could probably have a smaller profile if they had the components on the right arm and batteries on the left. Then encase each of the arms in some plastic for protection and fluid form. I think they would look better with some actual lenses but I wear glasses and I don't know how someone without glasses would feel about that.
- davidiach 14y agoI bet that in one year everybody will love the way they look.
- risratorn 14y agoOn their Google+ they have some additional photo's of people wearing the device and thb ... it could really be a lot worse. https://plus.google.com/111626127367496192147/posts/N95x6MCS7hD https://plus.google.com/111626127367496192147/posts/N95x6MCS...
- curiousdannii 14y agoHmm, they look almost photoshopped. And if the "screen" was at the height of your eyebrows it would be completely unusable!
- stcredzero 14y agoThe top of the screen is around eyebrow level. The glass is below.
- jfoster 14y agoThe idea is that it's not always obstructing your view. You have to glance up to see it.
- fusiongyro 14y agoThe whole point of models is that they look good no matter what ridiculous crap you put on them.
- sp332 14y agoHere are some images from "Fashion Week", when they had it looking as good as possible. https://www.google.com/search?q=google+glass+fashion+week https://www.google.com/search?q=google+glass+fashion+week
- acqq 14y agohttp://www.bigdamngeeks.com/geek-showdown-the-borg-vs-daleks/ http://www.bigdamngeeks.com/geek-showdown-the-borg-vs-daleks...
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- Andrenid 14y agoI read somewhere (but can't find it now) that they're teaming up with sunglass and glasses companies to integrate it into their products, and that this is just the "base" model direct from Google, aimed more at geeks/early adopters.
- roc 14y agoAnd once it's integrated into your normal glasses tastefully, they just have that pesky social problem of having a voice-control-only gadget in public.
- ttrt 14y ago"Touch-computing is a fad, according to Newell. The future is in things like wrist-bands with highly-accurate motion controls." http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/12/10/why-valves-steam-box-pc-console-will-be-a-game-changer/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/12/10/why-valves-s...
- lhnz 14y agohttp://econogirl.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/braces.jpg http://econogirl.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/braces.jpg The metal line is reminiscent of a head brace, while the projector makes you look like cyborg escaped from a Halloween party. They will need a stunning amount of marketing and advertising for this to become socially acceptable. I guess it could be a little bit worse, I can see they were trying to go for sleek... I think the greater problem was that the actual uses they showed were so uninspiring. They should get more creative. The utilities arise from where (a) where we have difficulty giving meaning to something in our visual horizon, or (b) we wish to use a handicap (this normally requires hands and is better if hidden.) Imagine going to a band's gig and you don't need to worry about only knowing the verses to some of the songs because you can see the lyrics? Hopefully the microphone could tell you if you're singing off-key... Imagine busking with the lyrics, chords and notes for the song appearing in front of you as you play. No need to memorise everything. Imagine walking up to an acquaintance and seeing their name next to their face; or walking into a pub and a bubble appearing when you see somebody telling you that they are the family member or friend of a close friend. Or speaking to somebody and the software recognising their emotional cues for you. Pupils dilating, nostrils flaring, a fake smile, self-comforting, etc. Maybe you say something and a bar alerts you immediately to signs you have said the wrong thing; or a change in the tone of their voice signifying seriousness or interest. It's hard to care about the time or temperature. And car's already have GPS...
- OGinparadise 14y ago"They will need a stunning amount of marketing and advertising for this to become socially acceptable." Come on, people with these things http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page2/Bose-bluetooth-headset-series-2-right-ear-curved-design.jpg http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detai... on their ear look cool, busy and important ;)
- Buzaga 14y agoSorry but honestly these examples are repulsive to me
- checker 14y ago
- wuest 14y agoI actually rather like the design. I'd love to see it be able to be integrated with proper lenses (perhaps via a slick interchangeable lens system?) When I first heard of Glass, I was worried people who jumped on board would look like Geordi. This feels, to me, like a good starting point. It's a little sci-fi, but that's okay. That aspect can be toned down by adding glass in front of the projector, making the glasses look more like, well, glasses.
- johnnygleeson 14y agoThe initial reaction to portable headphones was probably similar. "It celebrated its debut in July 1979 for about $200. Truthfully, many were skeptical if this portable audio thing would take off. " https://blog.sony.com/2010/08/flashback-friday-tps-l2-walkman-1979/ https://blog.sony.com/2010/08/flashback-friday-tps-l2-walkma... http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/history-of-headphones/ http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/history-of-headphones/
- paganel 14y ago> The initial reaction to portable headphones was probably similar. To be honest headphones are still seen as an utilitarian thing only.
- bengillies 14y ago> To be honest I still see headphones as an utilitarian thing only. FTFY. There are a _lot_ of people who would disagree with you (which is why Beats/Skullcandy/etc headphones are so popular).
- paganel 14y agoMy bad, English is not my primary language and for whatever reason I was thinking of phones' bluetooth headsets. You're right :) Also, I probably need more coffee.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- vellum 14y agoVersion 1.0 is always going to look bulky and weird. After a few iterations, they should look a lot cooler.
- calinet6 14y agoAfter people start wearing them around everywhere they'll become a lot cooler. Fashion now != Fashion later.
- DrDreams 14y agoThis isn't v1.0. Steve Mann has been researching these things for over 20 years now (Sorry google). This is approximately version 5.0. Everything that can be thought of or done in this space has been researched and demo'd with funding by Steve Mann (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann) and his fellows for decades. Google Glass is not a serious activity, it's mainly a skunk works/rich man's toy/fun project for the well-heeled.
- kamjam 14y agoI'm waiting till they come out with a monocle version so I can wear it with my top hat :) http://www.medquarterly.co.uk/mq88V1/images/stories/futurama_bender_monocle.jpg http://www.medquarterly.co.uk/mq88V1/images/stories/futurama... It actually doesn't look as bad with the sunglasses/shades clip in. No more so than the bluetooth Oakley sunglasses at least.
- jimzvz 14y agoI wonder how difficult it would be to lose the metal band and have it secured by only the ear. It would look much better in my opinion.
- plaguuuuuu 14y agoMy first thought was "I would totally pierce a couple of holes in my head and put in some geometric mounting studs for one of these" I don't even have any piercings but it would be pretty awesome.
- jimzvz 14y agoHaha, not exactly what I had in mind.
- jedberg 14y agoIt's not as bad as you think. I saw someone walking around with it the other day and at first I thought they just had designer glasses on. Someone had to point out that they were wearing Google Glass for me to even notice.
- mikegioia 14y agoWas it in NYC?
- andrethegiant 14y agoI saw a girl in a bar in SF wearing them. She was a Google Glass model, and it was her job to wear them in public to raise interest.
- philsnow 14y agoOr she was just an employee who was lent a pair, and this is an easy explanation to give to random people in a bar.
- jedberg 14y agoNo, Los Gatos at the Netflix Open Source meetup. I'm pretty sure he was a Googler.
- uptown 14y agoI still don't get why everybody is so upset over the aesthetics of these things? Nobody is going to force you to walk around with these on at all times. Like anything else, you'll choose when to put them on and use them. The alternative today is to walk around with your arms up holding your phone in front of you. Is that any better? The long-long term version of this looks like contact-lenses. We're just not there yet - so if you want to play with version one, this is how it'll look when you choose to wear 'em.
- 6ren 14y agoIf the first iPhone was embarrassing to use, would it have hindered or enhanced adoption? Jonathan Ive will design a nice version, Apple will own the market, and google will aghast "but... we were first...". Google glasses look cool as an object - it's just that they look bad when worn. For a start, make them symmetrical (even if the "other" projector is fake).
- csharpminor 14y agoI completely agree. I think this is the reason why bluetooth headsets haven't really had overwhelming appeal (except with certain marked segments, such as businessmen). If a product isn't sexy, people won't use it – and that's especially true with wearable technology. For me, it's not the asymmetry of the projector but the massive back-end. You can tell even Google knows this is unattractive because their model is wearing a hoodie to cover it up. While I respect the attempt to make a standalone device, I think Google would be better off introducing this as a lower-cost peripheral for those who already have android smartphones. I think this would get them market penetration and slim down the design (but that's just speculation). Also, it's probably safe to say that early adopters would already have a smartphone, and if they don't it could be a game changer to get people on Android.
- 6ren 14y agoWas that just in the early prototype? The bulk at the back of present design looks OK to me: http://www.google.com/glass/start/what-it-does/ http://www.google.com/glass/start/what-it-does/ (3rd image from the bottom). Just going by appearance, there are ordinary sunglasses with a similar bulk. And the compute unit will only get smaller year by year. I'm actually kinda amazed they've managed to make it that small - OTOH, I see the key point of the project is a way to make hardware smaller yet still be usable (because we don't need a large screen).
- rogerchucker 14y agoMost devs (including myself) are butt ugly - these glasses won't make you look worse.
- rogerchucker 14y agoOh look - a downvote for a shallow response to a shallow comment.
- gfodor 14y agoIt doesn't take much for someone to appreciate the humor in the HN crowd trying to predict what is or isn't going to become fashionable.
- hajzjzn 14y agoSpeak for yourselve. I'm as beatiful as a butterfly... ... in the larvae stage.
- stdgy 14y agocough http://ries.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8345194a469e20120a666f07d970c-320wi http://ries.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8345194a469e20120a666f07d970... As much as I'd prefer things to look as nice as possible, the truth is that the market often doesn't care. I suspect people would allow Glass to slide, largely due to its futurist connotations, the same way they let many electric cars slide.
- gmu3 14y agoThe Prius doesn't look the way it does, because people let it slide. They look that way, because they want to make a statement and be seen.
- cpeterso 14y agoPlenty of people have no qualms about wearing their Jawbone Bluetooth headsets in public.
- munificent 14y agoWe all looked pretty stupid with giant brick phones jammed in our ears back in the day too but no one seemed to mind. I think the rule is "whatever rich people do is cool by definition". Get a couple of trend-setters to sport these and your perception of how it looks will change.
- PeterisP 14y agoYou can't do the design until you know exactly how large each needed component will be and what hardware UI will work for a wearable computer that hasn't been people-tested for long yet. They're not mass-producing them yet - the visuals can be defined much later than the actual tech.
- samstave 14y agoThis could eventually be in a PTZ earring, like the size of a pearl earring.