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In the very first batch of paragraphs this article gets a very fundamental thing about Glass and the backlash to it wrong. The article tries to claim that owne

In the very first batch of paragraphs this article gets a very fundamental thing about Glass and the backlash to it wrong. The article tries to claim that owners became known as glassholes because they wore computers on their face, and then tries to argue that less conspicuous implementations will be accepted more easily. Meanwhile in reality people got upset because Glass owners had a camera on their face the entire time. Edit: Turns out the entire article is in fact trying to claim that Glass is disliked because it's too obvious, and that it'll be just fine when it's near invisible.

tormeh 12y ago
Well, of course it will be fine when it's less obvious. Then people won't know there's a camera there...
bryanlarsen 12y ago
I suspect that body cameras similar to the ones people want cops to wear will become popular soon. They will be marketed as a safety device even though their primary use will be probably be for Instagram. Reactions will be interesting to watch given that the purported primary purpose will be for safety.
Osmium 12y ago
> Meanwhile in reality people got upset because Glass owners had a camera on their face the entire time. This is surely the biggest thing. It always seemed like a very tone-deaf move by Google to include a camera. It's not like Glass wouldn't have still been useful without it...
- ecspike 12y ago
  I don't it was tone-deaf at all. There were many action shots that I got while playing sports that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. The main problem was people thinking that the presence of a camera meant that you were using it all the time. Worry less about Glass and more about the guys doing upskirt videos with their shoes or specially rigged duffle bags.
  - icebraining 12y ago
    The difference is that there's no danger of shoe cameras for upskirt videos turning into a trend used by any significant share of the population. I don't mind a single smart glasses user, but I'm wary of glasses with cameras becoming common enough that you're effectively always potentially being filmed. And Glass, more than just a smart pair of glasses, is a symbol foreshadowing such a future.
- myko 12y ago
  Actually, the camera is just about the only useful part of Glass. My wife and I went house hunting last year and it was really convenient to quickly snap photos of what we liked/didn't like at each house. Sure I could've done that with a phone but or camera but Glass was much more convenient. Same thing at family gatherings and hanging out with kids - having such a convenient camera available allows for some amazing shots one would probably never get otherwise. IMO it's sad that there was such a social backlash against Glass. If one wants to be creepy there are much less conspicuous cameras to use.
bobcostas55 12y ago
I feel one must question why people are upset about glass-cameras but are perfectly fine with omnipresent CCTV or NSA data collection. The Surveillance Camera Man video series highlights the same issue. Do people genuinely care about privacy, but only think about it when the breach is obvious and in their face?
- grey-area 12y ago
  Glass intrudes in private spaces normally off-limits to CCTV, and it's internet connected so could easily stream the video. Worse than that, the corporation providing it has shown they're interested in collecting as much information as possible (e.g. trawling for wireless data with streetview cars). Such centralised information banks give that corporation a lot of power and are vulnerable to retrospective government requests for the data. Google has enough info about me as it is thanks (search, analytics, docs, emails, now video). That's completely different to most closed circuit TV cameras which record for a limited time and without great quality, for purposes like security against burglary. Just as I'd object to having a permanently on internet-connected camera in my home, I'd also object to someone wearing Google Glass there. Even more objectionable would be hundreds of thousands of google connected video cameras walking the streets. Maybe that makes me unusual, but apparently not given the reception of Glass. The camera was a terrible mistake from my perspective and completely put me off the possibility of owning it, and also puts me off Google the company for condoning such an obvious invasion of the privacy of others without their consent, and people who wear it for being so tone deaf - it would be like walking around with your camera phone permanently switched on pointing at your focus of attention - how weird and creepy. The whole thing reminds me of The Entire History of You or the telescreens in 1984 - I don't want to record everything I do, nor do I want others to do so without my consent, just as I don't want everything I write on the internet to be retrievable in an instant catalogued against every alias I've ever used. Maybe that will happen one day and there's nothing we can do about it, but there are definitely downsides. PS I'm not perfectly fine with omnipresent CCTV or NSA data collection either; nice straw man.
- lentil_soup 12y ago
  I think they are two different things. Having a friend filming your conversations feels a lot more personal and tangible in my mind. A dumb example, but let's say you talk to your friend about how you hate your boss or how you cheat on your partner. Your friend can very easily cause you a lot of problems by just emailing that conversation to someone else. While CCTV and the NSA are terrible in their own right the damage that they can do is at a whole different level. (Except on particular cases) they don't care too much about the specifics of your personal life.
digi_owl 12y ago
Hmm, makes me wonder how long it will take for Vuzix to get a wave guide variant into hornrim frames. http://www.vuzix.com/consumer/products_m2000ar/ http://www.vuzix.com/consumer/products_m2000ar/

tormeh 12y ago

Well, of course it will be fine when it's less obvious. Then people won't know there's a camera there...

bryanlarsen 12y ago

I suspect that body cameras similar to the ones people want cops to wear will become popular soon. They will be marketed as a safety device even though their primary use will be probably be for Instagram. Reactions will be interesting to watch given that the purported primary purpose will be for safety.

Osmium 12y ago

> Meanwhile in reality people got upset because Glass owners had a camera on their face the entire time. This is surely the biggest thing. It always seemed like a very tone-deaf move by Google to include a camera. It's not like Glass wouldn't have still been useful without it...

ecspike 12y ago
I don't it was tone-deaf at all. There were many action shots that I got while playing sports that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. The main problem was people thinking that the presence of a camera meant that you were using it all the time. Worry less about Glass and more about the guys doing upskirt videos with their shoes or specially rigged duffle bags.
- icebraining 12y ago
  The difference is that there's no danger of shoe cameras for upskirt videos turning into a trend used by any significant share of the population. I don't mind a single smart glasses user, but I'm wary of glasses with cameras becoming common enough that you're effectively always potentially being filmed. And Glass, more than just a smart pair of glasses, is a symbol foreshadowing such a future.
myko 12y ago
Actually, the camera is just about the only useful part of Glass. My wife and I went house hunting last year and it was really convenient to quickly snap photos of what we liked/didn't like at each house. Sure I could've done that with a phone but or camera but Glass was much more convenient. Same thing at family gatherings and hanging out with kids - having such a convenient camera available allows for some amazing shots one would probably never get otherwise. IMO it's sad that there was such a social backlash against Glass. If one wants to be creepy there are much less conspicuous cameras to use.

bobcostas55 12y ago

I feel one must question why people are upset about glass-cameras but are perfectly fine with omnipresent CCTV or NSA data collection. The Surveillance Camera Man video series highlights the same issue. Do people genuinely care about privacy, but only think about it when the breach is obvious and in their face?

grey-area 12y ago
Glass intrudes in private spaces normally off-limits to CCTV, and it's internet connected so could easily stream the video. Worse than that, the corporation providing it has shown they're interested in collecting as much information as possible (e.g. trawling for wireless data with streetview cars). Such centralised information banks give that corporation a lot of power and are vulnerable to retrospective government requests for the data. Google has enough info about me as it is thanks (search, analytics, docs, emails, now video). That's completely different to most closed circuit TV cameras which record for a limited time and without great quality, for purposes like security against burglary. Just as I'd object to having a permanently on internet-connected camera in my home, I'd also object to someone wearing Google Glass there. Even more objectionable would be hundreds of thousands of google connected video cameras walking the streets. Maybe that makes me unusual, but apparently not given the reception of Glass. The camera was a terrible mistake from my perspective and completely put me off the possibility of owning it, and also puts me off Google the company for condoning such an obvious invasion of the privacy of others without their consent, and people who wear it for being so tone deaf - it would be like walking around with your camera phone permanently switched on pointing at your focus of attention - how weird and creepy. The whole thing reminds me of The Entire History of You or the telescreens in 1984 - I don't want to record everything I do, nor do I want others to do so without my consent, just as I don't want everything I write on the internet to be retrievable in an instant catalogued against every alias I've ever used. Maybe that will happen one day and there's nothing we can do about it, but there are definitely downsides. PS I'm not perfectly fine with omnipresent CCTV or NSA data collection either; nice straw man.
lentil_soup 12y ago
I think they are two different things. Having a friend filming your conversations feels a lot more personal and tangible in my mind. A dumb example, but let's say you talk to your friend about how you hate your boss or how you cheat on your partner. Your friend can very easily cause you a lot of problems by just emailing that conversation to someone else. While CCTV and the NSA are terrible in their own right the damage that they can do is at a whole different level. (Except on particular cases) they don't care too much about the specifics of your personal life.

digi_owl 12y ago

Hmm, makes me wonder how long it will take for Vuzix to get a wave guide variant into hornrim frames. http://www.vuzix.com/consumer/products_m2000ar/ http://www.vuzix.com/consumer/products_m2000ar/