Hah! That's what I said when I first heard about Glass.
Google aren't in the hardware business. It'll be 'Oakley - Powered by Google'.
Mike
Luxottica, the holding company for pricey eyeware brands Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol and even Burberry, has inked a deal that will see it design stylish versions of Google's “glass” tech specs. The eyewear company's canned statement says it will work with Google“ on the creation of innovative iconic wearable devices”. To do so the …
Don't know about him but I for one think Lenovo owns Motorola......
Owning robotics company doesn't mean being strong in marketing consumer gadgetry.
And anyway, even if Google was, wearables are another further step from their core competencies - it's not merely hardware gadgetry, it's gadgets that have to be built and sold with a strong understanding of the fashion market.
Oakley have a history of integrating technology into their wares, not to mention design styles that occasional verge on the 'cyber-punk' or 'alien tech', like their wristwatches that look like they fell off a Terminator.
Exhibit A, sunglasses with integrated MP3 player,
B goggles with a HUD, GPS, speedo and altimeter for snowboarding,
C, bloody weird glasses that fit over the head instead of having arms over the ears ) http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/04/oakley-shades-2012-04-17-494.jpg )
Matey from Oakley went on to found RED cameras.
Glass is still very much in beta with a loooong way to go to maturity, but Google does seem to be making big steps forward with it, generally in the right direction.
I'm still not convinced I'll ever want Glass myself, but then again it was only a few years ago I thought I'd never get a smartphone and now I love my Nexus, so the lesson there is never say never.
"I'm still not convinced I'll ever want Glass myself, but then again it was only a few years ago I thought I'd never get a smartphone and now I love my Nexus, so the lesson there is never say never."
My original thoughts about Glass were the same - but I can see potential applications that would be useful or interesting to me, such as using Glass, or something similar, to record a time lapse of hikes.
You can't get over the fact that people are pissed off with charging stuff up already.
I have a phone, pebble watch, fitbit flex. I also have a sports GPS thing.
I also have mountain bike lights and on my commuting bike I stuck a dynamo hub on it as I was sick of charging stuff up.
It's about time someone solved this bloody mess of chargers somehow.
Hope I can still get them without Glasshole circuitry.
It will be interesting to see how it falls out. I can well imagine this sort of scene:
"Hey, those Oakley glasses, are they the Google spy ones"
"No"
"You sure? Take them off, I don't want you recording in here"
"No, I need them to see"
"Hah, think I'm stupid? That's a lens there, isn't it? Get outta here, pervert!"
Bit like when MFI (reputation for cheap crap) bought Hygena (reputation for decent mid-range kitchens). Instead of seeing MFI as a more up-market company, people just said "Oh, Hygena kitchens, they're just MFI crap now. Perceptions can go either way...
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Making Google Glass 'cool' is the first step to making them Ubiquitous.
I predict that sooner rather than later, Our Lizard Overlords will decide that these are such "a good thing" that their wearing will become mandatory, then we'll ALL be part of the Survelliance State. Powered by EE of course (becoming Everybody Everywhere).
That said, they'll have to improve their network a shitload first.
Indeedy.
But Our Lizard Overlords don't currently seem to give too much of a fuck about our opinions on anything. Can only see that getting worse instead of better (HMRC given powers to simply take what you 'owe' them from your bank account, without oversight; the steady grinding down of the NHS; privatisation of just about everything; a semi-militarised police farce (BoJo wants them to have unfettered use of water cannons); WorkFair schemes; increasing poverty and the 'wealth gap'; need I go on?)
If they think that they can get away with it, they will certainly try.
No, Orwell was right. Surveillance isn't for the proles, who are just contained, but for the people who might actually present a threat to the people in power. The Government kind of listens to their opinions, but mainly seeks to guide them.
I'm delighted by Johnson's gradual attempt to turn London into LA. It shows he's getting nervous. He's helped create islands of wealth in a dystopia (in fact he's kind of boasted about it) and is now following the usual US city script. The difference is that we Brits on the whole are far more cynical than US citizens and far less likely to excuse our politicians because they believe in the right sky fairy. There's still a possibility that some of the real bastards will be kicked out in 2015 as people realise that behind the smooth talk of Cameron and the clowning of Johnson are people who simply want to make sure that the pyramid is as steep as possible and that they and their progeny are near the top of it.
... which when translated from 'Pure Marketing' appears to mean roughly "I hope it'll catch on", albeit delivered in the style of a naff ad placement in a B-movie. Is there a whiff of vested self interest here?
Personally I think the "narcissistic bell end" tag will hang around glass for quite a bit longer.