Through the Looking Glass – Part 1
Last week Google Glass started preparing for what could be referred to as an alpha – the Google Glass Explorer program. In case you don’t know, Google Glass is a headpiece you put on that projects what is essentially a monitor view screen onto . . . something. Looking at them, I honestly have no idea how they work, they might just project straight onto your eyeball for all I can tell. Anyway, in order to get a pair for the public alpha, you need to submit a social media post on Google+ or Twitter hyping the new technology, and letting Google know what you want to do with them. Then, if you’re one of the people selected, you need to pick them up from New York, San Francisco, or L.A. and pre-order a pair for $1,500. Seems a little whacked to enter a contest in order to have the chance to pay Google a pile of cash, but whatever – it’s a cheap price to pay to get in on the ground floor of what I consider to be the next phase of human evolution.
Back in the 90’s, we all thought that the next step in technology was going to be strapping huge headsets on and flying around inside of a virtual world ala Johnny Mnemonic. We believed that the future lay with information and the ability to get it easily (which it does), we were just completely ridiculous about what we thought the best way to get that data was going to be. Instead of a Virtual Reality, where you’re flying around inside of a computer, how much more useful is that data going to be when it’s projected on TOP of the real world around us? I do not care about flying through a computer network and seeing the processing power of someone’s CPU. I care a lot about seeing the prices and expiration dates of fruit in the grocery store. Or seeing recall information floating above a car. Or getting arrows overlaid on the road when I’m trying to go somewhere for the first time. These things are going to be USEFUL – enough so that they’re going become incredibly pervasive pretty much the instant they’re available and relatively cheap.
I’m excited to test these things out and see what they can do. I would love to travel around the country a bit and make a film about the experience using Google Glass. The movies provided by Google indicate a less removed experience of filming – there camera is no longer a character in the film, it is directly from your perspective. It’s going to be cool to see what real filmmakers can do with these.
I’m a little worried about the form factor of them. I wear for reals glasses, and I’m not sure how well they’ll fit onto my face alongside my stylish Buddy Holly points. The nose pieces might be uncomfortable, or the whole thing might slide around on my head. I’m honestly less worried about the big things like picture quality and voice recognition than I am about the pedestrian problems I encounter with every piece of consumer electronics that I buy. Earbuds pop out of my ears, headphones lose one channel immediately, the corners of my phone’s case are sharp and poke into my leg, that sort of thing. I hope they invested a lot of time into the wearability of this thing.
The amount of real information on the page for Google Glass is also a bit sparse. I know that while it can communicate with hotspots on it’s own, it can’t use a cellular network. It CAN, however, tether to your smartphone, Android or iPhone, and use that as a sort of mobile hotspot. I can definitely see enough to leave me wanting for more, though. Even if I’m not chosen as an Explorer, I’ll be reading and watching for those chosen say and do. In fact, there are already a few reviews from people that have had a chance to try Google Glass out.
This week I’ve spoken mostly about my excitement regarding a cool new piece of consumer electronics. Come back next week for part 2, where I unleash my inner crazy and explore where this type of technology could go in the future.
