Google launches Glass in London

Google have launched their wearable goggles, Glass, in London. The Guardian are set to be stocking up in a bid to look ahead of the game while the Daily Mail are furiously writing 1,000 op-ed pieces about how evil the whole idea is.

The internet giant has launched their Explorer Programme which now allows anyone over the age of 18 to buy a pair of Glass(es), despite still being in the prototype phase.

And it’ll cost you £1,000.

That won’t matter to tech-savvy Londoners with money to burn – soon, they’ll be annoying everyone on the train or in coffee shops by talking to their specs by saying “Glass, which is the most annoyingly named craft beer I can buy?” as well as; ”Glass – search dominatrix services in the Shoreditch area”.

Of course, it isn’t all about looking for dark sexual gratification – you can watch videos, read emails and other stuff which you can do with your phone or tablet. However, Glass leaves your hands free to rub your thighs and give people the middle finger.

At the UK launch, Marketing Director of Google Glass Ed Sanders said: “One of the reasons we’re here in the UK is the country’s spirit of innovation. The consumers, developers and inventors in the UK have a very rich heritage of embracing new technology.”

“Glass is not a finished product yet and part of the spirit of the explorer programme is so that we can work closely with developers and consumers in the UK at a local level to find out what will take the product forward.”

However, the fact that British people are a little more reserved than our American cousins may mean that this device is hamstrung initially.

We await the first arrest from someone using Glass while driving.

source: bitterwallet.com

Google selling Glass Internet eyewear in US

SAN FRANCISCO — Google’s Internet-linked eyewear — hotly anticipated by some, feared by others — is now available to anyone in the United States with $1,500 to spare and a yen to become an “explorer.”

The decision to open the “Glass” test, or beta, program on Wednesday to anyone with enough money and curiosity came about a month after a one-day sale of the eyewear to the public.

“We learned a lot when we opened our site a few weeks ago, so we’ve decided to move to a more open beta,” said a post on the Glass page at Google+ online social network.

“We’re still in the Explorer Program while we continue to improve our hardware and software, but starting today anyone in the US can buy the Glass Explorer Edition, as long as we have it on hand.”

In a possible sign of interest in the eyewear, the Glass page on the Google+ network has more than 678,000 followers and has been viewed more than 107 million times.

Google in March said it is joining forces with the frame giant behind Ray-Ban and other high-end brands to create and sell Glass Internet-linked eyewear in the United States.

The partnership with Luxottica was portrayed as Google’s “biggest step yet into the emerging smart eyewear market.”

Luxottica brands include Oakley, Alain Mikli, Ray-Ban and Vogue-Eyewear.

The first smart glasses by Luxottica for Google Glass will go on sale in 2015, the head of the Italian eyewear group said Tuesday.

- No ‘Glassholes’-

Google has been working to burnish the image of Glass, which has triggered concerns about privacy since the devices are capable of capturing pictures and video.

Google recently sent out a release to debunk what it claims are myths about Glass such as the ideas that it invades privacy, distracts wearers and is for “technology-worshipping geeks.”

“If someone wants to secretly record you, there are much, much better cameras out there than one you wear conspicuously on your face and that lights up every time you give a voice command, or press a button,” Google said.

“If a company sought to design a secret spy device, they could do a better job than Glass.”

During the Explorer testing phase, developers are creating apps for Google Glass, which can range from getting weather reports to sharing videos to playing games.

Google in February gave the early adopters a bit of advice: don’t be “Glassholes”.

It was the final suggestion in a recommended code of conduct posted online for the software developers and others taking part in the “explorer” program.

The Internet titan appeared intent on avoiding the kinds of caustic run-ins that have seen some Glass wearers tossed from eateries, pubs or other establishments due to concerns over camera capabilities built into devices.

Don’t be “creepy or rude (aka, a “Glasshole”),” Google said in a guide posted online for Explorer program members.

Glass connects to the Internet using Wi-Fi hot spots or, more typically, by being wirelessly tethered to mobile phones. Pictures or video are may be shared through the Google Plus social network.

source: interaksyon.com

Google to sell Glass to public next week

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc will take online orders for its Glass wearable gadget on April 15, in its biggest push to get the $1,500 wraparound Web-ready glasses out to the U.S. public.

For a limited time starting Tuesday, Google will make the wearable device available to more than just the select group of users such as apps developers in its Glass Explorer program.

In a blogpost, Google did not say how many pairs it would sell, just that the quantity would be limited.

“Every day we get requests from those of you who haven’t found a way into the program yet, and we want your feedback too,” the company said on a Thursday blogpost.

“That’s why next Tuesday, April 15th, we’ll be trying our latest and biggest Explorer Program expansion experiment to date. We’ll be allowing anyone in the U.S. to become an Explorer by purchasing Glass.”

Many tech pundits expect wearable devices to go mainstream this year, extending smartphone and tablet capabilities to gadgets worn on the body, from watches to headsets. Google has run campaigns in the past to drum up public involvement, including inviting people to tweet under the hashtag #ifihadglass for a chance to buy a pair of the glasses.

Google Glass has raised privacy concerns, prompting some legislators to propose bans on the gadget.

source: interaksyon.com

Google may let you use computer with ‘hand gestures’

MANILA, Philippines — U.S. tech giant Google, now awash with millions of cash due to its booming income, has filed a patent application on a user interface that allows users to transmit computer commands through mere hand gestures.

In its application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last Oct. 15 innocuously titled “Hand gestures to signify what is important,” Google sought to own first dibs on a technology that enables people to execute commands on a wearable computer device, such as the much-touted Google glass.

In a drawing sheet, the company illustrated that the technology may be used to grab video stills by making hand gesture of a heart over the video.

“In accordance with example embodiments, hand gestures can be used to provide user input to a wearable computing device, and in particular to identify, signify, or otherwise indicate what may be considered or classified as important or worthy attention or notice,” the company said.

The technology may be seen to complement the further maturity of its Google glass device, which now allows users to record videos and snap pictures through voice commands.

In its patent filing, Google indicated that the hand-gesture technology will be used on a “wearable computing device, which could include a head-mounted display (HMD) and a video camera.”

“Particular hand gestures could be used for selecting portions of a field of view of the HMD, and generating images from selected portions,” Google said.

“The HMD could then transmit the generated images to one or more applications in a network server communicatively connected with the HMD, including a server of server system hosting a social networking service,” Google added.

This is not the first time, however, that Google toyed with the idea of a hand-gesture operated technology, only its first one was an April Fool’s prank. Google Motion, publicized in April 1, 2011, reportedly allows users to use gmail with body movements.

Google has not released an official statement about the hand-gesture technology and it may also be possible that the patent application may just be an attempt to ward off patent trolls

With the company’s balance sheet swimming in a sea of liquidity, due to a steady stream of ad revenues that propped up its third quarter income by 36 percent over last year to $3 billion, Google has been more and more ambitious in pursuing frontier technology, or “moonshots” as the company calls it.

The Internet search company even has a dedicated facility called Google X specifically tasked to develop and study the viability of these projects, which right now include a driverless car, a high-altitude helium balloon that will beam down broadband internet to remote areas, and the Google glass.

The company is also studying how to extend the human lifespan through its biotech company Calico.

source: interaksyon.com

Internet technology becoming cyber chic

SAN FRANCISCO — Models wearing Google Glass eyewear, Pebble smartwatches and other hot gadgets strutted a catwalk late Monday as Internet technology continued to merge with the world of fashion.

A Digital Fall fashion show here marked the close of the first Glazed Conference devoted to setting the stage for wearable computing startups to become billion-dollar businesses.

“It looks like technology for the sake of technology is dead,” said Eliane Fiolet, co-founder of popular technology news website Ubergizmo.com and organizer of the fashion show.

“People want a great piece of technology that works well and looks great.”

Companies are increasingly tuning into desires for sophisticated gadgets that also let people express personal styles, she noted.

Jawbone lets people customize colors of Jambox wireless speakers that synch wirelessly to smartphones, tablets, or laptop computers.

Nike allows people visiting its website to design their own ahtletic shoes, and matches some sports attire with wearable devices that track daily active for those chasing fitness goals.

“There will be more and more integration with fashion and technology,” Fiolet said. “We are just at the very start of it.”

She believed that Google has touched on a winning formula with Google Glass Internet-linked eyewear, which have become a fashion trend in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley areas.

“We are in the next stage of human evolution,” said Glazed Conference organizer Redg Snodgrass, co-founder of Stained Glass Labs startup accelerator devoted to revving up the wearable computing industry.

“Entrepreneurs aren’t those nerds living in a closet anymore,” Snodgrass said as the fashion show was about to commence in a club not far from Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco. “They are out there pushing the limit. Anything that is technologically fascinating is sexy, and fashion is tied to that.”

While fitness has been a winning theme for early wearable computing devices, such as UP and Fitbit bracelets for providing feedback on whether people are hitting activity and sleep goals, Snodgrass thinks films and games will be the next areas to catch fire.

The one-day Glazed Conference was intended to bring together entrepreneurs, investors and others to explore ways to realize ideas and make money in the world of wearable computing.

“Not only did they show up, they brought the heat,” Snodgrass said of the turnout. “They brought some great stuff.”

Among the attendees was self-described ‘cybertechnician’ Tyler Freeman, who sported Drum Pants lined with sensors that let him play percussion beats by slapping various spots on his legs. The sensor strips are held in place with Velcro, meaning they can be swapped between pieces of a wardrobe, he explained.

“The goal is to get banned in public schools; then we know we are a success,” said the San Francisco-based entrepreneur.

Tapping on Drum Pants sends signals wirelessly to smartphones, which then direct thumps or synthesized sounds to come from speakers. The sensors could be used to control PowerPoint presentations or Google Glass cameras with casual touches of a leg, according to Freeman.

Fiolet already has her sites set on next year’s show, with hopes of being able to showcase creations of London-based CuteCircuit, the cyber chic fashion house that wowed the world with a “Twitter Dress” worn by a celebrity to a 4G mobile network launch event in Britain in late 2012.

LED lights designed into the gown displayed posts from the globally-popular one-to-many messaging service.

Technology and fashion need to be combined tastefully to make for a winning creation, according to Fiolet.

“It has to be good looking; be a great piece of technology, and monitor something you care about,” she contended. “If you don’t care, you will never wear it. And, if it is ugly, you will never wear it.”

source: interaksyon.com

Japan glasses translate menu as you read

CHIBA — Augmented reality glasses that can translate a menu in real time were unveiled at a Japanese gadget fair Monday, with promises they could be ready for visitors to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

NTT Docomo was showing off its latest development where cameras, computers and know-how combine to give the wearer a whole different view of what they are looking at.

One function of the gizmo overlays the wearer’s first language onto unfamiliar text, making signs and menus instantly understandable — a boon to travellers in Japan, where foreign-language menus are not commonly found off the tourist trail.

“Character recognition technology enables instant language translation for users travelling abroad and reading restaurant menus and other documents,” Docomo said in a statement, as it showcased the gadget at CEATEC Japan.

Another application turns any flat surface into a touchscreen, with a finger ring relaying positioning information to the device that lets wearers “touch” tags that only they can see, perhaps to perform an Internet search.

Other uses include facial recognition that is intended to look up someone’s identity — and job title — from a smartphone’s directory.

source: interaksyon.com