I won't be wearing them:
"Is Google Glass the next (slow-selling) Segway?" by Michael Liedtke | Associated Press, August 28, 2013
SAN FRANCISCO — Geeks aren’t the only ones wearing Google Glass.
Among the people testing Google Inc.’s wearable computer are teachers, dentists, doctors, radio disc jockeys, hair stylists, architects, athletes, and even a zookeeper.
Some 10,000 people are trying out an early version of Glass, most of them selected as part of a contest.
To get a sense of the advantages and drawbacks of the device, the Associated Press spoke to three Glass owners who have been using the device since late spring: Sarah Hill, a former TV broadcaster and current military veterans advocate; David Levy, a hiking enthusiast and small-business owner; and Deborah Lee, a stay-at-home mom.
Glass is designed to work like a smartphone that’s worn like a pair of glasses. The device is capturing imaginations beyond the realm of nerds.
The trio’s favorite feature, by far, is the hands-free camera, which shoots photos and video on voice commands. (Images can also be captured by pressing a small button.)
Meaning you can be a spy service for the government.
They also liked being able to connect to the Internet simply by tapping on the right frame of Glass to turn it on and then swiping along the same side to scroll through a menu. That menu allows them to do such things as get directions on Google’s map or find a piece of information through Google’s search engine. The information is shown on a thumbnail-size transparent screen attached just above the right eye to stay out of a user’s field of vision.
Among the biggest shortcomings they cited was Glass’s short battery life, especially if a lot of video is taken. Although Google says Glass should last for an entire day on a single battery charge for the typical user, Hill said there were times when she ran out of power after 90 minutes to two hours during periods when she was recording a lot of video....
Glass’s ability to take hands-free pictures and video has raised concerns among privacy watchdogs, who say the device will make it easier to secretly record people. But Levy is convinced that what Glass can do isn’t much different than what many people already do with smartphones.
"But" they can do it much more discreetly!
To prove his point, Levy used his iPhone to record a conversation he was having with a friend who was railing against the privacy risks posed by Glass. ‘‘I recognize that Glass can make people uncomfortable, but I have to say the privacy issues are a specious concern,’’ Levy said.
Related: Time Is Running Out
Some analysts question whether Glass will have mass appeal. Skeptics who have seen the early participants walking around wearing Glass say it will eventually be remembered as a geeky curiosity that never lived up to its hype, similar to the Segway, the two-wheeled, self-balancing scooters that remain an anomaly more than a decade after they first went on sale.
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