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Ask Slashdot: Should I Get Google Glass?
lunatick writes "I put in my application for Google Glass as a joke. I never figured I would be selected. Well in less than one week I got my invite to buy Google Glass. My main hold back is the $1500 price tag for a device that just seems to be a camera and navigation aid. Does anyone in the /. community have Google Glass and can they give some advice to the rest of us considering it?"
Period
Pretty soon there will be a $399 version that's 10x better than the first generation.
If you can get $1,500 worth of fun showing it off to people in the first year then sure.
G.
No, I really have no use for the camera part. I perfer s SLR. My question is more what apps are out there?
The Lunatick, Carpe Corpus!
When I was trying one in demo that was doing lots of video shooting, it didnt even last two hours.
I hear lots of wearables have this issue. You want something to go all day.
The upcoming version could be better.
Kinda like the 'if you have to ask, you can not afford it', if you balk at $1,500, it probably is not for you. Google Glass right now is an expensive toy for people who either can afford to chunk the cash into entertainment or derive enough social benefit from owning one to justify the cost.
Granted there are also some tinkerers out there that are playing with them, but I suspect they are kinda like the 3d printer market, present but fairly niche. For the most part, either you make enough that the cost is nothing to you, or you decide the social status from your peer group is worth the outlay.
The main idea behind getting Google Glass now is to help improve it. Develop apps for it that enhance the experience. If you're not going to do that, I'd consider the money poorly spent.
I can't see shelling out $1500 for the privilege of what amounts to beta-testing Google Glass. Honestly, Google should be paying the testers, not the other way around. It's not like they're low on cash.
Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
I have a friend that has Google Glass. I have tried it and found it to be very underwhelming. Right now it is really just a very expensive toy and in its current form I do not see it ever being really all that useful.
If you do get it, you should probably have an Android 4.0.3+ phone, so you can do SMS and GPS with it.
Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon what's the difference? All steal money from devs and control with walled gardens.
Another no. At least, not until most of your neighbors are cyborgs.
I put in my application for Google Glass as a joke.
I don't think you understand what a "joke" is. Unless, that is, the information you supplied on the application is funny in some way.
You want some advice? Here's some advice: buy it, and wear it into a biker bar. Before you go to the bar, leave a note for your next of kin, asking them to post the recorded video on Youtube. That way, we can all share in the joke.
No, I really have no use for the camera part. I perfer s SLR. My question is more what apps are out there?
You don't spend $1500 on a device without having a use case. And if you can't even google a list of google glass apps, then I doubt you can even formulate a use case.
In which case just send me the $1500 and we'll be both happy - you will have divested yourself of $1500 for no reason at all (which you were already going to do) and I have a use case for $1500 more of camera equipment.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
I'm an early adopter because of my employer. We do mobile development and have been pushing to be a leader in Glass development. I've had a lot of hands on time with the device and its is a really cool piece of tech but there's a bunch of gotchas for it.
1. Its limited. There's little it can do right now that isn't handled better on your smartphone.
2. Battery usage is pretty abysmal. If you're looking to get a solid 8-10 hours of casual usage, you won't make it.
3. Its expensive. $1500 is a lot for what it can do.
Those things are severe downsides as a non-developer. However, if you're interested in learning how to develop on the device and juicing up your resume with wearable design / implementation experience, then for someone like me (a mobile developer), the $1500 is an investment that you get to play around with on your off hours.
So if you want to be a leading edge developer and you can back up your interest with cash, go for it. If you're looking for a good investment on a solid end user experience you will be disappointed, just wait for the consumer version to hit the market.
"Don't feel bad for me child; I'm the monster that hides under your bed."
Google held a "glass event" in my city the other day and I had a chance to try it out.
I found it awkward to use: the gesture interface is clunky, voice commands are obtrusive to people nearby, and it takes way too much attention and focus to use the screen. I found it harder to use Glass while walking around than it is to use an Android smartphone while walking around.
Also, the apps they had available to demo -- which I can only assume are some of the best existing on the platform right now, because why would you demo anything other than the best? -- were not particularly useful. The closest that came to being cool was a program that used the camera to take pictures of signs in foreign languages and then display them translated to English. I could see that being useful if you travel in foreign countries extensively, but even then the experience was clunky -- you had to pick which language you thought the sign was in and aim the camera directly at the middle of the sign for it to work. And even then the translation wasn't "stable:" there was one German word displayed along an arch instead of a straight line where the translation kept shifting between completely different words as the viewing angle changed slightly.
If you want to develop apps for Google Glass, it might be worth getting. But if you just want to use it, it's not ready yet. Personally, I think it's actually a regression in functionality compared to what people like Steve Mann and Thad Starner had a decade ago, because it lacks both a reasonable input interface (e.g. a twiddler) and software that actually does something that a smartphone can't.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
The fact that everyone seems to be getting an invite indicates that I theory I have held since the first Google Android phone came out might be true. Google does not know how to make an affordable piece of consumer technology. Google does not know how to market a piece of consumer technology except through marketing process like this where they try to make the device seem very scarce and available only to a select group. Google has not built up the trust with the public to make anyone who buys something like this feel anything other than an extreme early adopting Guinea pig.
I might buy it if I get external funding. However the horror stories of lack of customer support for the first Google phone, and those who paid for other Google services, make me realize that I am giving two grand for a product, not for help from any company backing it. It is also the reason why I tend not to use MS products. If something is only supported by third parties, and not by the manufacturer, it make me worry about quality.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
The cost is not worth it, not for a device that you'll be using for yourself.
I have one that I got for research purposes, and I love it. However, I would not have paid my own money for it. It does not provide $1500 of utility at the moment.
Now, if you are looking to get into wearable computing application development, that's a different story and I'd say get one. Try to get your company to pay for it, though.
You shouldn't try to find $1500 worth of value in the current product. If there was, they'd be selling it to everyone.
Take a look at a list of apps and see if this is a technology you'd find fascinating, and decide based on whether you have the time and resources to invest into exploring it.
Glass today is basically like Internet access in 1994. Slow, expensive, flawed and of no practical value -- but interesting and fun for those with the time and interest to tinker with it.
The $1500.00 price tag set me back as well. I don't love being a first adopter that much! There are five alternatives to Google Glass here if you want to consider something more reasonable.
You can record people 1000x easier and less conspicuously with a smartphone in your hand or pocket than with Google Glass. Yes SMARTPHONE IN YOUR HAND too. You can hold it in your hand and point it to people without being totally obvious about it. You can act like you are just holding your phone, or texting, or listening to music, or even being on the phone. You don't need to look at the thing you are recording. You may have some image stabilization issues if you have unsteady hands -- but for the most part you can get good video. Of course the easiest way is to have the phone in your shirt pocket peeping out.
With Google Glass, you literally have to stare in the people's direction or general area like a stalker -- it becomes SUPER obvious.
For $1,500 you could buy an Oculus Rifts, small form factor PC, battery rig, and a couple of EyeToys, and have a real augmented reality display, with money left over.
And, you know, look like a complete idiot, instead of an 80% idiot.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Slashdot: news for nerds who dislike new technology.
Most of the time you want to see one line of information or one picture: info like time, weather, message, newsheadline. You dont want to fumble with pulling out a smartphone to see these all time. Google Glass will display 10 lines of 40+ characters on their 360 scanline display. Thats far more than I'd usually want to read for most uses.
The problem with early wearables are they are over designed to do too much like a smartphone or desktop. That makes them expensive, difficult to use, and short battery life. I am learning toward a watch as my wearable message machine.
My opinion of GG:
1: I don't want to get punched in the face because people get tired of being recorded.
2: I don't want to hit the restroom, forgetting to take the glasses off, and be hit by a felony, improper photography charge.
3: I don't care about seeing ads when I look around.
4: I have enough electronic gizmos to watch out for. I don't need another attractive target for a mugger [1] to single me out for.
5: I work with IT stuff all day. Similar to #4, I just want as little as possible.
6: I don't want another nice attack surface for a blackhat to attack or mess with.
7: GG is like Nitendo's Virtual Boy in a lot of respects... except VB was cooler.
8: What does Google do with the GPS and telemetry data? I don't really need another tracking device on my person.
[1]: When people stopped carrying cash and went to credit cards, it reduced mugging by an extreme factor. Now that every meth-head knows that an iPhone will net them a couple hundred dollars, even if it doesn't work (just the screen alone will sell for a C-note), a decent switchblade and a dark alley makes for a nice base of operations.
I can't say I was surprised. I knew it was going to happen. The poster clearly stated: "Does anyone in the /. community have Google Glass and can they give some advice to the rest of us considering it?"
queue all the slashdotters who cannot read and have a bias sans experience. Kudos for eschewing the low hanging Oh Noooh! It's Google and it's new and it's different! I'm a gonna punch you in da noze if you wear it! crowd and offering an actual response with some possible value. I get that you probably don't own Glass yourself either, but at least you provided some feedback that actually has some value in it.
I also don't have Glass, but would certainly try it out if I has the $1500.00 In the end it comes down to what the OPs budget is, and how badly they want a new toy. If you are looking to live on the bleeding edge go for it. If you are expecting real utility from Glass for your $1500.00, wait for it to mature. The cost will come down drastically as the capabilities likewise improve.
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
It's equally stupid to like technology just because it's new.
I suspect like most people who've heard about it he dislikes the idea of Google Glass on it's own terms. Not just because it's new.
Do you already have a moustache? If yes, you are probably creepy enough to wear google glass - consider it if you have funds left over after buying a nice pair of tight leather pants.
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people think when they're evaluating technology that they're choosing between buying it today and not buying it. In fact, you're choosing to buy it today or buy it at some point in the future. would you rather spend $1500 today to buy an innovative device with limited use, or would you prefer to spend $1500 in 3 years to buy the same device except it has many uses?
there's no right answer, it will vary from person to person.
"You have been selected to receive our exclusive offer! For only $1500...!"
It's a commercial product. Soon (maybe already) anyone with the money will be able to buy one. Probably for less money.
If you want a Google Glass invite code, there are plenty of them on eBay, all with 0 bids. $8.99 or best offer is the going rate for Buy It Now.
I hear there's a filter in Google Glass that fixes Slashdot Beta. I'd go for it.
Secession is the right of all sentient beings.
But wait until the technology can be added to normal-looking eyeglasses.
There are lots of applications for Google Glass technology that have nothing to do with voyeurism.
The people who are scoffing at Google Glass right now just can't afford it yet.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Unless you're rich and $1500 is a piddling amount of moola...
I also got an invite to order Google Glass and politely declined. $1500 is too much for a product that isn't fully realized. Yet, Google Glass holds interest to me because it holds a possibility of improving the lives of deaf folks like me... REAL TIME CAPTIONING, right in front of our eyes. That would completely change LIVES. (Yes, I recognize that similar technology on Youtube produces lamentable results.) What disappoints me is that Google doesn't seem to recognize it, or deems it an inadequate market to follow. You really think it wouldn't be cool to more or less create a version of the Babelfish from Hitchhiker's Guide? Or recognize that if you erased communication difficulties, you'd be one step closer to a civilized world where we can exchange ideas WITHOUT throwing poo?
Glass uses bone conduction for sound (which wouldn't work for a person with truly profound nerve deafness, like myself), and has stated that they do not recommend the Glass for deaf users. While it's not the same as "get to the back of the bus", it's still disappointing to be marginalized in such a way. But I'll remain hopeful that one day, Google recognizes what they could do for folks like me, and enable us to communicate with "norms" without ya'all looking like fools :)
It won't be the same device in 3 years. It'll be lighter, more powerful, and less expensive.
I once spent $600 on a CD recorder, and spent $1000 on an eMagin HMD that Nvidia made obsolete with the next driver release. The lesson I learned is to never be an early adopter unless the expense is trivial to you so it falls into the toy budget.
How so?
She is a computer program.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
Oh, Krieger san! (Archer)
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
And if you can't even google a list of google glass apps, then I doubt you can even formulate a use case.
Maybe that will be the first thing he does on them.
I wouldn't be surprised if that is the first action take by most people when first using their new Google Glasses.
A while ago I was also accepted to the glass explorers program. I was pretty excited at the time, and was planning to go ahead and get one. I'll admit to being a bit of a Google fanboy, though recently they've lost some of their shine in my eyes.
At the time, there were a few compelling reasons why I decided to wait, which I summarized here: Why I'll Wait on Glass
One thing to consider, is that along with the $1,500 price tag, unless you live close to one of the fitting centers, you'll also have to book airfare and hotel, which can be as much as the Glass itself, so that really raises the price a lot. At least, this was the case when I was invited to the program, it may have changed.
For those who don't like clicking G+ links, here's my full original post:
Why I'll Wait on Glass
So, I received my invitation to purchase #googleglass and become a #glassexplorers . Google notified me that I had 14 days to make my purchase and schedule a pickup date.
I've put a lot of thought into this, and decided not to move forward with the purchase. I'm outlining my reasons below, and I hope that the amazing folks on the Glass team can take this post with the spirit that it's intended: as constructive, objective feedback from a developer who is a huge Google fan.
When I first heard about Glass, I was gobsmacked. The notion of having a powerful, wearable computing device with an array of sensors, camera and floating UI always available to the user, with speech recognition and integration with wireless services - well frankly, I had trouble containing my excitement.
At the local bar, I waxed on (to annoying lengths, I'm sure) about how this was a revolution in technology. How it would change the world and the way we interact with it.
I shared my excitement with my family, and when I was selected as a #glassexplorers they had to pull me down out of the clouds.
I was busy planning apps that I was going to develop, I had visions of an app where I could say "ok glass, find my car" and a floating 3d compass arrow would appear and guide me.
I had visions of walking into my house and saying "ok, glass turn on the lights, lock the doors, arm security", and seeing an interactive display of all my devices. I would be able to say "ok, glass show front camera" and I would be able to look out of the security camera on my front porch.
I had ideas for interactive augmented reality games, where the user could scan the sky for alien UFO's and see 3d spaceships through the Glass display window.
I eagerly refreshed myself on OpenCV, preparing for all the computer vision awesomeness I would be able to develop (I'd already done some of this work on android tablets, using the native sdk).
With all of these visions in my head, I set out to begin development. Finally the new api was released. I sat down at my main development box, pulling up the docs, expecting to see all of the richness of the Android API plus Glass specific enhancements.
What I got was: Cards. A completely non-interactive API where I had to broker every request through a complex chain of servers where eventually, at some point, some static text or images may or may not popup on the user's screen.
I was actually in disbelief. I was sure I was missing some documentation somewhere. I poured through the docs, trying to understand what I was looking at. I felt that I must be missing something really obvious. From what I could tell, the amazing awesomness that was Glass, was limited by the API to being essentially nothing more than a SMS messaging system, similar to text messages on my cell.
None of my applications were possible. I couldn't talk to the accelerometer or other sensors. All I could do was go through a strange "add my app as a contact" process so that I could post text messages with some limited media to the user's timeline. That's it. Interactivity was limited to glorified hyperlinks that would post a me
Drinking habits can be dangerous. You can choke on the cloth and the nuns will wonder where their clothes are.
Thank you to the /. community for their input. Based on the replies my first instinct was correct. Forget about it!
I work as a FF/Medic and I know there are apps being developed for that area but I have no ability to create apps for it beyond an idea. I was hoping you could put notes on it as a heads up display that may help in patient care or in rescue.
From the list of apps that some provided me I find the apps all useless.
I appreciated all the input and hope others find it useful as well.
Thank you
The Lunatick, Carpe Corpus!
"My main hold back is the $1500 price tag for a device that just seems to be a camera and navigation aid. Does anyone in the /. community have Google Glass and can they give some advice to the rest of us considering it?"
Don't be a child. Put your $1,500 into a retirement fund. With the way the U.S. economy is going, you will need it.
Circle the wagons and fire inward. Entropy increases without bounds.
I do see something like glass being great for military, fire, police (especially police). Basically having a HUD that could show navigation/GPS overlaid with fellow soldiers or objectives (hey, just like FPS games!?) would be valuable. Or recording everything that is said/done during an interaction with the public would be great for keeping police and subjects honest after the fact. (assuming there was some kind of verification that the audio/video wasn't tampered with.).
- It's not disclosed prominently, but you have 30 days from date of delivery or pickup to return Glass for a refund (assuming in full working order with everything, etc- don't drop and step on it!).
- If you can, pick it up at a Glass showroom. They're very helpful in adjusting the nose pads and display for you, answering any questions, and getting you started. The private Explorers online community has a lot of enthusiastic users ready to discuss their experiences and ideas.
- Warning- if you're an iPhone user, you're a second class citizen in the Glass ecosystem. You'll need a data plan compatible with Personal Hotspot (i.e. NOT compatible with grandfathered unlimited plans from AT&T). Apple restrictions on access to system apps and services mean, for example, no iMessage/SMS notifications to or sending from Glass. Every time you ask for route directions, you'll have to pull out your phone and open the MyGlass companion iOS app.
- Will this be the next Walkman/iPhone? I doubt it. Will it find use in niche vertical applications, like medicine, environmental exploration, etc? Sure. If you're a developer and would like to explore those possibilities or just like to tinker with a new gadget, give it a try.
It does have a recording light. Maybe Google was thinking 'smart' people would know how to use Google to find things out before jumping to entirely false conclusions ;)