Google Glass: Future of Movies Or Monkey Cam 2.0? 77
theodp writes "When it comes to Google's futuristic Glass goggles, people seem to fall into two camps. On the one hand, you have people like NY Times Arts critic Mike Hale, who goes gaga over how fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg put Google glasses on models who walked in her recent Fashion Week show, enabling them to capture video from their point of view as they walked the runway. 'For a preview of how we all may be making movies in a few years,' Hale breathlessly writes, 'take a look at DVF Through Glass .' On the other hand, you have folks like NY Times commenter JokerDanny, who says he's seen this Google Glass movie before. 'David Letterman used to call this Monkey-Cam,' quips JD, referring to the mid-1980's Late Night bits in which Letterman mounted a camera on Zippy the Chimp, enabling the monkey to capture video from his point of view as he roamed the studio. Thanks to the magic of YouTube Doubler, here's a head-to-head comparison of POV video shot by Zippy in 1986 — the year Larry Page and Sergey Brin celebrated their 13th birthdays — to that taken by a DVF model in 2012."
Neither (Score:5, Interesting)
In a decade or two, they'll cell them in drugstores like prepaid phones.
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Right next to the pet rocks and lava lamps.
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A decade or two? I bet it's more closer to 5 years. This tech will be cheaper to manufacture than smartphones, expect sub $500 prices in 2-3 years, most of the processing will be from the linked smartphone and in about 5 more years or less, the vast majority of 1st world people will have these without a smart phone.
The article is missing the entire point of this new tech, it's like showing home videos shot from a smart phone and saying how smart phones suck.
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Loved VRML. I used to like designing environments in it using Calagari Truesapce (iirc). In context, I was sure that it was going to go the Snow Crash direction one day. Oh silly youth.
Jackass cam 1.0 (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Jackass cam 1.0 (Score:5, Insightful)
Still, it makes it easier to keep an eye on the cops.
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Okay, but for how long?
Apple is already working on technology that would turn off [zdnet.com] all civilian cameras in an area. Governments everywhere are going to implement this as soon as they see a chance to do it without pissing off the majority of the population. It looks like a relatively trivial change if you legislate that manufacturers have to ship the feature inside everything they make that has a camera. Of course you and I may be able to disable it by googling how to, but what are the odds that you or I or a
Pogue: Potential no other machine has ever had (Score:5, Interesting)
David Pogue: Google Glass and the Future of Technology [nytimes.com]
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WSJ: The glasses were ultimately disappointing (Score:4, Interesting)
Spencer Ante: Hype and Hope: Test Driving Google's New Glasses [wsj.com]
Re:WSJ: The glasses were ultimately disappointing (Score:4, Insightful)
WSJ and Forbes both seem to have a bit of a hate on for Google these days though, so I'd take their comments with a grain of salt. I think they're right in the 'they need the killer app' comment though ... something to make them something that everyone wants.
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'they need the killer app' comment though ... something to make them something that everyone wants.
Duh, Porn. Killer app for VHS. Killer app for The Internet. Killer app for The Googles.
Is that creepy Gnerd at the coffee show browsing the Internet or is he watching a porn star get her bunghole stretched out? Or is a virtual porn app stripping the clothes off of the teenage barista he's staring at?
BTW, I've already patented, copyrighted and trademarked all these ideas and their implementations, so bugger off trying to copy my innovations!
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They are also really, really, really new technology. I'd be incredibly shocked if they weren't disappointing to someone who isn't looking at them for their potential, but rather for what they can do now. What they can do now is little more than gimmicks. What they could do, and what this kind of technology (not necessarily Google's, but someone's) almost certainly will do in a few years. Hopefully at the very least Google's efforts will help shut down the patents that trolls will inevitably try to use to st
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They're not new tech, no more than Apple's "retina" brand is. It's new that they're becoming mainstream. Mann has had similar (and better) tech for the better part of the last thirty years.
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Killer feature? The tech is already here to make that happen so I think it'll be the first release that hits it big, especially for business!
Scenario: An old client can walk up and says hello, they have a multi-million dollar deal pending so either make sure your memory is up to scratch or the glasses use facial recognition and bring up their profile.
"Oh hey Dave, you're new kitchen remodelling looks fabulous, how's the wife Jean? Now lets get down to signing that new deal since we're such good friends"
I'm in the happy camp! (Score:4, Interesting)
In my opinion, Google Glass is one of the absolute most awesome new pieces of tech to come about in years. I look forward to this technology with great anticipation.
I find myself not getting too excited about tech recently, this is the only thing that has even remotely piqued my curiosity and I'm hooked.
I think it is something to get excited about.
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Slightly confused. Large amounts of optimism on slashdot is suspicious of sarcasm but no snarky comments present. Writer could be serious. Warrants further investigation.
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Sorry, I hope I didn't throw the ol' cpu into an infinite loop =D
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Google Goggles? (Score:3, Funny)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s_xK_MMwLjM/S1lrwFb9hmI/AAAAAAAAAQM/WcaUe8l7dGM/s400/googoo.jpg [blogspot.com]
Both were boring (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Both were boring (Score:5, Funny)
Watching the fashion cam made me wonder how the hell people walk like that and not get seasick.
Oh, the runway models get seasick.
There's just nothing left to throw up.
Ask yourself (Score:3)
If you strap a camera to your head that's what you would see walking as well.
The brain is an amazing thing because it sure does NOT look like that to us as we are walking...
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If you strap a camera to your head that's what you would see walking as well.
The brain is an amazing thing because it sure does NOT look like that to us as we are walking...
Yup. This is like The Blair Witch Project, but 100x worse. No thanks...
Not just a camera. (Score:2, Informative)
It would be one thing if the Glasses were simply a camera, but it's more than that. It will be the first mass market wearable computer. Overlays will provide notifications in the form of navigation prompts, restuarant reviews, contact information, descriptions of art, and much more.
In other words... (Score:3)
Overlays will provide notifications in the form of navigation prompts, restuarant reviews, contact information, descriptions of art, and much more.
In other words, things you could have done with your smartphone instead of wearing annoying glasses all the time.
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How many times have you bothered to scan a QR code?
Now imagine it happening with a double blink.
Those cool magazine covers with augmented reality codes... Also double blink.
Want to take a photo. Just look at the scene and blink one eye.
Just a few examples.
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How many times have you bothered to scan a QR code?
Several. When I am interested. I do not need nor want to see the contents of EVERY QR code in my field of view.
Now imagine it happening with a double blink.
Not impressed. In fact rather annoying.
Those cool magazine covers with augmented reality codes... Also double blink.
Again, it doesn't happen enough that I want to double blink to do so and CERTAINLY not worth the bother of wearing any kind of headgear all the time.
Want to take a photo. Just look at th
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"Want to take a photo. Just look at the scene and blink one eye."
In normal human world that is called "winking". It can be taken several different ways. Use extreme caution around human subjects.
Do not want overlays 24x7 (Score:1)
And how exactly would your smartphone go about providing similar types of overlays?
By holding it up, see any augmented reality app ever.
Would you hold it up in front of your face 24/7?
Hell no, because I do not WANT overlays 24x7. That's the thing; the amount of time I care about seeing data in front of me is significantly lower than 24x7. The benefit then for me to wear even the lightest of glasses is far outweighed by the annoyance of wearing said glasses, when I can easily get all of the same data fro
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It would be one thing if the Glasses were simply a camera, but it's more than that. It will be the first mass market wearable computer. Overlays will provide notifications in the form of navigation prompts, restuarant reviews, contact information, descriptions of art, and much more.
There is no overlay - there is only small rectangular display inside. No head tracking, no eye tracking, no augmented reality.
I disagree it is the first (Score:1)
It will be the first mass market wearable computer.
Totally disagree. The iPod Touch /iPhone is already that. You can easily have it on you all the time you would glasses, including jogging. I don't see why it doesn't count in the same way or have the same level of importance, just because it's not on your head.
No, and you can't either (Score:2)
So you cant see the difference between data in an overlay and something you have to carry and look at?
There is very little difference. I can call up my "overlay" any time in an instant, the same as any mounted screen. The headgear simply makes it slightly easier to remain active in front of you.
It's only a difference of convenience, and that is slight. It's not a difference of functionality. There is nothing you can do with the head mounted display I cannot also do with my iPhone (or Android, or WP7) de
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Not on me all the time (Score:2)
Do you 'wear' your car keys too?
I would say yes, if I had them ALL the time. I hang them up when I get home.
The cell phone I have with me ALL the time. Even at home.
Of course not just iOS (Score:2)
there were plenty of smart phones before that that should "get credit".
I agree, that's just what I had. Any phone with a continuous data connection and the ability to run arbitrary applications should "get credit" as well, as long as it was something people could and did have with them all the time they way we do modern cell phones.
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navigation prompts, restuarant reviews, contact information, descriptions of art, and much more
While it has the potential to do all this, its primary function will be to research what we look at, and serve ads to match.
If you think the billboards and neons are bad already, just wait until you put on one of these...
Chicken cam FTW (Score:2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UytSNlHw8J8
Microsoft Monocle (Score:3)
Microsoft's answer to Google Glass, as modeled by Count Homer [staticflickr.com].
Both. (Score:2)
It's probably the future of movies and Monkey Cam. I weep for the future.
The future (Score:5, Interesting)
I think Google Glasses are more of a short-term gimmick and proof-of-concept than anything else. But one of the guys Google just hired (away from our university, as a matter of fact) is Babak Parviz - who's been working towards what could probably be called "Google Contacts".
The tech's nowhere near ready; but I think the idea of an unobtrusive HUD on a contact lens would be far more likely to garner widespread adoption than Glasses ever will.
On a side note - all this focus on the "camera" functionality is mostly missing the point. What's cool about the concept isn't the ability to take portable movies - we can already do that. It's the information right in front of your eyeballs that's the future.
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It's the information right in front of your eyeballs that's the future.
No, the Real Future (c)(tm) is having the hardware jacked right into your brain. No need for dorky eyewear or sticking things in your eyes. The hardware would see what you see by tapping your optic nerve. Your brain would interface directly with the hardware, augmenting your intelligence. That is the future that I want. Not this horse and carriage, post dark ages, middle of the industrial age, steam powered nonsense you call The Googles.
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By the time we're doing that, we'll be stimulating memories directly and expanding your imagination with DirectX48 at 120fps, while giving the answer to any question you briefly consider instantly in full multimedia a la Google+Wolfram Alpha+Wikipedia+Mathematica.
And the future *I* want involves my enhanced, uploaded mind occupying a few metric tons of atomically precise computronium distributed across the solar system, with continuous incremental backup a few light years away.
(Of course, from my point of v
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Because i can just image the first time they get hacked and they load up, say for example, goatsecx, and refuse to turn off. And you probably can't even close your eyes to shut it out because they're under your eyelids. (I presume the co
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VR headbands have been there for quite a while, the thing that prevented them from taking off was their prohibitive cost, which Google Glass didn't manage to fix.
Hey Google, how about a sports demo next? (Score:1)
Video??? (Score:2)
Who cares about video. I mean, yeah fine, it can record video, great, great great.
But if the Project Glass video [youtube.com] is any indication of what we're going to be seeing out of these, video is about on par with the colours it comes in, in terms of importance of features.
my preference (Score:2)
Even when the question in the topic offers choices (Score:2)
.. the answer is still "No", apparently.
No, Google Glass is neither the Future of Movies nor Monkey Cam 2.0? This is just an example of uncreative minds failing to see the potential that's apparent to engineers and other creative minds at Google. Of course, that's no guarantee they will succeed with this product, but I think we'll see a couple of big things within the next couple of years where people will say that "it started with Google Glass".
And addressing the specific question: the camera mounted on Zi
or the future of asymmetric social conflict? (Score:2)
Americas Funniest Home Videos (Score:2)
This won't be the future of movies (unless you count movies about this tech like Strange Days), but the future of Americas Funniest Home Videos. We are already see this trend with cars, some countries require dash cams for insurance purpose and thus we have a rise of all kinds of car videos on the net. Head mountable cameras like the GoPro also already do the same thing for sports and recreational activities.
But anyway, I consider all those to be side effects, that will not be why people are wearing those c
ADT Security Glasses [TM] (Score:2)
Yep, the product managers at ADT Security are probably brainstorming on ways to squeeze $30 a month out of people wearing ADT Security Glasses [TM]. Can't wait for the commercials [youtube.com]!
*shakes head* (Score:2)
I don't think any Glass demo could have been more utterly pointless than this.
Literally if you gave a hobo on the street a pair of those glasses it would be more compelling than this demo. Yay, congrats, you know how to walk up and down on a piece of level floor while wearing something unwearable. I can't help but think that this is the point where Google gets *completely* lost in their own hype.
Breathlessly? (Score:1)