SNL takes on Google Glass

Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update last night featured a segment on technology hosted by correspondent Randall Weeks (played by Fred Armisen) which was supposed to show how, unlike a smartphone, using Google Glass isdiscrete. Instead, with loud volume allowing everyone around to know that Weeks was watching porn on the device, and with exaggerated head rolls to scroll the screen and to go back a page, the Weeks character proved otherwise.

A couple of notes. The audience reaction revealed that it is just not tech savvy nerds who have an interest in Google Glass. The audience was on top of the skit from the moment that that the news parody's tech expert was seen on screen wearing the recently shipped product. And we have to give kudos to NBC for building a more than passable replica of Google Glass. How passable was it? Well, we wouldn't go buying a used unit from someone from the peacock network. Hey, did we just say peacock? You need to watch the video to understand that comment.

Go ahead, check out the video below. We promise it won't bite.

source: SaturdayNightLive 

Reddit comes to Google Glass; all early adopters accidentally walk into traffic

Google has been pretty clear about how it thinks Glass is best used: minimal distraction, and only the most important notifications and information. Google isn't even allowing ads on Glass right now, because it wants to keep the experience clean for users. And, in one app release, developer Malcolm Nguyen has destroyed all of that work. That's right, Nguyen made a Reddit app for Google Glass.

Nguyen's app is designed to deliver the top 25 stories from your Reddit front page directly to your Google Glass. The list of stories will refresh every hour, and of course you'll get options to up-or-down vote posts and comments up, leave your own comments, and share links. According to Nguyen, his app is made for those Redditors our there who want to "get pictures of cats and memes and gonewild beamed directly to your face without anyone suspecting a thing."

A noble effort to be sure, although we're not quite sure that nobody would "suspect a thing." First off, Tim O'Reilly has said that people can see a bit of what is on your Glass screen from the outside (it is a transparent prism after all). And, if you're wandering around the streets with gonewild photos being beamed to your face, that kind of distraction could cause some serious troubles. 

source: +Malcolm Nguyen 

App allows you to upload video to YouTube from Google Glass

With developers turning their attention to Google Glass, those using the specs can now upload a video to YouTube using an app called Fullscreen BEAM. The process is simple and the video ends up on Fullscreen BEAM's YouTube channel, ready for your viewing pleasure. You can have the video appear for the public to view, or you can keep it private for you own personal viewing. And if you want, the video can be tweeted via Twitter.

While some developers will be hard at work, creating a Google Glass version of their apps, others will be creating third party versions of popular Android apps. Last week, Evernote and Path each said that they would each be creating a version of their app for Google Glass.

Uploading a video to YouTube that you've filmed with Google Glass is a four step process. Register the Fullscreen BEAM app, shoot the video, share the video with the Fullscreen BEAM app and then wait for confirmation. You can check it out in real life by watching the video below.

source: YouTube via SlashGear

Google rep says Glass will soon be able to handle navigation and SMS without paired phone

So far, the early adopters of the Google Glass Explorer Edition have been required to have an Android device running Ice Cream Sandwich or higher with the MyGlass companion app in order to receive SMS on Glass or use navigation through the device. But, word has it that is going to change very soon and Glass will be able to handle those functions independent of a paired phone.

The news comes from TechCruch writer Frederic Lardinois who went to pick up his Glass yesterday. When he picked it up, he was told by the Google representative that Glass will soon be able to handle navigation and SMS independently of the device paired to it. The direct reason for this would be to break Glass of its dependence on Android, and allow it to work well for users with other smartphones. 

The only trouble is that Glass doesn't have a built-in GPS receiver, nor does it have a mobile radio. It does have a compass built-in, but has to rely on a paired device for GPS signals. It could get your location based on whatever WiFi access point you connect to, but it is unclear how "independent" Glass can really get. Still, it's good news for the (likely few) users who want to be able to use Glass with an iPhone, WP, or BlackBerry phone. 

source: TechCrunch

Google Glass censors bad language, can already be controlled with a wink

Google Glass, as creepy of a gadget as it may be, is surely coming to the mass market within a year or so. In the meantime, developers are busy making the thing actually useful for things like reading the news or sending out a tweet. These early adopters are also now discovering the peculiarities of Google Glass, and one of them turns out to be its built-in filtering of foul language.

In fact, it is being reported that Google Glass will censor bad words when entering text using the speech-to-text method, and there doesn't seem to be a way of turning the restriction off. So for example if you're trying to send a text message containing inappropriate verbiage, the swear words will be modified automatically by the software. Not that a filter like that is necessarily a bad thing. After all, it would prevent you from cursing by accident in case the speech-to-text engine happen to misinterpret your input. But it would probably have a hard time recognizing, ahem, totally appropriate names, such as "Mike Oxlong" and the likes. 

In other news related to Google Glass, it is now possible to control the device with the blink of an eye, much like that piece of code suggested that doing so will be possible. But you'll need an app for that – the Winky app that developer Mike DiGiovanni made and released for other Google Glass owners to try. A longer wink is required to trigger the command, presumably to prevent the camera from taking a photo unintentionally. In case you're adventurous enough to own a Google Glass, take a look at Mike's Google+ page to learn more about Winky.

source: Geek, Mike DiGiovanni (Google+)

Google releases Glass kernel source for interested developers

Google Glass has been poked and prodded from every angle since developers started getting their hands on the highly anticipated device. We've found out what internals Google used in the device, and a developer has claimed to root the device (though it is debatable that a developer device can be rooted. "Rooting" implies gaining access that the manufacturer doesn't normally allow.) Now, Google has released the kernel source code for Glass.

The Glass kernel clocks in at 68.9MB and comes packaged as a tar.xz file. Early analysis of the kernel code by Karthik's Geek Center says that the code has the headers required for NFC support, but we'd say that may just be a red herring. It makes almost no sense for Google to build NFC functionality into a device that you wear on your face. 

Still, open kernel code could definitely have some pretty interesting consequences given the engaged developer community that is already surrounding Google Glass. 

source: Google Code & Karthik's Geek Center 

Google Glass Explorer Edition using 2011 internals and OS

Taking a look at Google Glass Explorer Edition (XE), and especially looking at the pricetag, you would expect the device to be packing some serious internals. But, one of the developers who has gotten in on the early run of Glass has cracked it open and found that when it comes to both the hardware and software, Google Glass Explorer Edition is coming from 2011.

It turns out that the guts of Google Glass has far more in common with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus than with the Galaxy S4 or HTC One. The info comes from the same developer, Jay Lee, who was the first to "root" Glass (although he really didn't "root" anything, he just did an OEM unlock. "Rooting" implies that he did something that the OEM didn't allow, and the XE is a developer device.) 

Apparently, in addition to running 2011's Android 4.0, Google Glass is using a dual-core OMAP 4430 SoC from Texas Instruments running at an undetermined clock speed. Lee also found only 682MB of RAM, but assumes that Glass does have the 1GB that was reported, but only 682MB is available to developers. The overall idea is that the space constraints and battery life are the main factors in Google's choice of processor, and that seems reasonable. Not to mention, Glass doesn't need all that much processing power, as long as it can capture video and run Hangouts.

source: +Jay Lee 

Eric Schmidt says Google Glass is inappropriate in some places

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has been tasting his own cooking. Not literally. He actually has been putting on Google Glass and walking around with it and he has discovered one interesting thing. Talking to the device and using its voice recognition system is "the weirdest thing." The executive also said that a new etiquette will have to be developed to deal with a device that can take videos and pictures on the sly while allowing the user to have information that only he can view. "There are obviously places where Google Glasses are inappropriate," Schmidt said.

Speaking of places where Google Glass doesn't belong, you might remember last month when the 5 Point Cafe, a little bar in Seattle, banned the device because it can take pictures without warning the subject. According to the Cafe's owner Dave Meinert, no one wants to find pictures of themselves online, hanging out at a seedy bar. Meinert has become a media darling in the region for his stand on the issue.

While the app market is open for Android phones and tablets, Schmidt said that Google has decided to pre-approve all apps for Google Glass. "It's so new, we decided to be more cautious," Schmidt said. "It's always easier to open it up more in the future." The New York Times has already added its app for Google Glasswhich requires Glass users to go to a special website and add the New York Times to their Google account.

Those developers who ordered Google Glass during last May's Google I/O event for $1,500, have started receiving them. Consumer sales are expected to start up in 2014.

New York Times releases its Google Glass app for the early adopters

Google Glass has only just begun to roll out to its early adopters and development community, and there are still quite a lot of developers and early adopters who either pre-ordered at Google I/O last year, or are buying through the #IfIHadGlass campaign that haven't yet received their coveted device. But, that isn't stopping the New York Times from releasing its Glass app to the Explorer community.

Although Glass runs Android, and what the NYT has released is being called an "app", there's nothing really to install. Instead, Glass users have to visit a special website and connect theNYT to their Google account. The process is not unlike using Google or Facebook to sign in to a website. Users have to give permission for the NYT to access to basic Google account information, location, and of course permission to manage your Glass timeline. 

That should get users all hooked up and ready to get breaking news from the New York Times. We saw a bit of the app at SXSW, as well as apps from Path and Evernote, so we wouldn't be surprised if more apps started rolling out to the early adopters.

source: NYT 

Google Glass may be able to take pictures merely by winking

We know that Glass is out there, and people (developers) are wearing it, but for most of us, we still do not have much of a clue as to how it works, or what can work.

A curious code jockey did some digging and shared some insight on Reddit about an interesting (or creepy) function that Glass might be capable of doing, “wink” gestures.

Okay, so wink gestures could actually have a purpose, like using winks to advance through an email or browser page. It can also serve to take a photo as noted by “EYE_GESTURES_WINK_TAKE_PHOTO.” Well look at that! The guy who found it thought that idea was kind of creepy. 

One could argue however, that if someone were winking at you and taking your picture, it could be construed as a compliment. There is no need to get your hopes up though, the line merely suggests that it is possible for Glass to do that.  If it does work however, we would be very interested in knowing how Glass could tell the difference between a wink, and regular blinking.  The command lines denoting calibration are probably there to assist in that regard.

The code also indicates that other tasks may be programmed to operate upon a wink command as well. To that end, we will be very impressed if Glass can tell the differences in winking along with regular eye activity. Just remember to smile for the camera
and hopefully you will not get something in your eye in the process. 

source: Ars Technica

Google Glass to be ad-free?

We didn't see it coming, but it looks like Google Glass will not be shamelessly throwing advertisements at us every once in a while. According to the Terms of Service of the Google Glass API, application developers will not be allowed to serve ads to their users.

"No Ads. You may not serve or include any advertisements in your API Client." is what reads one of the points of the Terms of Service for Google Mirror (this is how Google lovingly calls the Glass API). The agreement also mentions that developers do not have the right to use customer data for advertising purposes or sell it to third parties. With that in mind, it appears that the only way devs will be able to monetize their apps will be through the good old purchase model.

When you think about it, disabling all kinds of ads on Google Glass seems like a wise move from Google. After all, the Glass is supposed to be a gadget that's even more personal than our smartphones. We're OK with seeing an ad here or there while playing a game or browsing the web, but we certainly aren't willing to let them ads invade our personal space.

Are you ready for the device that will finally let you watch football while your wife is blissfully deluded that you're actually listening to her? We sure are!

Infographic explains how Google Glass works in simple terms

Google’s Project Glass is an exciting (and controversial) piece of technology. A wearable heads-up display with you at all times makes for a radically new experience, a much more intimate dialog with technology.

But how does it work, how does the image come to be on the little glass display and is it always in the corner of your eye, or could it also be in the center? Those are all interesting questions, that we now have the answer to in a neat infographic by Cody, a member of the Google Glass Explorer program.

Basically, the most interesting piece of technology in Glass is the display. Actually it is a prism onto which a projector sends an image. That image is what your retina focuses on. So this combination of a miniature projector and a prism allows Glass to show you an overlay to reality. The angle of the prism directs the image directly into your fovea, the part of your retina where you have the most visual acuity.

Google’s Project Glass is expected to arrive en masse by the end of the year.

source: Brille-kaufen.org

Watch the complete Google Glass presentation at SXSW

Got 50 minutes to kill? You can watch a video with the complete presentation of Google Glass from last month's SXSW. Googler Timothy Jordan made an interesting comment when he said that it is still "early days" for Google Glass. After a brief video presentation that certainly toned down the capabilities of the device compared to that famous first video, Jordan said that Google is still working on Glass and that the finished product might have different features than what we see now on the video.

Last week, the buzz around the water cooler was that Google Glass would be made at a Foxconn factory in Santa Clara California, the same factory that produced the Nexus Q. Let's hope that there is no connection and that Google Glass gets off to a great start when it is released later this year.  

source: Google

Baidu making a Google Glass competitor called "Eye"

This is a pretty interesting report, because it's one of those few stories that comes out that started as an April Fool's joke, but actually turns out to have some truth to it. On April Fool's Day, a few reports went around saying that Baidu was working on a Google Glass competitor called Baidu Eye. That's a pretty solid prank, because it sounds reasonable enough that people could believe it. 

The thing is that the story was apparently based on a “kernel of truth” according to Baidu spokesperson Kaiser Kuo. Kuo says that so far it has only been through "a small internal test", and it's unclear if the product will ever make it to market. Supposedly Baidu Eye is designed a lot like Google Glass with a head-mounted camera and an ocular interface built with LED. The idea is to focus on "visual search on images and voice command".

The original April Fool's reports from Sina Tech, a Chinese news source, said that the product has been in development for "several years", and even named hardware partners like Qualcomm, but Kuo says that none of that is true. 

source: Sina Tech (prank) v

#IfIHadGlass winners are a mix of celebs and regular people

Google hasn't officially released the list of 8,000 winners of the #IfIHadGlass contest (although, is it really a "contest" if the "winners" still have to pay $1500 for the "prize"?) But, Google has been notifying the winners through public forums like Twitter and Google+, so Ph.D student Andrej Karpathy has been able to gather some stats about the winners.

Google said when it announced the competition that those with more social clout wouldn't be favored over anyone else, and has said that an independent outside panel chose the winners at random. Karpathy's list seems to be a little top-heavy, that more celebrities and those with high Twitter-follow counts. But, even out of the 2318 Twitter winners included on Karpathy's list, more that 25% (602) of them had fewer than 100 followers. and more than half had fewer than 1000 followers. 

Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't some big names on the list. Right at the top is the awesome Neil Patrick Harris, who says he will use Glass to document a day of shooting on How I Met Your Mother. Also up at the top of the list are Soulja Boy, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, tech guru Tim O'Reilly, and LeVar Burton. 

source: Andrej Karpathy

Google Glass could be manufactured in the US

More and more info is coming out about Google Glass these days. The buildup really makes us think that there will be a pretty big announcement about the product at Google I/O in May. We just heard that Google had chosen the winners of the #IfIHadGlass promotion, and now a new report says that Google could actually be manufacturing Glass right here in the good old US of A.

According to The Financial Times, Google is looking to make Glass the second device the company has built in the US (and the first successful one) after the stillborn Nexus Q. Google is apparently planning to manufacture Glass at the Foxconn plant right next door to Mountainview in Santa Clara, California. The idea is that Google wants to be close by to monitor the first production run, because it very well could be complicated and expensive. 

This setup could just be for the initial run of production, and could very well account for the $1500 pricetag that early adopters are paying for Glass. It's unclear if Google will move manufacturing overseas once Glass is ready for mass production.

source: The Financial Times 

Google selects the 8,000 Google Glass winners

On Tuesday, Google started informing the winners of its contest, that they had won the opportunity to purchase a $1,500 test version of Google Glass. U.S residents were given the opportunity by the Mountain View based tech titan to explain in 50 words or less how they would use Google Glass. Writing the essay on Google+ or  Twitter, contestants had to include thehashtag #ifihadglass with their entry. The winners will have to travel to New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco to pick up the device, which won't be launched to consumers until later this year or earlier next year.

8,000 people have won the chance to buy the Explorer version of Google Glass

Google Glass could be the first of a new niche of products called wearable computers, and includes a possible smartwatch that is allegedly being developed by Apple, Samsung, Google and LG. Google Glass allows users to stay connected to their email, news, and social networks hands-free. Users will be able to take hands free pictures or video, a feature that upset one bar owner in Seattle who has already banned Google Glass.

Among the winning entries was one person who promised to take Google Glass to the VA so that soldiers who fought in World War II can see their memorials before they die. Another said that she would take Google Glass on a trip to Japan and take pictures and video to show her grandmother who now lives in the U.S.,but was born in Japan. One winner wants to use the technology to give firefighters maps to help them perform their jobs better, while one zookeeper wanted to use Google Glass to show the world how to feed penguins.

The "Explorer" version of Google Glass, which is the version of the device that the contest winners will be purchasing, will be thoroughly examined by Google engineers to see if any improvements can be made to the device before it is finally launched.  

source: AP

Google Glass ban on drivers sought by West Virginia lawmaker

West Virginia lawmaker Gary G. Howell, a Republican sitting on the West Virginia Legislature, is leading the charge for a law in the state that would ban the use of Google Glass by drivers. Howell likens the use of the device by those behind the wheel to those who send and receive text messages while driving. Those caught using Google Glass while driving a vehicle would face a $100 fine for the first offense. Each additional offense would see the fine rise by another $100. For example, if you're tempting fate and get caught for the fifth time, that will lighten your wallet by $500. Add that to the $1,500 cost of Google Glass, and it starts to run up to some real money!

A local politician in West Virginia wants to ban drivers from wearing Google Glass

Howell wants it to be known that he is not against the device and sees it as the future. But he sees wearing it and driving a danger to many of the state's teens. He said that with the dangers inherent with texting and driving, he sees Google Glass as an "extension" of this and if his bill doesn't become law, he at hopes it leads to bills filed by other legislatures. Howell's proposed bill would add head-mounted displays to cellphones and other electronic devices that are currently prohibited from use while driving in the state.

Last month, a small bar in Seattle made national headlines. The 5 Points Cafe, located near Amazon and apparently a hangout for Amazon employees, banned Google Glass for privacy reasons saying that Glass wearers can snap pictures and take video of bar patrons without their permission.

Howell's proposed bill is H.B. 3057 and can be viewed in its entirety by clicking on the sourcelink. But not while you're driving.

"I actually like the idea of the product and I believe it is the future, but last legislature we worked long and hard on a no-texting-and-driving law. It is mostly the young that are the tech-savvy that try new things. They are also our most vulnerable and underskilled drivers. We heard of many crashes caused by texting and driving, most involving our youngest drivers. I see the Google Glass as an extension."-Gary Howell, W. Virginia lawmaker

source: WestVirginiaLegislature 

Google patent shows Glass as the hub for Android@Home

Android@Home is one of those projects that Google showed off a couple years ago, but it never really went anywhere. The idea was to get electronics manufacturers to build Android into everyday home products like thermostats, lighting systems, garage door openers, sound systems, etc. Even though Android@Home hasn't gone anywhere, Google hasn't given up it seems, because a new patent shows Google Glass as a hub for home systems.

Glass will use visual identification, RFID, infrared, Bluetooth, and QR codes to find controllable devices, and when it finds something, it would download relevant information, plus control interfaces. The controls would appear as augmented reality overlays on the device in question, then assuming your refrigerator or garage door opener is connected to WiFi, you'll be able to control it through Glass.

It sounds like a cool usage, but of course, we need to see manufacturers making the compatible devices first.

source: USPTO 

Google Glass may be featured in a Pauly D video (read: if so, Glass has already jumped the shark)

Google Glass hasn't made too many appearances yet. We've seen it on models at a fashion show, and of course we've also seen Google co-founder Sergey Brin wearing Glass everywhere he's been over the past few months. But, now we're seeing it in a place we never expected: a music video from Jersey Shore alumnus Pauly D.

Obviously, the strangest thing about this is that Google Glass has only been given out to those that pre-ordered at Google I/O last year, and everyone that has gotten a pair has had to sign non-disclosure agreements. We really don't want to think that Google has actually sanctioned this usage of Glass, but if not that would mean someone may have broken the NDA. Of course, the glasses in the video don't look 100% like Google Glass, and may not be the real thing, merely a knockoff.

The glasses make a couple appearances in the video. A model puts them on at the beginning, and then she walks down the runway wearing Glass and recording a video at around 2:25. Given the way it is featured in the video, it seems like Google would have to have given the okay on this, assuming the glasses in the video are actually Google Glass, which we can't confirm. But, at the very least, the models are attractive, so you can always watch with the sound off. 

source: DJ Pauly D VEVO