Google Glass has been making some headway lately, and it hasn’t gone un-noticed. Theres been many different issues raised about not only the safety of the device but also the privacy. The safety concerns revolve around concentration, especially for drivers etc. The privacy concerns are mainly focused around people having the ability to take photos and videos with no warning.
Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt has had a taste of his own medicine and has addressed some concerns raised. He’s been out and about walking the streets using Google Glass. He seems to have discovered something very interesting (in his own words) and attempts to describe his findings. One of the biggest points he raised was that a whole new etiquette would have to be developed revolving around Google Glass. This would be to mainly focus on and deal with the device’s ability to capture photos and videos on the sly.
Eric also addressed the issues surrounding how appropriate this device is in some countries and regions. Whole countries may take a bad view on Google’s new device, for various reasons which could even lead to a full ban country-wide. An example of this is the “5 Point Cafe” a little Cafe in Seattle that completely banned Google Glass from its premises, due to its ability to take photos without warning, discretely.
According to the 5 Point Cafe’s owner David Meiner, no one would enjoy seeing unwanted and unknown photos of themselves appear online. In response to this Google has confirmed that all Google Glass apps would have to be pre-approved manually before being listed for Download. This will help drive away sly developers trying to take advantage of some of the points and concerns raised. Google’s explanation for this is:
It’s so new, we’ve decided to be extra cautious.
Eric Schmidt himself then followed up saying:
“It’s always easier to open it up more in the future”
The New York Times has already developed and released its app for Google Glass, however users have to go to a specially designed website in order to register and activate their devices.
Developers who attended the Google Glass conference last May have started to receive their Google Glass and consumer devices are expected to start shipping May 2014, will you be joining the future of wearable computing?
[Source: Reuters]