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Seeing the Future?<br />
Google Glass’s tagline<br />
is “Getting technology<br />
out of the way”. It is a<br />
headset computer, with<br />
a small screen that puts<br />
information in the wearer’s line of<br />
sight. It’s a bit like a smartphone<br />
that you wear on your head.<br />
It was voice-commanded, and<br />
users could quickly get directions,<br />
read and send messages, take<br />
photos and videos, and access<br />
the internet. It was announced in<br />
April 2012, and went on general<br />
sale in May 2014. The device<br />
got a lot of media coverage, both<br />
positive and negative. Was this<br />
going to be the next big thing in<br />
personal computing?<br />
It didn’t take long, however,<br />
for criticisms to start to roll in.<br />
For a start, it was suggested<br />
that the devices weren’t actually<br />
very good. They were buggy and<br />
difficult to use, and the quality<br />
of the photos and video wasn’t<br />
very good even compared to<br />
smartphone cameras. But quickly<br />
other concerns started to arise.<br />
Privacy issues rose to the fore,<br />
with Google Glass wearers being<br />
banned from cinemas to prevent<br />
piracy, and even from restaurants<br />
to ensure diners could eat without<br />
PICTURE BY KĀRLIS DAMBRĀNS<br />
being worried about surreptitious<br />
photographs being taken. Some<br />
even described the device as a<br />
“stalker’s friend”.<br />
But positive stories about the<br />
use of Google Glass started to<br />
come through too. Google Glass<br />
has been used widely in health<br />
care situations. In Europe, Google<br />
Glass has been reported to be<br />
used in surgery, in ambulances<br />
and even in a trauma helicopter<br />
to give medical staff information<br />
and assistance as they worked.<br />
A further trial in Australia<br />
experimented with giving support<br />
to new breastfeeding mothers<br />
using Google Glass, so that<br />
lactation consultants could see the<br />
baby as the mother saw them.<br />
However, in January 2015,<br />
Google announced that they<br />
had stopped the manufacture of<br />
Google Glass, and was moving<br />
on in its research. At the time<br />
of writing, there are rumours<br />
of Google Glass version 2, but<br />
nothing has been announced by<br />
Google.<br />
Is this the future of mobile<br />
computing, or is this simply a<br />
novelty that will soon wear off?<br />
Only time will tell!<br />
Rev Duncan Bell<br />
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats<br />
Church Office: 9 Linden Avenue, Sheffield S8 0GA<br />
Tel: (0114) 274 5086<br />
Page 20<br />
email: office@stchads.org<br />
website: www.stchads.org
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