Google has unveiled a set of glasses, known as Project Glass, that will allow you access the Internet from the bridge of your nose. The spectacles have made quite a spectacle at tech conferences as people have been dazzled by Project Glass’ features.
The eyewear allows you to read text messages, receive directions, take part in a video chat, snap photos, and even shop online. Eat your heart out, Buck Rogers!
Google execs say the glasses have been designed to work with your senses and not distract you.
So why does Project Glass receive The Whiner of the Week? The technology may be super smart but some of us are really dumb. And that could create a lot of problems.
Any product that allows us to do two things at once makes me nervous. Yes, we are a society of multi-taskers and sometimes we multi-task ourselves into traffic accidents. It’s a matter of focus and not technology.
Google believes the glasses will be less of a distraction than holding up a smart phone. This may be true but it’s not the device that gets us into trouble. It’s our own behavior.
Often an invention is created for one specific purpose and later is used for many things. For instance, Henry Ford probably never thought people would attach suspension systems to cars that can make them jump up in the air. And I doubt he had any idea that some idiots would create a sport out of surfing on the hood of a moving vehicle.
Perhaps people are smarter than I give them credit, but to me, the Google glasses sound like a bad idea.
Note: I do give the company some sneaky business plan credit for announcing that it will sell the glasses to attendees at an upcoming tech conference. That’s more than a year before you and I can buy them. There’s nothing like having people pay $1,500 to test out and then promote your product for free.