Google Glass to gain local apps, but not cellular connection

Google Glass will eventually gain the ability to run local apps from the device itself, Glass creator Babak Parviz told a conference audience on Monday.

Parviz, speaking at the Hot Chips conference at Stanford University, charted the evolution of Glass as packing more computer power into progressively small former factors, from mainframes to PCs to smartphones, and on to wearables.

Google has a “few thousand” of Glass devices available in the wild, through its Explorer program, Parviz said. The glasses use either a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection to pull in data, which is projected onto the surface of the clear plastic of the Glass lens. So far, Google Glass wearers can record video, take pictures, launch Hangouts, navigate, and search for information. However, Google continues to add new features to Glass via periodic updates; some recent additions include the ability to view YouTube videos, pausing playback while orienting a “cursor” over the appropriate button.

Third-party apps for Glass are also beginning to take shape, with The New York Times, among others, rolling out services for what Google hopes is a new platform, Parviz said. “We still have a lot of data centers, a lot of computers, a lot of smartphones, and a lot of notebooks,” he said. “So even though these new platforms appear, the previous platforms don’t totally disappear.”

For now, however, those services run in the cloud. In fact, everything runs in the cloud, Parviz said. “In the next generation of the platform, we may allow people to run things from here,” he said, gesturing to the Glass itself.

The problem, of course, is that adding anything to the Glass device—whether it be more storage, a faster processor, or other capabilities, may have implications on the device itself. The majority of power consumed by smartphones is due to both the display and the cellular radio; while Parviz did not explicitly connect the two, Glass lacks a cellular radio, and “there is no plan to put a cellular radio immediately in Glass right now,” Parviz said. The assumption, of course, is that doing so would pare down the Glass battery life.

A version of Glass for prescription lenses is also on the way, as Google executives have said before, “In the next few months we’ll integrate it into glasses,” Parviz said.

But don’t expect it to go much farther than that. Parviz said that his work at the University of Washington involved trying to project images onto the curved surface of a contact lens—a project that proved incredibly difficult for even a single pixel.

Numerous audience members asked Parviz about the societal elements of Glass, from its impact on security to just wondering whether they could avoid being recorded by Glass. Parviz slid by the question, noting that in the late 1880s the rise of portable cameras prompted concerns that anyone would take a picture of another person in a public place, something that is legal under U.S. law. “The user will have to have some judgement,” he said.

View the original article here

Google Glass for bespectacled coming in a 'few months'

A version of Google Glass for people who already wear glasses will arrive in a few months, the head of the Google project said Monday.

"In the next few months we will release a version that will integrate into glasses. So if you are wearing glasses, you'd be able to use this," said Babak Parviz, founder and head of the Google Glass project at Google, during a speech at the Hot Chips conference in Stanford, California, on Tuesday.

If the Google Glass platform is successful, "you'll see different optics," Parviz said.

But will there be Google Glass contact lenses? That is possible, but perhaps in the distant future, Parviz said. "In principle that's a doable thing, someday actually in the future contact lenses may arrive. It's not immediate."

As a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, Parviz worked on putting displays in contact lenses.

"It was fun, we went all the way to 1-pixel on a contact lens that worked wirelessly, but even that was quite difficult," Parviz said.

In his speech, Parviz talked about the promise of Google Glass as a possible successor to smartphones for communications and information. It provides immediate and hands-free access to information, and can overlay the data on what may seem like a large screen.

"The cell phones screens... are limited for the most part to what the cell phone is. It would be very difficult to get a cinema-size display if you don't have a form factor like this," Parviz said.

Google ships its own smartphones and provides the OS for hundreds of millions of Android phones, but Glass has its own advantages. Smartphones, tablets and Google Glass will be able to co-exist, but ultimately the cutting-edge technology will take over, Parviz said. Google Glass could take over from smartphones the way mobile devices took over from computers and telephones as communications tools.

"It's not to say the smartphones aren't good, but there are certain things definitely unique to this platform that smartphones will not be able to do," Parviz said.

There are privacy concerns as well, and Parviz said it will take some time for society to figure out Google Glass. He likened the Google Glass to the first time the camera came out in the late 1800s, which caused an uproar because people were scared that someone would violate their privacy by randomly taking their picture on a street. Now cameras are part of our daily lives, Parviz said.

Google is trying to improve the hardware.

The company wants Google Glass to last all day on a single charge, while delivering the performance to handle the vast amount of information it collects. It also needs to interact better with the human body and environment through optics and photonics. Another challenge is video processing, as the device may capture a lot of video, and also be used for augmented reality.

"What we have today is a good solid first step, but not enough especially for video processing. Because the more this platform is successful, we're going to be collecting more video," Parviz said.

Another goal is to keep the device stylish, while reducing the size of components and keeping power consumption down.

"We're very excited about this platform," Parviz said. "We've made some really solid progress in the right direction and hopefully we can accelerate that."

Agam Shah covers PCs, tablets, servers, chips and semiconductors for IDG News Service. Follow Agam on Twitter at @agamsh. Agam's e-mail address is agam_shah@idg.com

Agam Shah is a reporter for the IDG News Service in New York. He covers hardware including PCs, servers, tablets, chips, semiconductors, consumer electronics and peripherals.
More by Agam Shah, IDG News Service

View the original article here

Siri-ously?! Siri makes fun of Google Glass

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Investment firm Fidelity designs a Google Glass app

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass NBT displays coming for touchscreen laptops

Scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass NBT displays coming for touchscreen laptops | PCWorld $(document).ready(function() {(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=2452591947"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));}); PCWorldMacworldTechHive Sign InJoin ? Follow @PCWorld!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); FacebookTwitterHome NewsReviewsHow-ToVideoBusinessLaptopsComputersDesktopsComponentsInput devicesDisplaysStorageNetworkingPhonesPrintersSecuritySoftwareWindowsMoreDesktopsPhonesPrintersTablet PCsUltrabooksAntivirus softwareCamerasComponentsComputer accessoriesConsumer adviceDisplaysE-ReadersFlash drivesGraphics cardsHard drivesHome theaterInput devicesKeyboardsLaptop accessoriesMobileNetworkingOperating systemsOptical drivesProcessorsServersStreaming servicesStorageTabletsWindows 8DesktopsComponentsInput devicesDisplaysStorageNetworking

Displays displays, laptops Scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass NBT displays coming for touchscreen laptops

Mashing mobile technology together with traditional PC designs has a hit-and-miss track record—cough, cough—but Monday, Corning announced that one of the more practical smartphone innovations out there is coming to touchscreen PCs, in the form of Gorilla Glass NBT.

Gorilla Glass has become a mainstay on top-shelf smartphone releases thanks to its enhanced scratch resistance—a killer property when you’re poking and prodding your device all day long. While manufacturers have dabbled with putting Gorilla Glass coatings on laptops in the past—witness the Gorilla Glass-drenched HP Envy Spectre line, or numerous high-end Dell offerings—Corning hasn’t made a concerted effort to crack the laptop arena until now.

With touchscreens regularly appearing on PCs these days, Corning is trying to transfer its mobile success to the x86 crowd.

Corning says Gorilla Glass NBT offers eight- to ten-times more scratch resistance than the soda lime glass traditionally used on laptops. And if your screen does get scraped, the company claims that Gorilla Glass NBT boasts both reduced scratch visibility and “better retained strength once a scratch occurs to help protect notebook displays from breakage.”

The new displays are stronger than traditional screens, too. In the amusing video above, Corning shill “Warren” demonstrates how the Gorilla Glass NBT screen is capable of withstanding having a notebook’s lid closed on a pen—an event that cracks a standard soda lime display.

While you shouldn’t expect the arrival of Gorilla Glass NBT to give lagging laptop sales a shot in the arm, adding Corning’s steadfast screens to touchscreen notebooks should only make the mobile computing experience less frustrating—assuming the new display tech is as impervious as its mobile-focused counterpart.

My touchscreen laptops already display scads of small feather scratches, and the cost of replacing a cracked laptop screen can easily go up to several hundred dollars.

For “one to two percent of a notebook’s retail price,” as Corning announced the cost, I’d be surprised if Gorilla Glass NBT didn’t become a staple on premium notebooks, as Gorilla Glass has on smartphones.

In fact, Dell is on board and plans to integrate Gorilla Glass NBT into the touchscreen laptops being released this fall, while Corning says it expects several laptops from several manufacturers to include NBT later this year.

Now, if only Gorilla Glass could do something about greasy fingerprints smearing up the screen…

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Brad Chacos@BradChacosJul 29, 2013 2:21 PMprint Brad ChacosSenior Writer, PCWorld

Brad Chacos spends the days jamming to Spotify, digging through desktop PCs and covering everything from BYOD tablets to DIY tesla coils.
More by Brad Chacos

#toaster{ border-bottom:1px solid #c6c6c6; border-left:1px solid #c6c6c6; border-top:1px solid #c6c6c6; -moz-box-shadow: 0 0 4px 2px #ddd; -webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 4px 2px #ddd; box-shadow: 0 0 4px 2px #ddd; background: #FFF url(http://zapt5.staticworld.net/images/furniture/techhive/toaster-striped-tall-bg-th.png) left 0 no-repeat; width:385px; height:auto; display:none; overflow:hidden; padding-bottom: 3px; position:fixed; right:0; bottom:30px; z-index:99999; }body.pcworld #toaster{background: #FFF url(http://zapt5.staticworld.net/images/furniture/techhive/toaster-striped-tall-bg-pcw.png) left 0 no-repeat;}body.macworld #toaster{background: #FFF url(http://zapt5.staticworld.net/images/furniture/techhive/toaster-striped-tall-bg-mw.png) left 0 no-repeat;}#toasterCloser{ background-image: url("http://zapt5.staticworld.net/images/furniture/techhive/nav-elements_sprite.png"); background-position:0 -50px; float:right; margin-right:10px; margin-top: 7px; height:18px; width:18px; cursor:pointer; }body.pcworld #toasterCloser{ background-image: url("http://zapt5.staticworld.net/images/furniture/pcworld/nav-elements_sprite-pcw.png"); }body.macworld #toasterCloser{ background-image: url("http://zapt5.staticworld.net/images/furniture/macworld/nav-elements_sprite-mw.png"); }#toasterNewsletter{ width:325px; display:block; float:left; margin-left:31px; font-size:15px; margin-bottom:6px;}#toasterNewsletter input[type="text"]{ float:left; border-radius: 4px; box-shadow: 2px 2px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4) inset; padding: 5px 25px 5px 8px; font-size:12px; width:170px; }#toasterNewsletter input[type="button"]{ font-size:12px; margin-left:10px;}#toasterText{ width:325px; display:block; float:left; margin-top:7px; margin-bottom: 5px; padding-bottom:5px; border-bottom:1px solid #c6c6c6; margin-left:31px;}#toasterLabel{ color:#959595; font-size:9px; display:block; text-transform:uppercase; }#toasterReadMore{ display:block; font-size:10px; }#toaster h4{ margin-top: .25em; line-height:1.2; font-size:15px; }#toasterNewsletter h4{ margin-top:1px;}#toaster.hideTheToaster{ right: -365px; cursor:pointer; } g_arrModules['Intel13: toaster']=true; Add Your Comment closeEmail "Scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla..."From: To: Message: Thank you for sharing this page. Sorry! There was an error emailing this page .home-video, a.video-index-link {color: #AC1F2B;}.home-video {background: #e8e8e8;margin-bottom: 30px;overflow: hidden;padding: 0 10px;font-family: "ff-enzo-web",sans-serif;}body.pcworld .home-video {font-family: "facitweb",sans-serif;}body.macworld .home-video {font-family: "proxima-nova",sans-serif;}.home-video-feature{width:100%;position:relative;}.home-video-feature img{max-width:320px;max-height:180px;}.home-video h2 {font-size: 24px;line-height: 1;margin: 0;padding: 15px 0;text-transform: uppercase;}.home-video .excerpt {float: left;width: 100%;clear: both;margin-bottom: 15px;}a.video-blox-thumb {display: block;position: relative;}p {line-height: 1.70em;margin: 0 0 .7em;}.home-video .excerpt-img {float: left;width: 90px;margin-top:3px;}a.video-blox-thumb span {background: url(http://zapt5.staticworld.net/images/furniture/techhive/icn-play-overlay.png) 50% 50% no-repeat;display: block;height: 100%;left: 0;position: absolute;top: 0;width: 100%;}a.video-blox-thumb-small span {background-image: url(http://zapt5.staticworld.net/images/furniture/techhive/icn-play-overlay-sm.png);}.home-video .excerpt-text a {color: #333;font-weight: 100;}a.leadVideoModalClick {color: #333;text-align:center;}div.excerpt-text p {line-height: 1.6em;margin: 0 0 .7em;}.home-video .excerpt-text {float: right;width: 220px;}p#videoModuleLead {padding-top: 10px;text-align: center;font-weight:bold;line-height:1.3em;font-size:17px;}/* Z-index of #mask must lower than #boxes .window */#modalMask { position:absolute; z-index:9000; background-color:#000; display:none; top: 0px; left: 0px;} #modalVideoWindow { position:fixed; width:622px; height:406px; display:none; z-index:9999; padding:20px; background-color: #fff; } @media only screen and (min-width:1px) and (max-width:767px) { .home-video .excerpt-img {width:20%;}.home-video .excerpt-img img{width:100%;}.home-video .excerpt-text {width: 78%;}}@media only screen and (min-width:1px) and (max-width:320px) { .home-video-feature img{max-width:300px;max-height:165px;}}Latest VideosAsus Interview

$700 drone goes on display

Astronaut controls robot on Earth from the ISS

Wearable Tech Expo spotlights health and fitness

View more PCWorld videos »

Close

Asus Interview

Jul 25, 2013 7:50 PM

Asus Chairman Jonney Shih stops by to talk about the work his company put into the latest Nexus 7 tablet.

READ THE RELATED ARTICLE:

Asus Interview

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Popular Displays VS248H-P Black 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor (1920x10... as low as $190.00 VH238H Black 23" Widescreen LED Monitor VG248QE Black 24" Widescreen 3D LED Monitor as low as $267.00 ProArt PA248Q 24" LED LCD Monitor - 16:10 - 6... as low as $290.00 Pavilion 2711x Black 27" Widescreen LCD Monit... as low as $330.00 See more » Popular Displays VS248H-P Black 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor (1920x10... as low as $190.00 VH238H Black 23" Widescreen LED Monitor VG248QE Black 24" Widescreen 3D LED Monitor as low as $267.00 ProArt PA248Q 24" LED LCD Monitor - 16:10 - 6... as low as $290.00 Pavilion 2711x Black 27" Widescreen LCD Monit... as low as $330.00 See more » Subscribe to the Power Tips Newsletter

See All Newsletters »function submitNewsletterSubscription(){var postData=$("#newsletterModuleForm").serialize(); var email = $.trim($('#newsletterModuleForm [name="email"]').val());if(!checkEmailValid(email)){alert("Please enter a valid email address.");return false;} else if(postData.indexOf("prodid")==-1){alert("Please Select at least one Newsletter.");return false;}var requestOptions={url: '/newsletters/nl_module_processor',data: postData,success: function(data,textStatus){$("#newsletters").fadeOut("slow",function(){$(this).html(data).fadeIn("slow");})}};$.ajax(requestOptions)}function handleSubForm() {if (isValidEmail($('#email').val())) {$.post("/newsletters/nl_module_processor",{email: $('#email').val(),subsource: $('#subsource').val(),prodid: $('#prodid').val(),submitted: $('#submitted').val(),caller: $('#caller').val()}, function(data) { $(this).html(data); });} else {$('#message').html('Please check your email address and captcha text!');}return false;}function isValidEmail(str) {return (str.indexOf(".") > 2) && (str.indexOf("@") > 0);}function clearFld(pFld) {getObject(pFld).value = "";return false;} PCWorld

PCWorld helps you navigate the PC ecosystem to find the products you want and the advice you need to get the job done.

About UsCommunity StandardsContact UsMagazine Customer Service Ad ChoicesNewslettersPrivacy PolicyMagazines, eBooks & AppsRSSTerms of Service AgreementForums PCWorld CATEGORIES BusinessLaptopsMobilePC HardwarePrintersSecuritySoftwareVideosWindowsIDG Network SitesAdvertiseCareers at IDGContent WorksIDGPermissionsIDG Consumer & SMBKnowledge HubMacworldTechHive Get PCWorld's Digital Editions Subscribe Now Follow us

Visit other IDG sites:

Select One CIO Computerworld CSO DEMO IDG Connect IDG TechNetwork InfoWorld ITworld JavaWorld Network World The Industry Standard

© 1998-2013, IDG Consumer & SMB

View the original article here