Google Glasses Seem Cool, but Voice Control Could Get Out of Hand

Imagine a bunch of people murmuring to themselves in public, each phrase beginning with "OK Glass." That'll be the future if Google has its way.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1uyQZNg2vE]

“OK Glass, record a video.” Imagine a bunch of people murmuring to themselves in public, each phrase beginning with “OK Glass.” That’ll be the future if Google has its way.

In a new video for its high-tech Google Glass product – think of it like wearing your smartphone on your head and having the screen projected in front of you — the search giant shows off a whole bunch of first-person footage, along with a few of the voice prompts used to get Glass to do your bidding.

I have to admit, it all looks pretty slick – and I’m by no means saying I wouldn’t use something like this once the price drops considerably. But I’m not big on voice commands for everything. I’d rather type quietly, especially while in public. In the technology world, we’ve had several fashionably questionable eras; most recently, cell phones on belt loops and Bluetooth headsets permanently sticking out of people’s ears even when they’re not on a call. The next era might very well be hordes of people walking around with these glasses on, talking to themselves.

Or imagine asking someone for directions and getting the “I’m busy” index finger as they seemingly stare off into the distance. They’ll be watching some video or sending some photo to one of their friends. Don’t interrupt them! The idea, I suppose, is that you should just have these glasses yourself so you won’t need to ask people for directions. Perhaps we’ll see a happy medium where instead of people staring down at their phones like they do now, or talking to themselves constantly to control the glasses, we’ll just stare down at Bluetooth keyboards that are connected to the glasses so we don’t have to say everything out loud.

While it still seems that Google Glass won’t be making it to general consumers in the near-near future, Google’s got a site dedicated to the project up, complete with the above video, an overview of features and how you can buy Google Glass early. Spoiler: You’ll need to plead your case on Google+ or Twitter in 50 words or less, get chosen from a pool of applicants, fork over $1,500 and “attend a special pick-up experience in person, in New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles.” The deadline is February 27th.

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