Robert Scoble Takes Google Glass Into A Public Restroom and No One Notices
There are louder and louder rumblings about Google Glass and how it’s essentially a device that invades individuals’ privacy more egregiously and surreptitiously than anything on the market. Indeed, it’s unnerving to think that any Tom, Dick, or Jane walking down the street can snap photos or take video of you simply by looking at you, without your knowledge or consent.
However, despite public concern, tech blogger Robert Scoble said at a tech conference in Amsterdam that he wore the high-tech specs (he has the early Google Glass Explorer Edition) for an entire week and walked into about 20 public men’s restrooms with them on without incident and without anyone really seeming to notice he was wearing them at all. (Insert joke here about the general lack of eye contact in men’s restrooms.)
Robert Scoble with his Google Glass specs (Credit: Yahoo!)
It’s also worth noting that Scoble said that the goggles aren’t recording video all the time; users have to either use a voice command or a touchpad on the side of Google Glass to start shooting. In other words, just because someone wearing Google Glass looks at you doesn’t mean you’re on camera.
Of course, it’s probably going to be impossible to tell when you’re being recorded. A little LED indicating that the video camera is active could do the trick, but of course people will just remove the light or cover it up. In any case, there’s no doubt that the first bona fide Google Glass-based dustup is only a matter of time.
However, despite public concern, tech blogger Robert Scoble said at a tech conference in Amsterdam that he wore the high-tech specs (he has the early Google Glass Explorer Edition) for an entire week and walked into about 20 public men’s restrooms with them on without incident and without anyone really seeming to notice he was wearing them at all. (Insert joke here about the general lack of eye contact in men’s restrooms.)
Robert Scoble with his Google Glass specs (Credit: Yahoo!)
It’s also worth noting that Scoble said that the goggles aren’t recording video all the time; users have to either use a voice command or a touchpad on the side of Google Glass to start shooting. In other words, just because someone wearing Google Glass looks at you doesn’t mean you’re on camera.
Of course, it’s probably going to be impossible to tell when you’re being recorded. A little LED indicating that the video camera is active could do the trick, but of course people will just remove the light or cover it up. In any case, there’s no doubt that the first bona fide Google Glass-based dustup is only a matter of time.
