glasses

Who would you like most to see on your street, your television, or your cruise to the Bahamas, staring at you with one wicked eye and one distracted?

I fancy that more than one person might say "Newt Gingrich."

An intimidating presence at the best of times, please imagine how he might look wearing Google's new and currently taste-challenged glasses.

You may only have to imagine for a short while. For the Republican presidential candidate and famed historical consultant was a winner in Google's lottery to find explorers for its Google Glass.

I am grateful to … Read more

Those who were planning road trips in West Virginia were worried.

Especially those who were included in Google's list of eminent and lucky people who would be the explorers of Google's wonderful, breakthrough (and possibly insane) eyeglasses known as Google Glass.

For a Republican legislator had proposed a bill -- after reading just one Technically Incorrect post -- that would ban anyone in the state from wearing Google's glasses and driving.

Gary. G. Howell explained very cogently that he was not against the invention, but that he feared it would be just as distracting as texting. And … Read more

Google giveth Google Glass invitations and Google taketh away.

The Web giant has begun notifying winners of its Glass Explorer #ifihadglass contest, which invited people to submit their applications of Google's high-tech specs if they were among the first chosen to have access. Kicked off a month ago, the contest asked applicants for their pitches, ideas that included everything from health care applications to skateboarding to journalism and storytelling.

Google said yesterday it would reveal the winners over Google+ and Twitter over the next few days. Many began receiving notifications today that looked like this:

@ampersandmoxie You're invited … Read more

Like so many other popular and much-coveted tech gadgets, Google Glass will be made by China's Foxconn -- but not in China.

The Financial Times is reporting that Google's augmented reality specs will be assembled by the Taiwan-based company, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, at a facility in Santa Clara, Calif. Foxconn has contracts with many big names in the tech world to manufacture and/or assemble laptops, smartphones, and other consumer products in facilities around the world, including its massive, city-sized factories in mainland China.… Read more

Google says it has picked the winners of its Glass Explorer #ifihadglass contest. The company will reveal the chosen ones by way of Google+ and Twitter over the next few days.

The contest, which kicked off Feb. 20 and ran for a week, asked people who wanted to be first to get their hands on Google's high-tech specs to submit their ideas for Glass, like so: "Using Google+ or Twitter, tell us what you would do if you had Glass, starting with the hashtag #ifihadglass."

Pitches involved everything from health care applications to skateboarding to journalism and storytelling.… Read more

When you drop molten glass into cold water, you get a curious object: a Prince Rupert's Drop, shaped like a teardrop with a long, wiggly tail. What's so curious about the Prince Rupert's Drop is that you can hit the bulb as hard as you like with a hammer, throw it against the wall, and yet, even though we think of glass as fragile, it will not break.

That is, until you hit the sweet spot. If you damage any part of the tail, just a tiny bit, the entire drop explodes outward in a stunning display.

Although the drops have been around for centuries, the reason for this strange behavior has only been discovered recently -- and it can be seen by watching the glass explode in slow motion. That's what YouTube science educator Destin of Smarter Every Day has done. … Read more

Your Kindle could finally be liberated during take-off and landing on flights in the U.S. by this time next year.

Many of us have had the experience of doing a double-take when the flight attendant asks us to power down an e-reader, even when it's already in airplane mode. My old-school Kindle isn't even backlit -- there are probably more emissions coming through the fillings in my teeth; perhaps I should stow those under the seat in front of me as well?

I'm guessing that might freak out the federal air marshal aboard my next flight.… Read more

Dabbling in politics can bring troubling consequences.

So here at Technically Incorrect, we prefer to keep our distance, because, from a distance, our laughter can still be heard quite well.

However, I received a curious message last night from Gary G. Howell, a Republican in the West Virginia Legislature.

It read: "Your article on Google Glass prompted this bill."

The only bills I'd ever previously inspired were $20 ones accompanied by the words: "Here's money for a taxi. Get out of here."

So I wondered what sort of bill this could be. It transpires that West Virginia has decided to think proactively about Google Glass.

This bill seeks to make it illegal to drive while "using a wearable computer with head mounted display." … Read more