Hasta La Gadget!

Google painted the broad strokes of its Mirror API for Glass at SXSW in March, and now it’s released comprehensive documentation, replete with example code. Despite the fact that the application programming interface is still in a limited developer preview, you can dig in and read up on everything from location features to timeline cards. The cheeky devs in Mountain View also announced that they’ve named services for the spectacles “Glassware.” In case you missed the presentation in Austin, you can catch a handful of videos with Glass developer evangelist Timothy Jordan condensing the API basics. Hit the source link below to dive into the docs, and to download client libraries for the eyewear written in Dart, Go, Java, PHP, Python, Ruby and .NET.

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Via: Google Developers (Google+)

Source: Google Glass (Google Developers)

Google believes that it’s naive to build a wearable technology like Google Glass and expect successful businesses to simply materialize from thin air; those firms will need a financial nudge, too. Accordingly, Google is forming the Glass Collective to invest in projects centering on its eyewear. The partnership will see Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers unite on seed funding for those US-based startups which show promise in areas like communication and navigation. The group hasn’t named any targets for its cash, but it’s obviously very early days for both Glass and the Collective — Google needs more developers in the field before it can shower companies with support.

Update: According to TechCrunch, Google mentioned during the event that it hopes to get Glass hardware into developers hands “in the next month.” Since it started preregistering folks at last year’s I/O event, we’d also hope they will arrive in time for this year’s Google I/O and inevitable skydive-to-stage live stream.

Filed under: Wearables, Google

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Via: Google Official Blog

Source: Glass Collective, TechCrunch

If you’re still thirsting over details about life with Google Glass, you can now sit back and experience the presentation (though not filmed in first person with one of the units — opportunity missed) from SXSW last month. We covered it in our liveblog and dug up news on various apps already working with Google’s Mirror API to present their information in ways that are designed for the wearable units, don’t get in the way, and don’t pop up at bad times. These are relatively new and unique issues to deal with since the information is being presented on a device that’s in your face, so it will be interesting to see if developers are up to the challenge. Check after the break for 50 minutes of Googler Timothy Jordan showing the people what the Glass team has learned and implemented so far.

Filed under: Wearables, Google

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Source: Timothy Jordan (Google+), Google Developers (YouTube)

Musing on a dystopian near-future where you really don’t want to see your fellow commuters, Sony Japan’s Twitter account just offered us the above image. Is this what’s going to happen when the likes of Sony and Google have managed to supplant our affection for smartphones with eyewear tech?

Mat: “We’re going to need more charging sockets.”
James: “Perhaps not the best time to be watching Unstoppable.”
Richard Lai: “You’re seeing this ad because your fellow passengers are also watching this.”
Tim: “Nice shoes.”
Steve: “We’ve arrived? I’ll just finish the movie while crossing this intersection.”
Dan: “Trainspotting? I haven’t seen a train in years.”
Jon Fingas: “Seeing where you’re going is so 2012.”
Brad: “We just can’t get enough of that amazing Galaxy S 4 launch event.”
Edgar: “Glass? Where we’re going, we don’t need Glass.”
Ben: “Where am I? What’s happened to my life? Oooh, a new episode of Deadliest Catch!”
Darren: “Geordi La Forge is all up in these royalties.”
Terrence: Blah, blah, bah, something, something, something, private porn watching.
Brian: “You guys are going to the X-Men auditions, too? Cool. Didn’t want to miss my stop.”
David: “Do you know where we are? Hmm, about ten minutes into the season finale of Game of Thrones.”
Jon Turi: “Victims of the Krazy Glue prankster all try to go about their day.”
Michael: “Sony says all your face are belong to us.”
Don: “Wow. This is just like being on a train.”
Myriam: “So those grab-handles double as VR glasses, right?

Filed under: Wearables, Alt, Sony

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Source: Sony Japan (Twitter)

Google just took some time at SXSW to show off Google Glass, and it’s pulled back the curtains on some apps that are currently in the works. As it turns out, Page and Co. have been working with the New York Times to build an application. Just ask for some news and Glass will deliver a headline, a byline, an accompanying image and the number of hours since the article in question was posted. What’s more is that users can tap and have the eyewear read the story’s text aloud. The duo are also testing a breaking news feature where notifications regarding fresh stories will appear as they’re published. Gmail also got some time in the limelight with its very own app. An email sender’s image and subject line will appear on the device’s screen, and users can reply by dictating their messages.

Evernote and Skitch received some love from the folks in Mountain View too, with the ability to send images to the services through Glass’ share functionality. Social networking app Path has found its way onto the wearable computing bandwagon as well. Not only do Google’s spectacles receive curated updates from the network — to keep you from being bombarded, of course– but they allow users to add emoticons to a friend’s post and reply with comments. Not impressed? “This is just where we started with a few friends to test the API in its early stage,” says Google Glass developer evangelist Timothy Jordan.

Filed under: Google

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