WE ARE THE BORG. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. Seriously, isn't using this device just a huge breach of social etiquette? And it's ugly as fuck, unless you like Borg drone bling.
I can get why a variety of businesses would ban them -- privacy concerns. But why bars and restaurants would emerge as a focused and specific set of businesses banning them is a little puzzling. Are the beta testers for these things frequenting bars and restaurants with them on but taking them off on their own in other businesses they visit, maybe?
It makes sense. You wouldn't want somebody hanging around your establishment videotaping everyone and everything. Which is precisely what someone wearing Google Glass is doing. It's disruptive to other customers, at a minimum.
Free PR. Since the media's talking about Google Glass constantly, announcing that you're banning a product only a few thousand people currently have, is a great way to get free press. Never mind that lots of those places have security cameras, or that you can buy head/glasses mounted cameras that have a much longer recording time than Google Glass does. When Kodak introduced the Brownie camera, people freaked out, because it meant that anyone could take their picture any where. Now, of course, with cameras being in every cellphone, nobody thinks anything about it.
This is Seattle WA, not BFE. Besides Silicon Valley what other place do you think has a higher concentration?
So? You think hipster developer types are going to want to go to a bar where they can't show off their $1,500 toys? A bar which is going to make that kind of announcement, probably doesn't have too many customers who'd be interested in such things to begin with. It's a PR grab, nothing more.
Are you a pretty social person? How often do you go to bars? A bar is supposed to be a place where people can relax and let their hair down. Get a little drunk with their friends, act a little stupid. Having people run around pointing recording equipment at them stifles that. A bar where people can't relax is a bar that isn't in business long. And the owner is David Meinert one of the most successful restauranteurs/night life guys in the city. His focus is on the younger crowd.
Walk around with your camera in front of you, pointing it at everyone you look at and see how long it takes security to escort you out.
Because the young crowd isn't constantly taking pictures and filming in clubs? How do you think all that stuff that eventually gets people in trouble ends up on Facebook? NSA spy cams?
DIY glasses mounted camera. HD glasses mounted cameras. Pivothead sunglass mounted cameras. Any of those banned? And I can't say as I've ever been in a bar where someone didn't whip out a camera and start taking pictures. Its only gotten "worse" with the introduction of camera phones. There's probably security cameras mounted in the bar as well. And "focusing on the younger crowd" is meaningless in this discussion. There's been less than 5K Google Glass units produced to date. Most college age kids aren't going to be able to afford that, and its not like you're going to want to take an expensive toy that could easily get knocked off your face to a club where you plan on dancing.
There's a difference between taking ad-hoc photos of your friends, as opposed to recording everything you see for hours.
That's not how Google Glass works. They don't have much battery life if they're recording video (less than 3 hours), there's a red indicator light on the front which shows if they're recording or not, and I've never seen anybody in a bar get yelled at for filming anything with their camera phone. And let's face it, if you're in a bar and see someone do something really stupid/neat, you're at least going to think about whipping out your phone and film or take pictures of the person, even if you don't know them. Certainly, even if you don't, other people will.
What a bizarre time in our collective society, when we apparently believe that everything we do & see should be filmed.
I can see cases where it might make sense, especially if you had a very unobtrusive way of doing it, and the files were automatically sent somewhere secure. I know male teachers and school administrators who, especially at the high school level, will not be alone in a room with a female student unless the door is open, to eliminate any times when they could be accused of acting inappropriately. It could also be very useful for police officers, as a shield against being accused of misconduct.
Because there are a lot of dipshits in the world who think they have any expectation of privacy while they're in public.
I think they look rather space-y, but I can't see myself ever wearing them. I mean, Google gets my data whether I want them to or not, but I will not stream my whole life to them. It's enough they follow me around the web even when I'm logged out of their services.
Point of order: Restaurants and bars are private property. If the owners want to institute this kind of "dress code", it's their right to do so.
