
Google Glass Enterprise Edition passes through the FCC with improved hardware - jonbaer
http://www.androidauthority.com/google-glass-enterprise-edition-passes-through-fcc-664698/
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jimrandomh
On one hand: Glass is pretty cool hardware, and an improved version of it
(relative to the Explorer Edition) would have a ton of potential. On the other
hand: Google screwed Glass' early adopters, myself included, and in more than
a year since they withdrew from the market, they've done nothing whatsoever to
set things right.

(A summary I wrote last year of what happened:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8609412](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8609412))

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mrb
How have they "screwed" you? (Genuine question, I don't follow the Glass
project much.)

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jdietrich
The software was unusable, they abandoned the product in a broken state and
they didn't provide source code. Whether that counts as "screwed" depends on
what expectations you consider reasonable.

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billyhoffman
But did Google ever promise Explorers stable, non-beta software when they
signed up? Did they ever promise open access to the code or hardware?

I get being upset if expectations aren't met. But I just don't understand what
set these expectations to begin with.

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jimrandomh
They did quite a lot of things that set expectations which they failed to
meet. First, obviously, a $1500 price tag carries with it an implied level of
service. But it's not just that. Early in Glass' life, they swapped all their
users' hardware with a new hardware revision. But when their software
increased the memory requirements beyond what their deployed hardware had in
it, they didn't do a second swap. They didn't communicate the fact that they
had made a closed fork of Android (which is Apache licensed); I didn't realize
that until I downloaded the source packages they were offering, and discovered
that it only contained the kernel (which is GPLv2) and nothing else. They set
up an app store, but put restrictions in the SDK license that fell only a tiny
bit short of banning app development. (Specifically, it's GPL-incompatible and
also bans charging money and advertising). They offered a usable API to
develop against, then broke giant pieces of it and never fixed them.

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phrogdriver
[https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm...](https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=eDyH1HI%2FRcK9NnzZ4ggP6w%3D%3D&fcc_id=A4R-GG1)

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rdl
Seems really irrational of them to have pushed for a "consumer" version first,
which kind of pissed in the well for the whole product (and potentially for
all of augmented reality, which is sad). This had to have been a stupid ego
decision by management, not a rational product or marketing decision.

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wahsd
Did you use Glass? There really wasn't any AR potential there. It was and
still is really little more than a glasses based notification monitor. There's
no augmented reality no virtual reality, it's simply a prismatic notification
monitor with some slight basic functionality.

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seivan
Basically 50% use of my Apple Watch - which I'm more than satisfied with.

Apple Watch serves as a HUD with haptic feedback when vibration isn't good
enough or it's too cold outside to pick your phone out of your pockets.

Preferably I'd love a HUD. I've always wanted a HUD ever since I played Doom.
Count my ammo and check my reminders.

The other 50% is fitness/code related. I like the idea of putting my own stuff
on the device which I wouldn't be able to do with a eg Fitbit.

From what I understand Glass had an SDK. It would/have such potential!

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rexf
Augmented Reality has so much potential as an always available source of
visible information. I'd love a real-time augmented counter of 'real life
stuff'.

My apple watch provides convenient access to notifications, but it's not
always visible. Especially in colder winter weather where a jacket or sweater
covers the watch and makes it hard to interact with the watch at all.

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ssweintrau
It would be nice if this site could use an original source for once.

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fixermark
User-supplied links means you're getting information from the sources users
actually read. If you want the original source, feel free to find it and add
it in the comments here.

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nailer
Also the original source
([https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm...](https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=eDyH1HI%2FRcK9NnzZ4ggP6w%3D%3D&fcc_id=A4R-GG1))
is all tiny fonts, directory listings and PDFs. I hate blogspam but this isn't
it: it's providing some actual value.

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geodel
'Google Glass Enterprise Edition' / G2EE sounds like J2EE. I guess will come
with a whole new vocabulary and design patterns.

