

What My Hearing Aid Taught Me About the Future of Wearables - haomiao
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/02/what-my-hearing-aid-taught-me-about-the-future-of-wearables/385145/?single_page=true

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Jemaclus
I have a Bluetooth enabled hearing aid, and this guy is spot on with
everything. I started off with an analog hearing aid -- when it broke, you
took it in and got it fixed. Nowadays, my hearing aid syncs with my iPhone,
syncs with my computer, remembers where I've manually set the volume and next
time I'm there, re-sets it for me. My hearing is better than it's ever been --
but now when things go wrong, I often don't know. It's very frustrating.

But it's getting better every day. I have hope and optimism.

I recently gave a talk about hearing loss, and one of the things I said was
that hearing aids make us practically cyborgs. If a hearing aid can help me
with my profound hearing loss, imagine what we could do for hearing people --
make your already fantastic hearing _even better_? Sounds like a win/win to
me.

I'm excited about the future -- but I also keep in mind that wearables pose
many problems, just like this author pointed out. If we can solve those, we're
well on our way to cyborg-hood...

~~~
Jemaclus
I would also point out that the iOS software for my iPhone is really, really
basic and unsophisticated. I'd love to figure out how to hack it myself and
write my own software. I guess I should learn Obj-C first... ;)

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klez
I think the main problem this article highlights is the lack of control users
have of their wearables.

We are able to run our desktops, laptops and servers (and some mobile devices)
almost only on free software. Why shouldn't we demand the same for wearables?
Is it even possible? If yes, will this happen? What's keeping vendors back in
this sense?

~~~
jerf
One could argue that eventually the market will settle on peripherals
interconnected by something that could be open. I don't need a "smart hearing
aid" with cloud connectivity... I need a quality hearing aid whose sole job is
to take a secured audio stream and play it with as much quality as it can
muster. I can carry the processing unit in my pocket and drive it with
anything I want. I don't need "smart glasses" with integrated cloud this and
proprietary that... I need glasses that take a secured stream of video data
and display them with all their might. I don't need an integrated... etc etc.
There's no reason the machine in my pocket driving them can't be open.

This is, of course, not what will happen at first. It will take time for the
"race to the bottom" to produce this result.

I'll say this though. I don't consider myself terribly ideological on this
point, but in practice I probably am. I am not turning over my hearing and my
vision to a company, or indeed any organization. If it's not open, I'll play
the luddite. It's not worth it.

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tbusa
For a wearable to 'really' succeed it must be 1\. Unobtrusive. 2\. Elegantly
hidden.

Almost all the wearables on the market today are designed to be flaunted.

~~~
k-mcgrady
>> "For a wearable to 'really' succeed it must be 1. Unobtrusive. 2. Elegantly
hidden."

I disagree with point 2. If you make the wearable into something that it
already worn (e.g. watch) and make it just as fashionable you can succeed. The
problem is that technology is an industry with almost no fashion sense. The
closest product I've seen to succeeding design wise has been the Apple Watch
and even it looks a bit clunky (hopefully this will change as the technology
improves).

~~~
prawn
That's an unfair assessment of tech as fashion right now. Personally, I think
the Apple Watch looks ugly, but things like headphones (over-ear and Apple's
prominent white in-ear) have been prominent and very popular, especially as a
social/status signal. A lot of design work goes into technology.

I think we will continue to see successful tech follow that prominent path,
but also the hidden one you suggest. Google Glass done right, hearing-
enhancements that are barely visible, slim AR/VR goggles that are more like
glasses, etc.

We won't see prominent tech/fashion fade away.

