5 Fears About Google Glass - Is Your Privacy the Biggest Problem?

Perform a search with the words 'Google glass fears' today and there are 6,770,000 hits.
Scanning through the first ten pages, most of the stories are about 'privacy fears'.

Slash Gear are worried about the facial recognition problem. Third parties might be able to develop apps which let your Glass recognise the faces of people nearby - although at the moment, it could just be the people it already knows from memory, soon, this ability might be expanded.

Big arguments on Cnet where people are not sure if they will invade privacy or not - but the article's points about them needing to up their game if they are to appeal to the wider populace are very valid.

Business Insider are talking of the 'paranoia' associated with the unknown. There is talk of banning people wearing them while driving (well, duh!) and many worries about people taking surreptitious pictures.

There are plenty of other fears:
Are they a safe thing to wear close to your temples?
Will they ruin your eyesight?

Now, let's just take a minute to think about things. After all the hype, what do we actually know to be facts? The little child in all of us must yearn for this magical toy, I know I do. But are they really what we have assumed them to be? You know when you assume, you make an ass of you and me!

I think most of us have heard about Robert Scoble. Despite a webpage which takes forever to download, this computerphile has publicly declared his love for the Glass. We have seen him shower with them on (It's Chico time all over again!), we have seen him share them with others, and he has told us that he will never, ever, ever take them off.

Although running time is only 3 hours, so he has to take them off sometimes, unless he just lies down with them on while he recharges them, becoming inanimate himself, waiting for the augmentation to come back.

Because that is what they are supposed to be after all, augmented reality.

So, this privacy thing:

The Fear: Everyone will take pictures of everyone without their knowledge!

No, everyone can take pictures of everyone already without their knowledge.

Not only does almost every other person have a camera in some sort of portable device, but also, secret camera recording devices have been available for years.

What Google glass will bring is some idiot with a pair of glasses frames shouting 'Glass, take a picture' at you when they walk around. Or, they will wave their hands in front of the frames a few times, probably too quickly, switching the camera on and off a few times before they get what they want. Not the magical experience everyone hopes for.  Apparently the resolution is not so sharp at the moment either.

What if the person does not want their picture taken? Can they come and shout, 'Glass, delete all photos' at someone who is wearing Goggle's glaases? In fact can anyone come and talk to your glasses? Have you ever left the room with the Speech Recognition software running and come back to find that it has been obeying someone talking on TV?



The Fear: My pictures will be uploaded online without my knowledge.

Yes, hello? They already can be. How many pics of people have you seen online without their consent? Celebrities without makeup, Walmart shoppers, Geeks and Nerds they are already up there.

What glass will bring, is after taking this low-res photo, someone fumbling with their Smartphone (which already has two high quality cameras), logging in to Facebook or Twitter and doing it that way. Because how are they going to log in to these places with Google Glass? Shout their password in?

As will all mobile devices, we will have to see about the health concerns. In twenty or thirty years' time, we will have to investigate the effects of prolonged use of mobile devices so close to the temples and eyes.

But my biggest worry is the massive potential for distraction.

How many of you have tried to speak to a child who is watching their favourite programme on TV?
The hypnotic effects are much greater if it is favourite video game or when they are lost online.

I've already written about having someone step out into the road while texting.

This is the latest fear: Google glass will produce generations of the deaf, dumb and blind.

Plugged in and zoned out. Augmented, but not actually present in the here and now.

What is going to stop someone trying to read their emails while they drive along the M4?

Or even watching TVCatchup walking along the road?

Try talking to your kids then!

How to Survive the Zombie Mummies

Every morning I have the good fortune to drive along a road where there is a good school in an affluent area.

Lucky me.

And every morning I meet the mummies.

No, not exactly what I had in mind.

I mean the Zombie Mummies.

That's better.

It is only the school run, but these women, I'm sorry, but they are all women, I have yet to see a man at the wheel, have probably been up for hours primping and preening because they are primed to perfection.

They are mostly all driving large 4x4s which their husbands have bought for them to run around town in, no doubt.

And these women are all dead behind the eyes. There is little to no contact with the passengers and there is zero awareness of what is going on in the road around them.

This is a road where there are cars parked on either side, school buses drive up and down, and hundreds of school children are walking around.

What is the point of the Zombie Mummy?

The point of the zombie mummy is to get from point A to point B.

How does the Zombie Mummy fulfill its purpose?

The zombie mummy fulfills its purpose by getting from point A to point B.

How do You Survive a Zombie Mummy?

Stay out of the way. Stay well out of the way. The zombie mummy does not see you and it does not know that you are there. This is good.

Your aim is to keep it this way. If they are driving down this narrow road towards you, chances are, they have not registered that you are also driving towards them. If, by a hapless manoeuvre of your own, you have managed to become entangled in a face-off, it will sit there until there is no obstruction in its way. It does not matter that it only has to move back 1 foot and you have to reverse along half of the road. Just do it. It will sit there. I'm telling you, just do it.

Legend has it that if you stare too long into the face of a zombie mummy, ... no I can't it's just too horrible to even think about.

That wasn't too hard was it?

The zombie mummy will now drive past you and leer.

Decades of research have been conducted about this. Too many for me to summarise here. But to boil it down into two sentences: Some think that this leer is gratitude. I don't.

None of these researchers has even looked at a zombie mummy the way that I have, day after relentless day.

But I have lived. I am a survivor. Now I am here to share my experiences with you.

Two simple points:

• Try to stay out of the way
• Do NOT expect any gratitude

I have been trying my own little experiments. But I urge you, you must NOT try any of these for yourself:

I thank them. I suddenly give way when they least expect it. I show a cheery hand signal to try to reach that submerged fleck of humanity which must surely be deep down there somewhere. The animus which impels the beast.

Don't thank me, my little efforts are weak and puny in a world that is dominated by the SUV and the designer poodle. But I try.

OK, thank me a little.

Just Decide to Drive Within the Law

It is really easy to just make a decision to drive within the law.
So, keep within the driving limit,
follow 'Give Way' and 'Stop' signs, and other street signs
Park where you are supposed to and don't park where you are not supposed to.
Don't use your mobile,
etc., etc., etc.

Just decide it and Just do it.

We are not city planners, sometimes we can't see why there is a low speed limit in an open area, but it may be that area has a history of accidents or a blind corner.

We all slip into bad habits when driving, so just to decide to keep within the law can be very difficult for some people. But just making that decision and then sticking to it can free up a certain part of your brain which becomes tense.
It is like you feel a tiny element of release when you are not constantly looking for ways to cut people up or inch in front of the person in front.

Just do it and feel free.

How to Survive an English Yellow Box Road Junction

A yellow box road junction is there to ease the flow of traffic. A driver should not enter the space in the yellow box unless their exit is clear.

If the red car was going to go straight ahead, then they can go straight on without stopping, but if it was turning right, then it has to wait until the road is clear.

This is so that no car stops the flow of traffic by holding up the oncoming traffic.

Some councils police their yellow box by having cameras installed and issue fines for those people who break these rules.

How to Survive an English Roundabout

Roundabouts can be so confusing. There can be many different lanes and if you get it wrong, there is the danger that the other drivers will beep you, or worse! The way to survive an English roundabout is to be clear about which lane you should be in and to stay in your lane. If you miss your turn, then do not worry, you can always go all the way round and get off at your exit. There are usually signs well before you get to the roundabout to tell you which lane to be in and the names or numbers of the roads to tell you where to go. A Blue sign tells you that there is a roundabout approaching.

Then later on, more signs tell you which roads lead off the roundabout at the different exits. In general, it is quite straightforward if you follow the rules.

• Drive on the Left in England
• Go around it in a clockwise direction.
• Stay in your lane until you come to your exit.
• The left hand lane is usually for turning left or going straight ahead.
• The right hand lane is usually for turning right, unless it is also for going straight ahead.
• If there are three approach lanes, then the middle one is definitely for going straight ahead.
• Cyclists decide where they should be positioned according to where they are going. Each cyclist is unique and must be watched carefully. 
• Give way to traffic coming from the right. 
• The rule is: Do not enter the roundabout unless your exit is clear. Many people do not understand this. 
• Once someone is already on the roundabout, then it is their right of way. There is no point beeping them.
• If you are half way round and your exit is blocked, then it is polite to leave a gap so that cars coming from the left lane can go round. Again, many people ignore this and leave no gap. They have to sit there, blocking the lane and getting glared at by drivers in that lane.
•   If you miss your exit, then simply go around the whole roundabout again until you see the correct exit. 

If there are many exits and a lot of lane markings, work out which one yours is and stick to that lane.

• There may be traffic lights any where around the roundabout.

How to Survive in a 20mph Zone

It is my opinion that the 20 miles per hour zone is one of the most dangerous driving speeds that there can possibly be.

This is true for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists - all road users.

In living in an area for over ten years, I never before heard of a single accident nearby. But within 6 months of a 20mph zone being introduced there have been three actual accidents, one where the whole road had to be closed and the traffic diverted, countless collisions and many near misses.

A lot of drivers don't even notice the 20 sign and just drive right on through. The people who live in the area drive more slowly.

The trouble is that for pedestrians, the traffic is going slowly enough to be able to walk between cars if there is enough distance between them. This means that the poor driver constantly has little old ladies appearing the in the road in front of them with a determined look on their faces and the setting on their zimmer frame set to 'speed' as they slowly wander across the road.

What this really means for the driver is that you have to be extra careful and not take your eyes off the road for a second.

Kids, delivery van drivers, gentlemen in suits, it doesn't matter who they are, they will see a space and wander across the road. This also applies to cars turning into the road. They assume that you are going more slowly than usual so they happily cut in front.

What prompted me to write this today was this: I have just driven home through such a zone at 5.30pm - quite dark at this time of year. A young lady, with black hair, dressed in black clothes and shoes and carrying a black bag was walking along texting on her black phone.

She was completely oblivious to the world around her - and completely invisible to me, until she suddenly appeared in the headlights of my car.

I slammed on the brakes, she looked up for a second, no change of expression to her face, then looked back down and continued on her bovine way.

My message to help you survive:

Drivers: be extra careful in these dangerous road conditions! It is not only within the 20mph zone. It is for a good few feet either side too as people only assume that you are going to slow down ready to enter the slow zone.

How to Survive Being Cut Up

You are driving along, minding your own business, when suddenly a car jumps into the road in front of you. You are jerked out of your daydream about chocolate cake and just have time to slam on the brakes.

You are well within your rights to be very annoyed and show this in whichever way you normally do. This could be by beeping loudly, flashing your lights, shaking fists, swearing, rolling your window down and shouting something withering - anything. For some excessivley sensitive souls, it could mean tailgating the offending car for a few miles while glaring hotly at them in their rear-view mirror shaking your head and mouthing 'you fool' every time they glance worriedly at you.

Stop!

You are a survivor in life's little struggles. There may be a good reason why this jerk  (sorry) person has done this to you. Last time this happened to me, I saw that the driver was a sweet little old lady who had not only failed to spot my whole car on the road in front of her, but also failed to stop at the next red light. She could just about see over her steering wheel. So it may not always be a wanton act of malice aimed directly at you.

Another thing is, will it turn out that you know the person, or that someone you know is in the car behind? If you live in a small town or city, then the chances of this are highly likely. Remember, real life, walking around, driving etc, is a lot like social networking. And just like social networking, never, ever do anything in public that you wouldn't want to get back to your mum.

Finally, although you might be a strapping six-foot lad, is the person in the car who just cut you up, actually an axe-wielding giant? Always be careful whom you offend on the road.

So, how do you survive being cut up?

If you can, let it go completely. Cultivate an atmosphere of calmness in your car so that when little things like this happen to you, you can just shake it off. If you are stressed, thinking about your horrible day, have loud music blaring or arguing kids in the back, then just one more kick could light your fuse. But if you are perfectly at peace and stable listening to your favourite thing, then this will be just as if nothing happened. You can just brush this annoying little person aside as if they were a passing fly.

That is fine if they have turned off or are in another lane. Sometimes someone has cut you up and then you have to follow them for miles seething and fuming behind them. Usually they are also in a better or newer car too (...the effing, bleeping...calm down, breathe). The only thing to do here is to pull up somewhere for a second, or let another car in between you and them. Turn off and go another way.

You will find, that as soon as that car is no longer within your sights, then it is gone from your mind. It can become a funny story that you tell when you get home, nothing more, nothing less.

Don't forget, someone who has cut you up really might have a pregnant woman in the back or be rushing home to their dying dog. These things do happen too. Give them the benefit of the doubt.