Google Glass is jailbroken, and even though the hacker himself, Jay Freeman, aka Saurik, hasn’t yet revealed the implications of the jailbreak, which he achieved in under two hours “while having dinner with friends”, the supposedly “next big thing” has been brought a bit closer to Earth for those of us who didn’t preorder but still have Googley eyes for the possibilities.
It’s been said that “Sorrow is the key that gets our tears out of eye-jail.” But it’s unclear if Saurik’s achievement can break Google Glass out of suck-jail…
Apparently, folks aren’t so excited for the early generation of Google Glass, and it doesn’t appear that the high-end spectacles will enjoy the popularity of paradigm shifters like the iPhone in the near term.
Even Google chairman Eric Schmidt is down on the awkward logistics of using Google Glass, telling TechCrunch:
Ultimately this suggests to me that Google Glass will be incapable of being used socially. Okay, people in the tech world may use it socially and wander around with them on at conferences Googling each other. But it’s my belief that ‘normal’ people will not.
One big complaint is that the user has to speak out loud to the device to do anything such as taking a picture. So imagine now that you’re at Wal-Mart again and you want to photograph the Wal-Martians which, with your phone, was oh-so-easy and subtle but now, not only do you have the equivalent of 21st Century orthodontic headgear, you have to verbally tell the glasses to take the picture.
At this point, said Wal-Martian turns to you and asks something like, “Eh?” You say nothing and shrivel up, unable to escape the check-out line that has engulfed you. And claiming Tourette’s won’t work this time, buddy.
Another issue is that folks wearing contacts or with a strong eyeglass prescription find that sight is incompatible with the Google Glass experience, at this point. So now to the “normal” world around you, you’re basically blind and talking to yourself with your night retainer around your head, in Wal-Mart no less!
I suppose the bigger question is, “Why is Wal-Mart the first place you take your Google Glass anyway?” I would have taken them to the movies.
In any case, Google Glass has a long way to go before perfection, but now that jailbreaking is a possibility, you’ll be able to add all those disallowed apps and practices, just like the lawless cowboys of the old West, or something.
