Wearable computer glasses that allow you to Google and Blog in real time without keyboard
In his book smartmobs, Howard Rheingold describes works around wearable computers and people living like cyborgs. They wear helmets with computers inside and see the reality with virtual information live in their screen. This screen is permanently in front of us.
Not quite ready to be released yet but reading Howard's book has made me dream about it tonight.
Imagine you have glasses, light enough to be unnoticed, with computer information sent on them (like in the planes, head mount displays). You meet somebody and during the conversation the glasses automatically google that person, show his blog. You have all the information and can talk immediately about it to the person.
Imagine you see a painting in a museum and immediately all the information appears on that painting. Thanks to Technorati enabled glasses, you can see what the world has to say about the painting, you can directly access the links on the blogs and sites that talk about it. With all the history of the painting.
Think about going to another country. Put your glasses and you will get directions, information on the place you are as the glasses also carry a small gps receiver.
That was my all dream. Is it a dream really ? Maybe a nightmare. I have talked about it to my wife at breakfast and Geraldine said it would clearly be a nightmare as our brains will get used not to think anymore but just gather and read information.
I do not agree. Since I started blogging I have never "processed" that quantity of information in my life, reading about 100 RSS feeds of blogs everyday, talking to people in ichat and irc, answering emails (which I dislike more and more since I started blogging). I actually think blogging makes your brain more active, not more passive.
The computer glasses is for me an extraordinary future product, and also very frightening as it will add live transparence to anything you say and do. Think about exaggerating a bit when you talk to someone (which we all never do, right ?). His glasses will google on what you said with voice recognition and show the most appropriate information about it, so he will know as well if you are likely to tell the truth or not.
I should say my dream actually finished in a bad way. Let's share that too even if it was quite hard for me. I lost my father 3 years ago from a cancer. And the computer was so advanced that it had a virtual copy, a bot, of my father that I could talk to. This bot had learnt during his life how my father usually reacted and thought through his blogging (in my dream blogging has existed forever and everybody blogs). I could talk to my virtual father when I wanted, he would reply and that was great. I could see him when I wanted.
The nightmare started only when I woke up and I understood I could not talk to him anymore.
Am I sick or getting crazy ?
