Google Glass may be the most innovative product of the decade, but Google is still being questioned to address issues related to security and privacy of users of the device, which poses a major concern for Google.
Before Getting to the Dark Side of Google Glass, lets have an overview on how Google glass’ technical specifications and features.
Google Glass Specifications
Google Glass sports a 640×360 screen, allowing us to look through these glasses, while overlaying HD screen and UI elements on the glass display. The 5 mega pixel camera is another feature of Google Glass that makes it stand out of the league, which also includes the ability to record 720p HD videos.
It includes a 16 GB flash storage memory, which can be extended by 12 GB through Google drive, cloud storage space, which obviously requires a fast and high bandwidth internet connection.
The augmented reality glasses from Google also include a micro USB port. It is equipped with compatibility to 802.11b / g connectivity and Wi-Fi ability. However, it doesn’t include 3G or 4G LTE.
Google Glass equipped with augmented reality can create wonders, only limited by your imagination. It is an open-source project, which invites all the passionate developers and IT studios to design engrossing apps for it.
There are several possibilities with Augmented reality. The first obvious feature, we can think of is virtual gaming. Yes, we can expect virtual gaming soon, turn the world into your play ground. Official developers, have already demonstrated how an app could turn a paintball arena match into a First person shooter (FPS) game.
The Dark Side
Keeping the positive aspects aside, let’s talk about a few negative aspects. Google has recently released the Source Code of Google Glass project, partially. It posed several security and vulnerability issues. One of the best known developers in the iOS universe, Saurik , in fact, was able to jailbreak the device.
Saurik mentioned in his blog, that Google glass is open and vulnerable to hackers. It is open for remote access and control without being aware of it.
Keeping all these issues aside for a moment, the real issue lies in people privacy. Since, the glasses can be sported anywhere, and has the capability to record videos, sound and speech without people surrounding, being aware of it, it poses a serious problem of privacy. Recently, a beta version of a po*n application for Google glass has been unveiled, which caught upon a lot of controversy on the media. The most debatable feature of that app is capability to record our on adult videos and upload it.
Google has managed to ban the app for a while, but similar to Android, Google’s official ban is permitted to only it’s official app store. It could be easily be installed from an external source (No Jail breaking required).
A few days ago, Robert Scoble demonstrate on his Google+ post that the glasses could be used even in the shower.
It the vulnerability problem persists, Google would face a major challenge before establishing Google Glasses in the market. The Google Glass is truly innovative, and we are keen to see it in action, but certainly, Google must address the issues related to security.
If you are eager to experience the Google Glass first in town, Try to purchase the developer version, which is priced at a hefty price tag of 1500$.
Article by Vishal
Meet Vishal Gaikar, the tech wizard hailing from Pune, India, who's on a mission to decode the digital universe one blog post at a time. When he's not tinkering with gadgets or diving deep into the digital realm, you can find him concocting the perfect cup of chai or plotting his next adventure. Follow his tech escapades on Twitter and buckle up for a wild ride through the world of innovation and geekery!
