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Comment and Technology

Will a new wave of smart glasses make us 'glassholes' again?

A second round of mass-market facial computers looks less likely to inspire public anger than Google's Glass but it will be a fragile truce, says Jamais Cascio

By Jamais Cascio

16 February 2018

Close-up of a person's face wearing the Google Glass

When it comes to tech specs, sometimes less is more

Kristoffer Tripplaar/Alamy Stock Photo

Ask technology pundits what scuppered the Google Glass facial computer’s mass-market dreams and they will list a variety of issues, from price to style, but far and away the most frequently cited drawback came to be known as the “glasshole” problem.

It boiled down to this: wearing eyewear sporting an obvious camera in public can trigger scorn, and . People venturing into Silicon Valley coffee shops, bistros and bars while wearing Glass swiftly and signs barring their entry.…

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