According to string-theory advocates, our universe has at least 10 dimensions. But we humans can only directly perceive three spatial dimensions. We also experience the passage of time, a fourth dimension. Beyond that, we only know other dimensions are even possible through theoretical mathematics. Our universe may hold secrets that we will never be able to observe directly.
Even if you discount string theory and the idea of dimensions beyond our perception, our world contains a wealth of information that most of us aren't aware of in our daily lives. When visiting a city for the first time, for example, we may only have our senses to rely on when gathering information. A smartphone or computer can help out, pulling in more data about the city's geography, history, economics, cuisine and other cultural features.
Augmented-reality applications overlay a level of digital information on top of the physical world around us. With an one of these apps on your smartphone, you might be able to hold your phone's camera up to capture the image of a city street and then receive on-screen information about your surroundings.
While these augmented reality apps can be informative and entertaining, the form factor is still a little clunky. We have to hold up the smartphone and look at the screen -- it's like you're on a "Star Trek" away team, and you're the one with your eyes glued to a tricorder instead of drinking in the sights.
Google is one of several companies creating a solution to the problem comes in the form of a wearable device. It looks like a pair of glasses with one side of the frames thicker than the other. It's called Google Glass, and it might open your eyes to a new digital world -- or make you look like the nerdy Terminator who's always picked last for robo-dodgeball.
ow does it work, Googles new Glass? Why can you see with it a sharp image-layer? How does the image overlay the image of reality? The following infographic illustrates the optical principle - very simple and easy to understand.
Google Glass Infographic
Hints ...
Google Glass is a technical masterpiece. It combines numerous functions and features in a very small unit. In addition to phone and camera (photo, video), it offers Internet connection, including GPS.
The core feature of Google Glass is a visual layer that is placed over the reality ("augmented reality"). This layer opens a door to amazing new possibilities. But how does it work? In the Google Glass contains a mini-projector, which projected the layer via a clever, semi-transparent prism directly on the retina in the eye. Because of this the image, even though it is so close to the eye, is sharp and clear. You can move the front part of the Google Glass easily to optimize the focus.
Depending on how you wear the Google Glass, the layer appears in the upper right corner or in the middle of the visual field. When the Google Glass is high on the nose, so that you can practically see through underneath, you must turn the eye up to view the image sharp. Because the prism is semi-transparent you can also place it directly in front of the pupil. In that case, you have the sharp layer directly in front of the eyes.
The biggest challenge for Google will now be to make the Google Glass also usable for people with normal glasses (to compensate for a low vision). In this case the Google Glass has to be placed ahead of normal glasses - which doesn't look and feel well or like a glass. Or Google has to manufactor individual customized prisms, but this would be considerably more expensive than the standard production.
Update: Google Glass ceased production in 2015, but the novel head-worn computer experiment may live on in a foldable Enterprise Edition one day. The Snapchat Spectacles may give consumers many of the camera-based features going forward. Here's our original Google Glass review.
Google Glass is the controversial wearable that had its sci-looking beta testers turning heads and being peppered with questions. How does it work? What does it feel like? And, of course the inevitable, well, can I try it?
The increasing number of Google Glass invites has led to Project Glass being open to everyone in the US and now the UK, so curious, tech-savvy early adopters can answer most of these questions on their own.
It's a little easier for them to say "yes" to Glass now that it's been upgraded with more memory and new apps. There's a speedier 2GB of RAM on board instead of 1GB and 12 new apps including Shazam and Live Stream. The Google Glass app list is officially over the 50 apps threshold and the most recent update puts all Android notifications in the top right corner of your eye.
But there's one query all prospective Glass owners all struggling with right now at checkout, and it's a question I get all of the time: is Google Glass worth it?
To answer that burning question, I turned a critical eye to Google's wearable computer and tested its Explorer Edition of Google Glass for eleven months. I also upgraded to the brand new 2GB model.
With the sound of my voice, I took hands-free photos by saying "Okay Glass, take a picture." I instructed it to upload the resulting point-of-view image to Twitter and Facebook and attached a caption, all with voice commands.
I saw flight information automatically beam to my eye with a gentle Google Now reminder the day before traveling. The weather for both my departure and destination cities, and directions to the airport were already being provided by this instinctual software. All of this data appeared in the top right corner of my vision, all without the need to take out my smartphone.
It's a surreal experience at first
Google has continued to make the complicated ownership decision easier by adding more to its Explorer Edition heads-up display. In addition to the new 2GB version, an update late last year saw a tweaked form factor that made prescription glasses compatible with attachable frames.
Google has even been throwing in a free pair of frames or premium shades with all new orders since mid-April. Moreover, new apps and updates to the linear operating system that weren't available at launch make the current Google Glass Explorer Edition a tempting buy.
Still, this new Project Glass model is better at addition than subtraction. While features have been added, the price hasn't dropped. At $1,500 (£1,000, about AU$1,589), Google's experimental wearable is exorbitantly priced for the average person. It's also best if you're an Android, not an Apple person.
This is what users see when wearing Google Glass
Compatibility with the iPhone has improved thanks to the launch of an iOS MyGlass app and the ability to read text messages, but it stops short of tapping into Glass' hands-free SMS response capabilities. Maps navigation also requires MyGlass to be open on the iPhone, not in the background. All of these features are missing for Windows Phone 8 users entirely, though technically any Bluetooth phone can offer Glass tethered data with a personal hotspot enabled.
Google Glass is very much a prototype, even after more than 20 months of being in the hands and on the faces of tens of thousands of beta testers.
But that's partly why this out-of-reach, futuristic-looking curiosity is so fascinating, despite, or possibly because of the massive cost to your Google Wallet (that's actually how you have to pay for Google Glass). Peoples' mind=blown reaction, more so than snapping photos hands-free and getting directions that turn with your head, makes whomever is donning Google Glass a walking wonder.
It became an attraction of its own at Disneyland
How to get Google Glass
Google undoubtedly wanted Glass in the hands of developers who will make the experience better, more so than curious individuals who want it for personal use. Therefore, developers were the first to qualify for Google Glass invites.
Now it's for sale to anyone living in the US and UK. Google threw Project Glass into open enrollment for 24 hours on April 15 and then permanently made it available a month later. Good things come to those who wait, too. All new Google Glass models come with free frames for prescription glasses or a free sunglasses shade attachment that typically costs $225 (£175, about AU$239).
Signing up for the normal Google Glass waitlist in June of 2013 after Google IO gave me access to an Explorer Edition beta code in November, while my friend who registered in December received an invite less than three weeks later. That alone shows how much easier it became to receive an invitation.
Strict rules still limit who can ultimately take advantage of the invite code and purchase a prototype. For example, you must be 18 years old and a US or UK resident, so adults living in the other parts of Europe or Australia aren't eligible. These age and country-specific rules are still in place.
The unboxing at my fitting appointment
The fit
Google Glass now ships to US and UK addresses, though the company still encourages beta testers to pick it up in person at its New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles offices. In the UK, "base camp" is in King's Cross, London. But across the pond in LA, specifically Venice Beach, is where I went for my "fitting experience" with a friendly Glass guide named Frank.
The Google employee helped with my Google Glass unboxing, adjusted the nose pads, tweaked the delicate nose stems and shaped the malleable titanium head band until it didn't sit so crooked on my face.
Within ten minutes it looked perfect, or at least as perfect as one can appear with a wearable computer sitting on their face.
Google makes sure Glass fits you just right
The look
Though pliable, the titanium head band remains durable as it stretches from ear to ear. It runs alongside a plastic casing that hides Glass' key components and gives it an overall clean look. This subtle style makes the exposed parts like the camera lens in the front stand out even more - for better or worse.
Everyone's attention is also immediately drawn to the adjacent cube-shaped glass prism that sits above the right eye. It has an acceptable 640 x 360 resolution and hangs just out of the way of the wearer's line of sight. For the wearer, this personalized display acts as a much bigger screen, one that's equivalent to a 25-inch HDTV sitting eight feet away.
Too big to carry in a pocket
The Google Glass dimensions are 5.25-inches at its widest point and 8-inches at its longest point. It's too long and wide to fit into my pocket, even though I've been able to carry a Nexus 7 tablet in my jeans' back pocket with a little squeeze.
Society has banned fanny packs and the titanium head band doesn't collapse, so storage options are limited. When out and about it's either on my face or in the complementary case, which I stow in a backpack. There's no in-between.
Google Glass comes in five colors
The new Google Glass is almost indistinguishable from its predecessor, and the fact that it comes in the same colors doesn't help you tell them apart. The options are black, orange, gray, white and blue. Or, as the Glass guides insisted: charcoal, tangerine, shale, cotton and sky.
Charcoal and cotton, the two non-color colors, appear to be the most popular, as they were initially sold out when I first entered my invite code to buy Google Glass. Luckily, before my seven-day invite expired, both options became available and I chose white. The choice made online actually didn't matter until I got to the on-site appointment. I was given one last chance to switch colors during the moment of truth.
The battery bulges behind the ear
The glaring exception to Glass' svelte design is the battery that rests behind the right ear and juts out rather noticeably. It's too big, yet it's not big enough for a full day's charge. Battery performance did improve with the Android KitKat update in April, but more power from this energy-eating wearable is still a priority of Explorers.
Also prevalent among beta testers that I've talked to was Google Glass succumbing to summer heat. I experienced this problem first-hand on a hot, but not-too-hot day of horseback riding. Air bubbles began to distort the reflective mirror that caps the Glass prism.
Google was quick to replace this common defect. Stellar customer service
The good news is that Google was quick to the rescue, speedily shipping me a a new Google Glass unit and asking me to mail back the broken version. For a brief moment, I had $3,000 (£2,000) in my hands and awkwardly on my head. I didn't pass up the chance to foolishly wear both at once.
One of the best uses of Glass. I was the only one who got on-horse photos
The funny this is that horseback riding, with two hands occupied, was one of the most useful moment I've had as an Explorer. I was able to issue photo and video voice commands while properly holding onto the reigns and saddle. But my experience, and that of almost every other Explorer I've talked to recently, proves that Google Glass is still very much a gadget in beta.
The feel
Even with the bulkiness of the battery and durable frame, Google Glass is extremely lightweight and comfortable resting on my face. It weights just 42 grams (1.48 oz) and because everything, including the screen, is just out of my line of sight I often forget I'm wearing it.
Google Glass is surprisingly light
At first, Google Glass did give me slight headaches as I strained my right eye to focus on the tiny prism in the top right corner of my vision. The team at the Venice headquarters did forewarn me about temporary Google Glass headaches, instructing me not to use Glass for more than a few hours the first couple of days. It's incredibly unnatural to have just one eye focus on a screen while the other goes without use, but my eyes and brain adjusted to the phenomenon in a few days to the point where it's now intuitive.
Like a modern smartphone, there are few physical buttons and ports on Google Glass. That's because most of the interaction is done via a long 3.25-inch touchpad on the right side. Underneath the touchpad is a micro USB port for charging the device and on the top is a camera button that's great for quick snaps in noisy environments.
The power-on button is hidden near your temple
The most discreet button is tucked away on the inside on the touchpad and near the temple. Giving it a light press turns Google Glass on and powers up the all-important apps.
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board has given a hint as to when the 2017 UTME will be conducted.
According to the information on the Board's official twitter handle, the 2017 UTME will hold by May, 2017.
However, the actual date the examination is to commence was not specified but the information says it will be disclosed soon.
The board equally warned candidates against falling victims to
fraudsters and advised them to only rely on the official information
from the board.
Despite the fact that the Board is yet to announce the date for the
commencement of 2017 UTME registration, I think With this, candidates
can now be rest assured that the 2017 UTME will still hold and be able
to prepare adequately.
So if you are among those already saying that there will be no UTME this
year, better go and start reading to avoid stories that touch.
APC asks South-east governors to defect now or forget it
Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-east have sent a notice to the region’s governors
The APC leaders yesterday, February 17 ordered to governors to join the ruling party now or forget it
The party leaders say they would no longer tolerate continued prevarication by some of the governors
Leaders
of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-east have sent a
notice to the region’s governors to join the ruling party now or forget
it.
APC South-east leaders
According to The Sun, the party leaders made the declaration on Friday, February 17 during a meeting in Enugu state.
The governor stated that the South-east
must join in the singing of the new song of change like its counterparts
in the South-west and the North who are now reaping the benefits of
their support to the party.
He said
the Igbo got only the labour and science and technology ministries
because the South-east did not do what they were supposed to do.
“We had nobody with us, we were rejected by all and called Boko Haram, but we were determined to get what is due to our people,” he said.
On
his part, the APC national vice chairman, South-east, Hon Emma Eneukwu
said the party would use the forthcoming Anambra governorship election
as a litmus test of their strength in the region.
“Our journey of taking over the South-east government houses must start from Anambra state,” Eneukwu said.
Eneukwu
noted that the Enugu meeting afforded both the new and old members of
the party the opportunity of sitting together for the first time to
discuss party matters of mutual interest in the zone.
“It affords us the opportunity
of collectively saying welcome on board to the ruling party to our
distinguished political heavyweights who have now joined forces with us
to enthrone government of change in the South-east,” he added.
Some
of the party leaders from the zone who attended the meeting are former
governor of old Anambra state, Chief Jim Nwobodo; former Senate
president, Chief Ken Nnamani; science and technology minister, Dr
Ogbonnaya Onu; labour minister, Dr Chris Ngige; Imo deputy governor,
Chief Eze Madumere; Senators Ifeanyi Ararume, Osita Izunazo, Uche
Ekwunuife, Nkechi Nwaogu, Emma Anosike; and Chief George Moghalu.
My next line of action as national chairman of PDP - Modu Sheriff
A detachment of
policemen this afternoon barricaded the entrance to the international
conference centre, venue of the meeting scheduled by the Ahmed Makarfi
led National Caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party for an
enlarged meeting of it’s members to deliberate on the outcome of the
Portharcourt Appeal court which upheld the leadership of Ali Modu
Sheriff as the chairman of the party.
Police hilux vehicles barricaded the main entrance tp prevent access by
the Mekarfi Faction of the Peoples Democratic Party into the premises of
the International Conference Centre, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida
20/02/2017
Though the meeting was supposed to hold at 2pm today, a detachment of
police men in about four patrol vans stormed the venue and barricaded
the venue as early as 11am with two patrol vans.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/breaking-police-stops-makarfis-pdp-faction-meeting/
Ali Modu Sheriff says if he is a
mole as claimed by Governor Nyesom Wike, then the latter should be held
responsible for allowing him run the party affairs
-
The former governor of Borno state says he is no longer interested in
being the chairman of the PDP, but that he wants to put the right things
in place before leaving
-
He also speaks on Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state and responds
to calls that he should leave the seat of the chairman of the party
Ali
Modu Sheriff, who was recently affirmed as the authentic national
chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by an appeal court in
Port Harcourt, Rivers state, was at the Channels Television on Sunday,
February 19, where he spoke on various issues concerning the leadership
crisis in the party as well as allegation of being a mole of the ruling
All Progressives Congress (APC). Eromosele Ebhomele monitored the interview and produces excerpts:
Modu Sheriff says he was practically begged to take over the chairmanship of the PDP
There
is something called legitimacy. If the governors and former ministers
say they do not want you, don't you think it would just be nice to take a
bow and leave?
If you
understand the organs of the party, there is nothing like the Former
Ministers Forum. It is not the Forum that brought me to the level of
becoming a national chairman. I became the national chairman through a
due process, where the NEC of the party met. There are four other people
who wanted to be the chairman at that time. It was put to vote and I
got about 69 votes. The next person to me got only nine. I would have
wished the Former Ministers Forum would make a statement and let all the
ministers in Nigeria sit together and decide.
Or
like the case of Governor Ayo Fayose who said he is speaking on behalf
of the (PDP) Governors' Forum; for sure, I have spoken to a lot of
governors in the party and all of them are thinking of how we can build
the party and have a credible convention. So I don't want to join issues
with Fayose and his statements, but what I want to assure Nigerians is
that this party will come back. This party will be in the position of
1999 and we are making consultations all over Nigeria putting everybody
together so that we can do a convention and elect leaders who can run
the party.
The Ahmed Makarfi
faction is believed to be planning an injunction to stop you from
parading yourself as the chairman of the party. Are you also aware of
the meeting of the NEC and other stakeholders scheduled for Monday,
February 20?
I have not, as the national
chairman, called for any meeting. Also, I am making consultations. A
group of people have right to meet, but as PDP, we have not called for
meeting. The thing is we will call for meeting after we finish with the
consultation we are making. I have said there is no sacrifice too much
to make for the PDP. And this PDP is the party for all Nigerians. It
does not belong to Ali Sheriff or any governor. Neither does it belong
to any minister. Therefore, it is wrong for me or anybody to sit down
and assume the authority of having the party for himself.
I
want to believe that at my level, I don't think it will be right for me
to make statements that cannot be justified in anyway because parties
have constitutions; they run with rules and laws. All along that we were
in court, if you watch carefully, I always acted within the rule of
law. Therefore, if Makarfi wanted to take the laws into his hands, I
will not be part of those that will do it. And I don't intend to join
issues with him ever.
You have
talked about consultations and that some heavyweights have been writing
to you. Who are those with you? Are there any governors or members of
the BoT with you?
Let me tell
you clearly that as of today, since the announcement of this court
judgement, I have spoken to more than seven governors, I have spoken to a
lot of the BoT members, I have spoken to a lot of former governors.
Their views and mine are all the same. I have told everybody that all I
am interested in is to do a convention. When we agree on a time frame, I
will consult the National Assembly and others and we will do the
convention.
I don't want us to start
destroying our party on the pages of newspapers or the media. When they
invited me to come and lead the party, I took it with all good
intentions. Therefore, if along the line there are misunderstanding here
and there, the best way is to resolve the issues amicably; it is not on
the television we would come and exchange words.
Modu Sheriff confirmed that he met with Ibrahim Babangida on Sunday, February 19
You said you're willing to make sacrifices, but how much sacrifice are you willing to make? Can you step down for peace?
In party leaderships, you have to
conduct a congress. When I say I am ready to make sacrifices, I don't
intend to run the tenure that was prescribed for me at all. Since there
are arguments, the best way is to resolve them amicably. I heard when
you asked Wike a question relating to a statement attributed to me. I
have not made any statement except one. I have no issue to join with
Wike or Fayose and have never said I will deal with them. I was a
governor; both of them are governors of their states. I know the writers
(of that statement) and they are the same people who are causing this
trouble but I don't want to join issues with them. I did not make the
statement.
One of the
allegations from Wike is that you are a mole in the PDP and you don't
have the interest of the party at heart. It is believed you are being
used by the APC to destabilise the PDP. One will wonder, why are you
doing that?
You
should have asked him if it was the PDP that sent him to come and ask
me to lead the party. He was among the people who invited me. So if I am
a mole, he was the one that made the provision for me to be a mole in
the PDP, because I remember very well that Wike was on the front-burner
for me to be the chairman of the PDP. So where does the issue of mole
come since I didn't bring myself?
Wike says one of the biggest political mistakes he has ever made is approaching you...
If
he said that, it means he knows I am not a mole. Probably, he invited
me thinking I will take instructions from him to run the party. At my
level, I have my mind. I looked at the Nigerian people and the party and
accepted to lead the party. I want to tell you clearly that I have
nothing to do with the APC because it was not the APC that came to beg
me, it was him and some of his colleagues that came to beg me to lead
the PDP.
I was really taken aback by some of the statements I heard from Wike.
Now that the appeal court has affirmed you as the chairman, what is your immediate next step?
The next step for me is to move
to the party office. The second is to make zonal consultations and try
to make sure we agree on a timetable for a quick convention that will
produce leaders of the party acceptable to everybody. I am not
interested in leading the party any longer, but since the responsibility
was put on me to lead the party, I must make sure it goes through a
convention and ensure the right things are done. I don't have any other
agenda rather than to make sure I conduct a convention.
Should you lose at the Supreme Court right now, what would you do?
Even
this judgement that has come from the Court of Appeal, I actually left
the justices of the court to decide who is right and who is wrong. I
have never said to anybody that I have an iota of information of what
would happen tomorrow. It is not like when Wike said he was going to win
at the Supreme Court when the tribunal and the Court of Appeal
nullified his election. He is telling Nigerians that he has the control
of the Supreme Court, but I don't believe so. The Supreme Court is the
highest court of the land and will make pronouncements based on the
facts before it. And I believe that the Supreme Court will make
pronouncements based on what they have seen from the Court of Appeal
being the second highest court in the land.
Have
you spoken with former President Goodluck Jonathan since the judgement?
What is your relationship with the Prof Jerry Gaba committee?
I
want to tell you I have not spoken to President Jonathan yet. When this
judgement was passed, I was not even around. I plan to speak with
President Jonathan probably tomorrow (today, Monday 20), but the vice
president, Namadi Sambo, has called me to speak with me. I have met with
General Babangida. I have spoken to a lot of leaders with the view to
finding a lasting solution to our party's problem.
I
am not afraid of any litigation. The justices of the appeal court have
made pronouncements and by the grace of God, other justices would also
look at the merit of the case and make judgement.
A detachment of
policemen this afternoon barricaded the entrance to the international
conference centre, venue of the meeting scheduled by the Ahmed Makarfi
led National Caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party for an
enlarged meeting of it’s members to deliberate on the outcome of the
Portharcourt Appeal court which upheld the leadership of Ali Modu
Sheriff as the chairman of the party.
Police hilux vehicles barricaded the main entrance tp prevent access by
the Mekarfi Faction of the Peoples Democratic Party into the premises of
the International Conference Centre, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida
20/02/2017
Though the meeting was supposed to hold at 2pm today, a detachment of
police men in about four patrol vans stormed the venue and barricaded
the venue as early as 11am with two patrol vans.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/breaking-police-stops-makarfis-pdp-faction-meeting/
A detachment of
policemen this afternoon barricaded the entrance to the international
conference centre, venue of the meeting scheduled by the Ahmed Makarfi
led National Caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party for an
enlarged meeting of it’s members to deliberate on the outcome of the
Portharcourt Appeal court which upheld the leadership of Ali Modu
Sheriff as the chairman of the party.
Police hilux vehicles barricaded the main entrance tp prevent access by
the Mekarfi Faction of the Peoples Democratic Party into the premises of
the International Conference Centre, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida
20/02/2017
Though the meeting was supposed to hold at 2pm today, a detachment of
police men in about four patrol vans stormed the venue and barricaded
the venue as early as 11am with two patrol vans.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/breaking-police-stops-makarfis-pdp-faction-meeting/
A detachment of
policemen this afternoon barricaded the entrance to the international
conference centre, venue of the meeting scheduled by the Ahmed Makarfi
led National Caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party for an
enlarged meeting of it’s members to deliberate on the outcome of the
Portharcourt Appeal court which upheld the leadership of Ali Modu
Sheriff as the chairman of the party.
Police hilux vehicles barricaded the main entrance tp prevent access by
the Mekarfi Faction of the Peoples Democratic Party into the premises of
the International Conference Centre, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida
20/02/2017
Though the meeting was supposed to hold at 2pm today, a detachment of
police men in about four patrol vans stormed the venue and barricaded
the venue as early as 11am with two patrol vans.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/breaking-police-stops-makarfis-pdp-faction-meeting/
