谷歌眼鏡 玩轉另一個世界

Google Glass is a wearable computer in the shape of eyeglasses, complete with a "heads up display" over one eye. As one of the very few people who have had hands-on Glass experience, here's a first-hand look at what it's like to wear Google Glass. What does it feel like to use right now, in beta form? It's exciting, frustrating, and a surreal experience. Read on for more details.

谷歌眼鏡是一款眼鏡式的可佩戴電腦，一隻鏡片上配備了“平視顯示”功能。作爲很少有機會接觸該眼鏡的人之一，第一體驗感覺即將揭曉。目前使用測試版會是什麼情況呢？必定是刺激中帶點失望的超真實體驗。我們先一睹爲快吧。

Google Glass is a headset which is worn the same way you'd wear a pair of sunglasses. Instead of two eye pieces, there's a single display above the right eye. Running a modified version of the Android operating system, Google Glass is capable of connecting to the Internet via Wi-Fi or a Bluetooth connection to your smartphone. When connected, Glass can display e-mail, Google Now information, text messages, take photos, record videos, place phone or video calls, and GPS navigation. Of course, Google Search is deeply integrated.

谷歌眼鏡的佩戴方式跟戴耳機如出一轍。而右眼上的獨立顯示取代了兩個鏡片。運行的是改良版的安卓操作系統，可以通過Wi-Fi或智能手機的藍牙連接網絡。一旦連上，就可以顯示郵件、谷歌即時訊息、短信，拍照，錄像，打電話或視頻通話，還有GPS定位。當然，還深度融合了谷歌搜索。

Glass can use Wi-Fi around the house or office, Glass can pair with a smartphone (iPhone and Android are preferred) via Bluetooth for connectivity when you're on the go. When paired to an Android device, you can also take advantage of SMS integration for conversations and GPS functionality for navigation. There's a touchpad on the right-side of Glass for controls, but the majority of input is done using voice commands.

谷歌眼鏡不但可以在家或辦公室使用Wi-Fi，還能在你忙碌的時候通過藍牙連接手機（蘋果和安卓手機是首選）。當連上安卓設備，你就可以進行短信推送和GPS導航。眼鏡右邊安裝了一個觸摸控制板，但多數時候還得靠語音輸入。

Right now, Glass is available only in beta form; it's in testing and isn't officially available to the general public. Google expects to have Glass refined and ready to release sometime in 2014. Glass Explorers (as beta testers are called) are either a developers who purchased Glass, or individuals who won a Google contest to become an Explorer. For developers and contestants alike, the cost was $1,500. There are nearly 10,000 Glass users in the wild. Don't get your hopes up: There's no official word on an exact launch date or price from Google.

目前，谷歌眼鏡僅有測試版；正處於測試階段，官方還未發佈。谷歌方面希望能對其做進一步改良，估計會在2014年發佈。谷歌眼鏡體驗者（也稱測試版體驗用戶）包括付費的研發者和贏得谷歌比賽的個人。無論是研發者還是個人，其價格都是$1500。全球大概有10000名用戶。但不要抱太大的希望：因爲目前沒有任何關於官方發佈的日期和價格。

Glass has one speaker, a Bone Conduction Transducer, that sits near your right ear. The speaker isn't especially loud, and doesn't work well in noisy areas -- it's especially hard to hold a conversation via a phone or video call. In loud environments, I've found that it works best to so place a cupped hand over the ear to make it easier to hear.

谷歌眼鏡有一個麥克風，也是骨導傳感器，靠近右耳。麥克風的音量不大，在嘈雜的區域裏性能不好--尤其是打電話或視頻通話的時候。環境較嘈雜時，我發現若用手捂住它，音量效果還稍微好點。

Using Glass is all about making the most of voice commands. When Glass wakes up, either by tapping the touchpad or moving your head up, the magic phrase of "OK Glass" appears on the screen below the time. Muttering that phrase activates Glass, and allows you to sift through the currently available commands. Sadly, in its current form, Glass doesn't care who voices commands. That means anyone can shout out and take control of Glass.

大多數時候都是通過語音控制來使用谷歌眼鏡。當開啓眼鏡後，無論是用手觸碰觸摸板，還是擡頭控制，神奇的短語“Ok Glass”就會即刻出現在屏幕上。輕念短語就能激活眼鏡，進入當前可用指令。遺憾的是，就目前版本來說谷歌眼鏡還不能識別不同的聲音。那就意味着任何人都可以發出指令來操作。

There are two ways to take a photo or record a video using Glass. The first is by using voice commands: "OK Glass, take a picture" (or: "record a video"). The second is by using the shutter button located at the top of Glass. The button is faster and more discrete (but arguably less fun). Contrary to popular belief, Glass is not always recording or snapping photos. There's no indication when the camera is in operation, but if you look at someone wearing Glass and the display over the right eye is not lit up, it definitely isn't operating.

現在有兩種方式可以使用谷歌眼鏡拍照或錄像。一種是發出語音指令：“好的眼鏡，拍張照”（或：“錄個像”）。另一種是使用位於頂部的快門按鈕。該操作更快更離散（但也可能沒那麼有趣）。與潮流相反的是，谷歌眼鏡不會隨時隨地都在錄像或拍照。也沒有任何跡象能夠顯示其攝像頭在運作，但如果你看到有人戴着谷歌眼鏡，並且右邊的顯示沒有亮，那肯定就沒有開啓攝像頭。

Fun fact: Google doesn't call apps for Google Glass "apps." Google refers to them as Glassware. Glassware is very limited at the moment. Developers are working with a beta API, which Google has severely limited (apps cannot make more than 1,000 API calls per day, for example). That said, Google has some sample Glassware available that includes Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Gmail, CNN, The New York Times, Path, Evernote and more. Twitter and Facebook don't allow for browsing of timelines, instead both only offer to let users upload photos taken with Glass to their timeline.

有趣的事實：谷歌沒有將應用軟件稱爲谷歌眼鏡“應用軟件。”而是“眼鏡應用”。目前該應用還相當有侷限。研發人員正在研發測試版的應用程序編程接口（API),這對谷歌來說侷限性非常大（比如應用軟件每天不得進行超1000次的API調試）。還有就是，目前谷歌旗下有一些可用軟件，包括Facebook，Twitter，Google+，Gmail，CNN，紐約時報，Path，Evemote等等。其中Twitter和Facebook不允許用戶及時瀏覽，只能讓他們按照時間上傳該眼鏡所拍的照片。

Even with these limitations, developers haven't held back from sharing their work with fellow Glass Explorers. There isn't one central place to find Glassware to use with Glass -- like a Glass app store -- but the Google+ Glass Explorers group and the private Glass Explorer forums both contain links to install unreleased services. Google Glass Apps is a free Web site that compiles available Glassware. The list is not nearly exhaustive, but it does give Glass users and fans alike a good idea of what's being worked on.

即使條件所限，研發人員之間也沒有停止分享成果。並非只有一個地方纔能找到眼鏡軟件--像谷歌眼鏡應用商店就有，但Google+的研發小組和私人研發論壇都提供未發佈服務軟件的安裝鏈接。谷歌眼鏡應用商店涵蓋了一些免費軟件。其數量也許不多，但卻給用戶和粉絲們帶來了體驗的福音。

Instagram made a name for itself by letting users take mundane smartphone photos, place a filter on them, and call it art. Glassagram picks up from there by letting users take a photo, send it to the service, and then get it back on Glass with a variety of filter treatments applied.

Instagram允許用戶用智能手機拍攝的普通照片，再透過濾鏡處理，並稱之爲藝術。Glassgram就是待這些照片上傳至服務器後，用谷歌眼鏡下載，再伴隨着一系列的照片過濾應用。

And then there's GlassFrogger. The game lets you view a frog as it attempts to cross the road, just like the classic game. In order to move the frog, or make it jump, you must physically jump yourself. One jump moves the frog forward, hopefully missing the speeding semi and impending death. GlassFrogger is an interesting first look at augmented reality gaming through Glass. While the road isn't overlaid onto the real street in front of the user, after playing for awhile, I can say you do start to feel as if you're actually in the game rather than just staring.

還有一款眼鏡青蛙遊戲。它跟大多經典遊戲相差無幾，畫面呈現出的就是一隻企圖穿過馬路的青蛙。用戶必須親身跳躍才能控制青蛙的移動和彈跳。跳躍不僅能夠前進，還能躲避疾馳的半掛車和近在咫尺的出局。眼鏡青蛙是一款有趣的同時也頗具爭議的實操遊戲。雖然道路是虛擬的，但玩了一陣後，我敢說你肯定會覺得身臨其境。

Since there's a camera built into Glass, a SKU scanning app was bound to happen. Crystal Shopper lets you scan barcodes and immediately see the highest and lowest price for that item on Amazon. If you decide you want to purchase an item, it can then be saved to a list with a simple head nod. Imagine a future in which you do this with food items in the grocery store; instead of prices, perhaps, you'd able to view more detailed nutritional information. It's the future.

因眼鏡安裝了攝像頭，估計SKU掃描應用軟件的發佈也在不遠的將來了。一目瞭然的購物推廣讓你能輕鬆掃描條形碼，即刻掌握亞馬遜商品的最低價格和最高優惠。如果你決定購買其產品，只需點下頭就可加入購物車。試想在未來，若是如此在商品雜貨店購買食物該是怎樣的場景；也許，屆時你更在意的就是商品的營養信息，而非價格了。這就是未來的趨勢。

The first time I snapped a photo with Glass that I normally wouldn't have been able to take, I began to realize how much of an impact Glass can have capturing everyday moments that are otherwise lost. This photo, which took on a horseback ride with my kids, wouldn't have been possible without Glass. Not only am I leading the horse with one hand, but I'm also hiding on to my son's leg to ensure he doesn't fall off. A simple voice command captured this moment. Thus far, it's one of my favorite photos from Glass.

當我第一次利用谷歌眼鏡抓拍了一張平時根本拍不到的照片時，我就意識到了如果沒有它，會錯過多少精彩的瞬間。正如那張我和孩子騎馬的照片一樣，如果不是這副眼鏡，肯定就拍不下來。照片裏，我一手牽着馬前進，一手扶着兒子的腿確保他不墜馬。簡單的聲控成就了這個瞬間。這麼久以來，那仍然是我最珍愛的一張谷歌照片。